"Wonder of engineering" - ASUS EN6800GT Dual
Performance analysis and conclusions
Today, we have examined another "wonder of engineering" - EN6800GT Dual video card by ASUS. Like any nonstandard solution, it has both advantages and shortcomings, which we'll be telling in detail.
The major advantage of this solution is in its exclusive character, in that that the market yet has no analogs so far. Therefore, a video card like that will be of especial value to worshipper, collectors and enthusiasts who have enough means for buying exclusive solutions. Of course, a thing like that will be the spice in any collection and a matter of pride and delight.
However, for the regular user this card is unlikely to be a real working "option" for upgrading the video system of the computer not only because of the price and the rarity in the retail but also because of some accompanying inconveniences which you will get additionally to the card itself.
First, it is the nonstandard size. It is hard to imagine a housing inside which this card will fit in without an issue. By the way, there is one more idea for ASUS - to release a Special Edition housing of nonstandard size aimed at EN6800 Dual.
This will certainly appeal to enthusiasts and fanciers of exclusive items.
However, let's turn to the shortcomings. One of them is the need for purchasing a motherboard built on the nForce4 SLI chipset (made by ASUS!). If you have one - that's good, if not - you are in for extra costs.
But those who can afford to bus a board like that will certainly be able to afford a motherboard for the video card.
A couple of words on the price. While two regular GeForce 6800GT video cards (to be used in the SLI, of course) can be currently made available at $780-800, then the price for EN6800GT Dual will be somehow higher because of the nonstandard character of the solution as well as some advantage over 2õ6800GT at performance. For now, we can't tell anything more regarding that, since this board by ASUS has not yet been presented in the retail.
As regards the fanciers of maximum performance, their best choice will most likely be a SLI-configuration made up of 2õ7800GTX that offers the topmost performance to date. By the way, it is no at all impossible that some time later ASUS will present a product like that as well (we are now talking about positioning of two respective GPU on a single PCB). There is a good start, and the experience is vast.
The matter of possibility to merge two EN6800GT Dual cards into the SLI is still open. That will prove a really unprecedented system, but you can never tell - in future, when we get a system like that for tests we'll certainly verify that.
Summary
Being true fanciers of interesting devices, we got an immense pleasure from testing ASUS EN6800GT Dual. In the end, we decided to award this product with a 3DNews medal which is granted only to most nonstandard, exclusive and original solutions on the market. The Innovation Design reward is granted for innovations, creativity and engineering thought.
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