SLI gaming performance
Our first round of gaming tests were conducted with low in-game detail levels and display resolutions, but we've cranked things up for a second round. These tests use high resolutions, high detail levels, and anisotropic filtering and antialiasing, so they should be fairly indicative of how gamers play in the real world. We've tested each board with a single GeForce 7800 GTX, and we've also benchmarked the Asus A8N32-SLI and DFI LANParty UT NF4 SLI-DR Expert with a pair of 7800 GTXs running in SLI. We've also tested the KA1 MVP, RDX200, and A8R-MVP with single and dual Radeon X850 XT cards using ATI's Catalyst 6.1 graphics drivers.

When looking at our SLI performance results, pay special attention to the jump in performance from single- to multi-card configurations. We're not out to compare the Radeon X850 XT's performance with that of the GeForce 7800 GTX; we just want to see how adding a second card can improve overall performance.

As one might expect, performance at high resolutions and detail levels is limited by the graphics subsystem, not the motherboard. The fact that the Expert is only running eight PCI Express lanes to each of its graphics cards in SLI doesn't appear to be holding the board back against the A8N32-SLI, which serves up 16 lanes per card.