Published in Reviews

Gainward's GTX 285 tested

by on15 January 2009

Index



TestBed

Motherboard: MSI P45D3 Platinum ( Provided by : MSI );
Processor: Intel Core 2 QX9770 Extreme edition na 3.6GHz ( Provided by : Intel );
Memory: Corsair Dominator 12800 7-7-7-24 ( Provided by : Corsair);
HDD: WD VelociRaptor 300G 10,000RPM ( Provided by : SmoothCreation );

undefined

undefined

At 1920x1200 the GTX 285 trails behind the likes of GTX 295 and HD 4870 X2 by as much as 53 and 41 percent respectively, and although it beats the GTX 280 by 9 percent, the overclocked GTX 280 catches up and runs almost on par – not even a full frame slower.

At 1920x1200 with AA and AF on, we again see GTX lose to GTX 295 and HD 4870 X2 by 43 and 25 percent respectively. It outperforms the GTX 280 by 9 percent, but the overclocked GTX 280 again comes in really close, as it scores only 2% lower than the GTX 285.

undefined

undefined

The GTX 295 again takes the spoils as it beats HD 4870 X2 and the GTX 285 by 9 and 53 percent, respectively. The GTX 285 beats the GTX 280 by 8% whereas the overclocked GTX 280 comes so close, that the result can be considered identical.

When we turned the filters on, all the cards suffered performance drops, some more than others. The GTX 285 trails behind the GTX 295 and HD 4870 X2 by 52 and 16 percent, and although it beats the GTX 280 by almost 10%, the overclocked GTX 280 OC snatches its first win here, but barely as the difference is less than 1%.

undefined

undefined

Impressively enough, FarCry 2 somewhat evens the results out as the GTX 285 ends up trailing the GTX 295 and HD 4870 X2 by only 26% and 1.8% respectively. It beats both the GTX 280 and HD 4870 1GB by 8 and 17 percent respectively, but it ends up running on par with the overclocked GTX 280.

When we turned the filters on, the higher-end components again leave the pack and justify the higher price, as the GTX 285 ends up trailing the GTX 295 and HD 4870 X2 by 39 and 19 percent respectively. The GTX 285 wins against the GTX 280 by 8 percent, whereas the overclocked GTX 280 snatches such a tight win that we can easily say the results are identical.

undefined

1680x1050 with filters on further separates the GTX 295 and HD 4870 X2 from the pack, and they beat the GTX 285 by 42 and 24 percent respectively. The GTX 285 beats the GTX 280 and HD 4870 1GB by 8 and 31 percent, and it again runs on par with the overclocked GTX 280.

undefined

undefined

At 1920x1200, the GTX 295 and HD 4870 X2 beat the GTX 285 by 39 and 27, respectively. The GTX 285 beats the HD 4870 1GB and GTX 280 by 13 and 8 percent respectively, whereas the overclocked GTX 280 OC again runs on par with our today's card. 

After turning the filters on, we see the GTX 295 and HD 4870 X2 beating the GTX 285 by 45 and 28 percent respectively, whereas the GTX 285 outmuscles the HD 4870 1GB and GTX 280 by 27 and 8 percent, respectively. The GTX 280 keeps up its tempo and again runs on par with the GTX 285.

undefined

undefined

Higher resolutions show who's the boss and the GTX 285 trails behind the GTX 295 and HD 4870 X2 by 39% and 47% respectively. It manages to outrun the HD 4870 1GB and GTX 280 by 19 and 9 percent respectively, and as you can see – it again runs on par with the overclocked GTX 280.

Turning the filters on results in GTX 295 and HD 4870 X2 beating the GTX 285 by 44 and 20 percent respectively. The GTX 285 again outruns the HD 4870 1GB by impressive 40 percent and the GTX 280 by 9, but it keeps running on par with the overclocked GTX 280.

undefined

undefined

At 1280x1024 resolution, the differences are quite small and not worth commenting as all cards provide more than enough for pleasant gaming.

Turning the filters on, however, results in the GTX 295 and HD 4870 X2 again leaving the pack and beating GTX 285 by 20 and 28 percent respectively. The GTX 285 ends up faster than HD 4870 1GB and GTX 280 by 18 and 8 percent respectively, and it once again runs on par with the overclocked GTX 280. Note that all cards still provide more than enough for pleasant gaming.


undefined

At 1680x1050, the GTX 285 outruns the HD 4870 1GB and GTX 280 by 11 and 8 percent respectively, but it still trails behind the GTX 295 and HD 4870 X2, which comes as no surprise. However, all cards show more than enough muscle to run this game.

undefined

undefined

At 1920x1200, the GTX 285 trails behind the GTX 295 and HD 4870 X2 by 22 and 23 respectively, and it beats the HD 4870 1GB and GTX 280 by 18 and 10 percent. Here we see the overclocked GTX 280 OC lag behind the GTX 285 by a single frame. 

Turning the filters on sees the GTX 295 and HD 4870 X2 extending their lead over the GTX 285 to 39 and 26 percent respectively, and we see that the GTX 285 once again runs on par with the overclocked GTX 280. GTX 285 outperforms the HD 4870 1GB and GTX 280 by 24 and 9 percent.

undefined

The highest tested resolution again shows the difference between higher-end models, as GTX 295 and HD 4870 leave the GTX 285 behind by 43 and 38 percent respectively. The HD 4870 1GB and GTX 280 are slower than the GTX 285 by 30 and 10 percent respectively, whereas the difference between the GTX 285 and the overclocked GTX 280 is less than a frame.


undefined

undefined



3DMark tests paint quite a realistic picture of what these cards are capable of, but although the GTX 280 trails behind the GTX 285 by 10 percent on average, its overclocked version performs almost identically.


Conclusion

Compared to reference Geforce GTX 280, Geforce GTX 285 does run faster at default clocks but once you overclock GTX 280 the advantage suddenly disappears. The good thing about the GTX 285 is that you will be able to overclock to above 700MHz but we still don't know whether this is the last stop.

The card's price is a tricky issue, as it currently costs almost as much as a Radeon HD 4870 X2, or very close to it, and it is clear that ATI's X2 card wins in most benchmarks. If you want the fastest card around you might want to get a Geforce GTX 295 but if you currently own a GTX 280 there is no need to upgrade, unless you really want to save a few cents a month on your power bill and you like to have latest and greatest.

The card runs cooler and this is its main advantage over the previous 65nm model, but once again the 55nm GT200 fails to pull off a miracle. Geforce GTX 285 is clearly better than GTX 280, but not as much as many have hoped. After all, it is the same chip with a smaller die and transistors.
 
The card beats ATI's Radeon HD 4870 single core card, and if you want the fastest single GPU card currently available coupled with good power consumption, then this might be the card for you.



 


« Prev Next

Last modified on 19 August 2009
Rate this item
(0 votes)