The Card:

The specs rate the GTX 285’s TDP at 204W, which is 32W less than on the GTX 280. This difference however is more than significant since the GTX 285 runs at higher clocks than the GTX 280. Naturally, the GTX 285 is basically the same card but this time around packing a new and improved GT200b chip. Apart from aforementioned improvements, GT200b specs haven’t changed from the GT200.

XFX, whose GTX 285 Black Edition is on display today, has taken the overclocking game pretty seriously and has overclocked the card from reference 648MHz to 690MHz. The company kept the reference dual-slot cooling which keeps the card cool and stable.



The cooler covers the entire card so that the hot air moves towards the I/O panel, where it leaves the case via provided outlets. The following picture shows that the fan is slightly angled in order to more efficiently push the air towards the GPU.



The card features two outlets which improve the airflow around the power components.



Geforce GTX 285 uses GT200b graphics processor built in 55nm and requires less power than the previous 65nm GT200. Unlike GTX 280 cards which feature GT200 and require one 8-pin and one 6-pin connector, the GTX 285 consumes less and requires only 8-pin connectors.



The GTX 285 Black Edition requires a PSU with minimum 550W, but a gaming rig with a GTX 285 Black Edition is recommended to run on 630W PSU. A SLI system would require 680W or more.

Next to the PCI-Express connectors is a small SPDIF connector which is used to bring audio to the graphics card. You’ll need this if you want to route both video and audio to your HDTV via one HDMI cable, otherwise you’ll get only video and audio will be heard from your computer. HDMI is supported but only via the provided DVI-to-HDMI dongle. The following picture shows that the card boasts two dual-DVI outs and a TV out.



Nvidia is pretty vocal about the multifunctional architecture of Geforce GPUs which extends way beyond gaming. This means that your graphics card is capable of much more using Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA). More and more apps are relying on stream processors’ parallel processing power to improve data processing. A most common task would be transcoding different video files. Of course, we can’t forget the fact that the card also supports Stereoscopic 3D and PhysX.



Apart from standard SLI, Geforce GTX 285 can be chained in triple SLI, so if you can afford three cards, they’ll run simultaneously using multi-GPU technology. Of course, you’ll need a special SLI connector that’s usually shipped with motherboards that support this feature.