GeForce GTX 285: 55nm Enabling Higher Performance
by Derek Wilson on January 15, 2009 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
Final Words
So here's the deal. We can find the GTX 280 for about $340 if we aren't looking very hard (it can actually be had right now before mail in rebate for $325 at newegg but we'll give the 285 the benefit of the doubt). Compared to the $380 we can grab the new GeForce GTX 285 for, that's over 11% more money for only about 10% performance improvement. Of course there are more aggressively overclocked parts out there but they tend to cost a bit more as well. We do often see decreasing value with increasing performance, but it's not something we like. And if you don't mind mail in rebates the GTX 280 can be had for $300.
It looks like the benefit to the consumer here is going to be the unloading of GTX 280 hardware at prices that put it in better competition to the Radeon 4870 1GB. Of course the 4870 1GB is still a lot cheaper, but the GTX 280 starts to get a little more attractive at only 20% more expensive than the 4870 1GB as much of the time the performance advantage is larger than that. There are exceptions, of course.
It is a little more difficult to compare the GeForce GTX 285 to AMD hardware because of the price point. AMD doesn't have a card that hits the $400 mark (without mail in rebates that is: the 4870 X2 can hit $400 after mail ins). At about $50 more expensive, as we've noted, the 4870 X2 is just over 13% higher in price. Typically the 4870 X2, even in games that don't favor AMD architecture, leads the GeForce GTX 285 by more than that, often at performance about 18% higher at 2560x1600. This indicates that even at the higher price, value (price/performance) is higher with the 4870 X2.
In spite of the potential advantages offered by the Radeon 4870 X2, we have qualms about recommending it based on our experiences since October with the introduction of Core i7 and X58 and the multitude of software titles that were released. Driver support just isn't what it needs to be to really get behind an AMD single card dual-GPU solution right now. The issue is less about what's out now and more about support for titles as they come out and fast responses to issues (which AMD can't provide). The 8.12 hotfix (that is listed as only necessary with 4850 CrossFire) actually has improved stability and performance on all the single and dual setups we've tested on Core i7. We haven't finished putting it through its paces, but so far this one is a real step in the right direction. Unfortunately it will be months before we see this hotfix rolled into a WHQL driver. We definitely recommend this hotfix at least to anyone using AMD hardware on Vista x64 with a Core i7 platform.
In summary, despite its typical 10% performance advantage, the GeForce GTX 285 offers less price/performance than the GTX 280. The closest price competitor to the GTX 285, the Radeon HD 4870 X2, also offers better value, but at a higher price. At the same time, we have reservations about putting our weight behind the 4870 X2 with the driver issues we've experienced lately.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
76 Comments
View All Comments
Kroneborge - Thursday, January 15, 2009 - link
I'd like to second the request for info on sound levels. I do music production, AND play games on my computer. So it's important to be able to find a nice balance. I know some people don't care if their cards are loud, but there are many others that do.Thanks,
mczak - Thursday, January 15, 2009 - link
I'm not sure those power consumption figures are relevant. You're measuring a overclocked card. Even though you've downclocked it to standard speeds, it could well be setup to run at slightly higher voltages to guarantee stable operation at the overclocked frequencies without the manufacturer having to do much further qualification.gungan3 - Thursday, January 15, 2009 - link
Oh and the GTX 285 has only 2 X 6 pin PCIE connectors while the GTX 280 had one 6 pin and one 8 pin connectorgungan3 - Thursday, January 15, 2009 - link
Yes i would have really liked to see some tests with the 4850 X2 as well. At a $299 pricepoint for the 2X1 GB version it should offer higher performance than a GTX 280/285. You could throw in 9800 GTX+ SLI as well there, it should probably smoke its own brother as well.Also why oh why are there no tests on fan noise and GPU temperatures? Those would be very useful to consumers. Another test could be case Temperature which would be a big help to buyers of the GTX 295 which dumps hot air inside the case itself. How about overclocking tests? No time for those as well?
And some more insight into the actual changes in hardware would also be appreciated. Pictures of the fronf of the PCB and the cooling system would be helpful. To quote from your review "The hardware looks the same as the current GeForce GTX 280. There really isn't anything aside from the GPU that appears different (except the sticker on the card that is)"
Might i point out that as is the case with the 55 nm GTX 260(as well as the GTX 295), that all the memory chips are now on the front of the card as opposed to the original PCB's which had memory on both sides thus requiring more layers in the PCB( afaik 16 layers as opposed to 12 layers). Possibly some changes in power/memory voltage circuitry as well. Was that too hard to notice?
Daeros - Thursday, January 15, 2009 - link
I was just noticing something about several gfx card reviews I have seen here lately, the lack of CF results to compare with SLI. Of course the top of the chart is full of Nvidia cards when you don't test any multi-card solutions from ATI. I know the new test platform supports this, so I really don't understand the reasoning.Also, there is an excellent competitor for the GTX285, the 4850x2. It comes with 2x1GB GDDR3 so it will be slightly stronger than two standard 4850's in CF, and Newegg has them for $299 w/ free shipping.
Goty - Thursday, January 15, 2009 - link
Why include Crossfire results when you have the 4870X2 in the mix? It's nearly identical to two 4870s in a Crossfire configuration, so there's no need to run another set of benchmarks if you're going to get the same numbers.Daeros - Thursday, January 15, 2009 - link
My point is that the 4870x2 is designed to compete with the GTX280/285 cards from Nvidia. All I was saying was it would be nice to have multi-card comparisons for both brands at similar price points (ie GTX285SLI=$760, GTX280SLI=$650 4870x2CF=$860, 4870x2+4870(1GB)=$670), 4850x2CF=$600). So why not test a couple more cards in similar brackets and give more-useful, fully-fleshed reviews.elerick - Thursday, January 15, 2009 - link
How I believe the Price wars between AMD and Nvidia are going to be good for consumers. I can't wait to see the new pricing for GTX 280 with these rolling out. Glad to see performance increases this early on in the year.Stonedofmoo - Thursday, January 15, 2009 - link
Really I'm bored of reading about top end parts eating hundreds of watts of power.I'd really like to see the GT200 technology migrated too midrange parts. In the UK we have a situation where Nvidia does not have one single competative part for sale between £150-200. The GTX 260's are all above £200 and the Geforce 9 series parts are not worth considering when you see how much faster the ATI 48xx cards are in that price range.
Nvidia really needs to forget the race for top performance cards that eat power for breakfast, and start taking note that not everyone wants the most powerful card, some of us are looking for the new 8800GT of this generation...
Goty - Thursday, January 15, 2009 - link
I think you hit the nail on the head when you said the only benefit to the end user from the GTX285 is that it will drop the price on the GTX280, Derek. You get more performance, but it still slots into exactly the same spot performance-wise: faster than the GTX260/HD4870, slower than the 4870X2. Add in the fact that there are no power savings and you've got a pointless product aside from the fact that it saves NVIDIA a little money.As for the review itself, why only results using 4xAA? I'd like to see how performance falls off with 8xAA vs the HD4870 and see if the marginally increased clockspeeds help at all in that department.