EVGA GeForce GTX 285 SSC review

**Carfax** · 01-15-2009, 06:27 AM

The first proper GTX 285 review I've seen.

The EVGA GTX 285 SSC has a stock shader speed of 1584mhz, and a core speed of 702mhz, allowing it to compete against the 4870x2 in a few titles.

Temps don't seem to be improved too much, but I suspect the reviewer was using the default fan speed of 40%.

Allowing that, high temps are bound to occur during load, especially if overclocking.

**HuffPCair** · 01-15-2009, 06:37 AM

Wow thats crazy on the amount of power it takes to run it and has a higher clock. Very cool runs better then a 280 but uses power like a 260.

Also seems like a kick ass card but I would like to see more tests done .

**Boissez** · 01-15-2009, 06:40 AM

Originally Posted by HuffPCair

Wow thats crazy on the amount of power it takes to run it and has a higher clock. Very cool runs better then a 280 but uses power like a 260.

Couldn't find any power consumption numbers except for idle... Have I missed something?

**HuffPCair** · 01-15-2009, 06:46 AM

Originally Posted by Boissez

Couldn't find any power consumption numbers except for idle... Have I missed something?

O sorry no I was just going off the Max Board Power of 183Watts and also the power connection type.

**Carfax** · 01-15-2009, 06:39 AM

Guru3D review

Guru3D reached an overclock of 745/1681/2928

**ownage** · 01-15-2009, 06:43 AM

Catalyst 8.561.3-081217a-73402 (Updated Catalyst 8.12)

That would be Catalyst 9.1 Beta actually. Quadcore drivers so I'm very pleased with this review.

**jam2k** · 01-15-2009, 06:43 AM

Originally Posted by Firingsquad

Based on all this, we’d say the GeForce GTX 285 is a nice improvement over the GTX 280, but it isn’t a game changer for NVIDIA. The chip does run cooler and consume less power than its predecessor, GTX 280, all while running up to 10% faster at 2560x1600. Priced at an MSRP of $379 though, its price/performance ratio isn’t as high as a card like Sapphire’s Radeon 4870 X2, which is currently selling for $400 after a $50 mail-in rebate on Newegg, or the Sapphire Radeon 4850 X2 2GB, which sells for $300 on Newegg.

Both of these cards delivered better performance overall than the GTX 285 (although there were a few cases where the GTX 285 outran the 4850 X2) thanks to their dual GPU architecture. Of course at the same time both cards are also going to generate more noise and suck up more power than the GTX 285 based on testing we’ve conducted in the past month, while the X2 cards will also need CrossFire profiles to deliver optimal performance.

That’s the key downside to dual-GPU setups like the X2. If a new game comes out and it doesn’t have an SLI or CrossFire profile, it performs the same as its single GPU equivalent, in the case of the 4850 X2 it would be a Radeon 4850 1GB, while the 4870 X2 would perform like a 4870 1GB. In the past year ATI has done a much better job of getting CrossFire profiles into their graphics drivers when new games come out, even providing hotfix drivers mid-month when needed, but their track record isn’t as good as NVIDIA’s.

Basically if you’re a gaming junkie who likes to pick up new titles and play them on release day you may want to consider this, but if you crave performance above all else, the Sapphire 4850 X2 delivers a better price/performance ratio.

Fortunately for NVIDIA, Sapphire’s the only company offering the 4850 X2 right now.

Nice card but highly overpriced.

**th3pwn3r** · 01-15-2009, 07:18 AM

"Priced at an MSRP of $379 though, its price/performance ratio isn’t as high as a card like Sapphire’s Radeon 4870 X2, which is currently selling for $400 after a $50 mail-in rebate on Newegg, or the Sapphire Radeon 4850 X2 2GB, which sells for $300 on Newegg."

Originally Posted by jam2k

Nice card but highly overpriced.

Comparing MSRP to Newegg's pricing is a bit unfair don't you think? They rarely sell things at MSRP.

**jam2k** · 01-15-2009, 08:01 AM

Originally Posted by th3pwn3r

"Priced at an MSRP of $379 though, its price/performance ratio isn’t as high as a card like Sapphire’s Radeon 4870 X2, which is currently selling for $400 after a $50 mail-in rebate on Newegg, or the Sapphire Radeon 4850 X2 2GB, which sells for $300 on Newegg."

Comparing MSRP to Newegg's pricing is a bit unfair don't you think? They rarely sell things at MSRP.

What's unfair ?

Cheapest GTX285 is $379.99 @Newegg: Link

Cheapest 4850x2 is $299.99 ($279.99 after MIR) @Newegg: Link

Cheapest 4870x2 is $429.99 ($399.99 after MIR) @Newegg: Link

**RPGWiZaRD** · 01-15-2009, 11:21 AM

Originally Posted by th3pwn3r

"Priced at an MSRP of $379 though, its price/performance ratio isn’t as high as a card like Sapphire’s Radeon 4870 X2, which is currently selling for $400 after a $50 mail-in rebate on Newegg, or the Sapphire Radeon 4850 X2 2GB, which sells for $300 on Newegg.

Well some people like me will probably never buy a dual GPU solution mainly cuz there's:

1) Some microstuttering still present. I know it's very minimal by now but it's not completely gone either.
2) Very driver dependent as some games might show next to no increase over a corresponding single gpu solution if they don't have proper support.

Those issues aren't present in a single GPU solution and IMO is worth some $30~40 bucks. It's not an NV vs ATI thing, I wouldn't buy a dual-gpu/pcb solution from neither company no matter how fast it would be.

Just wait for other 285 GTX cards too and prices will probably settle a bit still (~$350?) but an entry price of $379 without any rebates is very good, I was expecting them to show up at $399 pricetag on newegg at launch.

**Flinch** · 01-15-2009, 11:56 AM

Originally Posted by RPGWiZaRD

Well some people like me will probably never buy a dual GPU solution mainly cuz there's:

1) Some microstuttering still present. I know it's very minimal by now but it's not completely gone either.
2) Very driver dependent as some games might show next to no increase over a corresponding single gpu solution if they don't have proper support.

Those issues aren't present in a single GPU solution and IMO is worth some $30~40 bucks. It's not an NV vs ATI thing, I wouldn't buy a dual-gpu/pcb solution from neither company no matter how fast it would be.

I completely agree with you. I went from a 4870x2 to the 285 for the exact reasons you mentioned above.

**GoldenTiger** · 01-15-2009, 03:00 PM

Originally Posted by RPGWiZaRD

Well some people like me will probably never buy a dual GPU solution mainly cuz there's:

1) Some microstuttering still present. I know it's very minimal by now but it's not completely gone either.
2) Very driver dependent as some games might show next to no increase over a corresponding single gpu solution if they don't have proper support.

Those issues aren't present in a single GPU solution and IMO is worth some $30~40 bucks. It's not an NV vs ATI thing, I wouldn't buy a dual-gpu/pcb solution from neither company no matter how fast it would be.

Just wait for other 285 GTX cards too and prices will probably settle a bit still (~$350?) but an entry price of $379 without any rebates is very good, I was expecting them to show up at $399 pricetag on newegg at launch.

100% agreed, I almost went for a 2xGTX280 setup now to upgrade from my single 280, but instead am going for a 285 for a much lower upgrade cost ($50-60 once I sell my old card, vs. a new PSU ($100) and GTX 280 ($210))... I figure with how well these appear to overclock, I should end up with good performance at 2560x1600, especially for Crysis and Warhammer Online which don't scale well with SLI. Newegg has the XFX 285 for $350+10 shipping with a free copy of Far Cry 2 which I can sell for $20-30 or just play (with promo code XNZDFF30 )

. (EDIT: I decided I want the step-up so I cancelled it and went for a BFG from Frys with overnight shipping on the cheap, just in case something uber launches within the 100 days).

Awhile back I ran 2x 8800GT 512's and found the scaling horribly inconsistent + it had microstutter and still low minimum framerates which impacted gameplay much more than the maximum ones (which skyrocketed). I switched to a single GTX 280 after going back to a single 8800GT 512 for awhile.

**Miwo** · 01-15-2009, 06:53 AM

we need some vmod results on the process shrink

Looks to be a solid card for anyone not wanting to deal with SLI/Crossfire limitations

**Cold Fussion** · 01-15-2009, 06:54 AM

The Hardware canucks review had the 285 gtx's memory running at 3ghz !

**RPGWiZaRD** · 01-15-2009, 07:00 AM

Great looks like the memory on these are superb to be GDDR3. xD This card could have a good value if it overclocks to like 730~750MHz core, 1650~1700MHz shader and 1450~1500MHz mem clock in average.

**SKYMTL** · 01-15-2009, 07:06 AM

Originally Posted by Cold Fussion

The Hardware canucks review had the 285 gtx's memory running at 3ghz !

The highest I got it for a 3DMark06 run was 3.12Ghz but it didn't pass the torture test needed to be deemed a "stable" overclock so it wasn't included.

**RPGWiZaRD** · 01-15-2009, 07:10 AM

Makes you wonder if this is even GDDR3, didn't think it would ever go that high even with slower timings and high binned mem.

Great cards to play with for xtreme benching I think.

**SKYMTL** · 01-15-2009, 07:27 AM

Originally Posted by RPGWiZaRD

Makes you wonder if this is even GDDR3, didn't think it would ever go that high even with slower timings and high binned mem.

Great cards to play with for xtreme benching I think.

It is still GDDR3. Even though I haven't yet popped off the heatsink, that much is certain. I just think the timings are VERY relaxed.

**Carfax** · 01-15-2009, 11:32 AM

Originally Posted by SKYMTL

The highest I got it for a 3DMark06 run was 3.12Ghz but it didn't pass the torture test needed to be deemed a "stable" overclock so it wasn't included.

I liked your review dude

The inclusion of minimum framerates shows that a single GPU set up is still a very viable solution for high end gaming platforms.

**Cold Fussion** · 01-15-2009, 02:05 PM

Originally Posted by Carfax

I liked your review dude

The inclusion of minimum framerates shows that a single GPU set up is still a very viable solution for high end gaming platforms.

I agree, Hardware Canucks to the best reviews period. It would be nice though if they caped the frame rate at 100 and showed us the standard deviation of all the cards.

**GoldenTiger** · 01-15-2009, 03:32 PM

Originally Posted by SKYMTL

The highest I got it for a 3DMark06 run was 3.12Ghz but it didn't pass the torture test needed to be deemed a "stable" overclock so it wasn't included.

Awesome

. Thanks for the great review yet again... looking forward to mine coming in, yours is the only one I can find with minimum framerates offhand which really tell the tale. I don't care if it has 120fps average if it dips to 10-20fps during any actual action. It's good to see how the cards really handle.

**FischOderAal** · 01-15-2009, 07:40 AM

Here are three german reviews:
http://www.hardwareluxx.de/cms/artik...on=show&id=676
http://hartware.net/review_892.html
http://www.pcgameshardware.de/aid,67...a-Grafikkarte/

The pictures should speak for themselves.

**JudgmentJay** · 01-15-2009, 07:54 AM

Seems to overclock a decent amount over the 280. Ordering parts for a new PC today, but I can't decide on 280s or 285s!

**Barrok** · 01-15-2009, 02:13 PM

Originally Posted by JudgmentJay

Seems to overclock a decent amount over the 280. Ordering parts for a new PC today, but I can't decide on 280s or 285s!

I picked up two BFG vanilla 280's for $285 ($570 total) from newegg two days ago. I figure if the msrp's drop I can just "trade up" if its worth it financially but even so, the performance two 280's offer for $570 is amazing compared to the performance two 285s offer for close to $780 (380 each with around 10 bucks shipping for each).

I hope I made the right decision