Benchmarks: System and Gaming
Despite the lofty CPU overclock, the Z97 Vengeance 780 generally plays second-fiddle to the pricier Z87 Hadron Hydro when it comes to overall system performance. It's incredible how much power Scan was able to pack into that little EVGA box.
Yet, for around £1,400, the Z97 Vengeance 780 does offer a significant amount of gaming potential.
1080p Gaming Performance (Full-HD, Average FPS) |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Game | Image Preset | Scan 3XS Z97 Vengeance 780 |
||
| (EVGA GeForce GTX 780 SC ACX) | (EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti SC ACX) |
(Palit GeForce GTX 660) |
||
| BioShock Infinite | Medium Quality | 214.9 |
236.7 |
98.8 |
| High Quality | 191.9 |
214.6 |
89.5 |
|
| Max Quality | 112.2 |
127.6 |
54.4 |
|
| GRID 2 | Medium Quality | 210.8 |
164.2 |
115.7 |
| High Quality | 192.0 |
156.5 |
103.5 |
|
| Ultra Quality | 120.9 |
110.5 |
57.5 |
|
| Total War: Rome II | Medium Quality | 232.0 |
256.5 |
124.2 |
| Very High Quality | 118.9 |
134.0 |
56.1 |
|
| Extreme Quality | 63.2 |
74.7 |
25.3 |
|
Testing the rig's gaming credentials, we start by hooking it up to a 1080p panel and run a trio of modern titles at the full-HD resolution. As expected, the GTX 780 SuperClocked ACX has no difficulty maintaining at least 60 frames per second, even at maximum quality settings. Interestingly, GRID 2 performance is higher than the Z87 Hadron Hydro, and we can only put that down to a driver/game update.
2160p Gaming Performance (4K, Average FPS) |
||
|---|---|---|
| Game | Image Preset | Scan 3XS Z97 Vengeance 780 |
(EVGA GeForce GTX 780 SC ACX) |
||
| BioShock Infinite | Medium Quality | 65.4 |
| High Quality | 59.9 |
|
| Max Quality | 36.8 |
|
| GRID 2 | Medium Quality | 119.9 |
| High Quality | 99.1 |
|
| Ultra Quality | 49.0 |
|
| Total War: Rome II | Medium Quality | 81.7 |
| Very High Quality | 40.7 |
|
| Extreme Quality | 19.8 |
|
1080p, clearly, is light work for a gaming rig of this ilk. To stress the machine's full capabilities, we've also been able to attach it to a lovely-looking Philips Brilliance 288P6LJEB/00 4K monitor. Playing the same games at a very lush 3,840x2,160 resolution is far more demanding, yet the Z97 Vengeance 780 copes well. You might need to drop quality settings down from the absolute maximum to achieve buttery-smooth action, but even at medium/high quality, the 4K visuals look fantastic.