GeForce GTX 285: 55nm Enabling Higher Performance
by Derek Wilson on January 15, 2009 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
Just last week, NVIDIA announced both the GTX 295 and GTX 285. Today we have availability on both and test results for the GTX 285. As we weren't able to get power tests done time to include in the GTX 295 review, we also have those available today.
EVGA was kind enough to provide the hardware for this review. They sent us two GTX 280s for single and SLI testing. They provided us with overclocked cards, but for this article we underclocked them to stock GTX 285 speeds in order to learn what we can expect from non-overclocked variants.
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).
We've already indicated the changes that have gone into the GTX 285, but here's another look at the updated clock speeds and the test setup.
| GTX 295 | GTX 285 | GTX 280 | GTX 260 Core 216 | GTX 260 | 9800 GTX+ | |
| Stream Processors | 2 x 240 | 240 | 240 | 216 | 192 | 128 |
| Texture Address / Filtering | 2 x 80 / 80 | 80 / 80 | 80 / 80 | 72/72 | 64 / 64 | 64 / 64 |
| ROPs | 28 | 32 | 32 | 28 | 28 | 16 |
| Core Clock | 576MHz | 648MHz | 602MHz | 576MHz | 576MHz | 738MHz |
| Shader Clock | 1242MHz | 1476MHz | 1296MHz | 1242MHz | 1242MHz | 1836MHz |
| Memory Clock | 999MHz | 1242MHz | 1107MHz | 999MHz | 999MHz | 1100MHz |
| Memory Bus Width | 2 x 448-bit | 512-bit | 512-bit | 448-bit | 448-bit | 256-bit |
| Frame Buffer | 2 x 896MB | 1GB | 1GB | 896MB | 896MB | 512MB |
| Transistor Count | 2 x 1.4B | 1.4B | 1.4B | 1.4B | 1.4B | 754M |
| Manufacturing Process | TSMC 55nm | TSMC 55nm | TSMC 65nm | TSMC 65nm | TSMC 65nm | TSMC 55nm |
| Price Point | $500 | $400 | $350 - $400 | $250 - $300 | $250 - $300 | $150 - 200 |
The price point for the GTX 285 is $400, but newegg has parts for $380 right now and overclocked variants for not too much more.
The Test
| Test Setup | |
| CPU | Intel Core i7-965 3.2GHz |
| Motherboard | ASUS Rampage II Extreme X58 |
| Video Cards | ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 EVGA NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 SLI NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 SLI NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 SLI EVGA NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 |
| Video Drivers | Catalyst 8.12 hotfix ForceWare 181.20 |
| Hard Drive | Intel X25-M 80GB SSD |
| RAM | 6 x 1GB DDR3-1066 7-7-7-20 |
| Operating System | Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit SP1 |
| PSU | PC Power & Cooling Turbo Cool 1200W |
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crimson117 - Thursday, January 15, 2009 - link
If we tell him, will he help us stop Fatass?Stonedofmoo - Thursday, January 15, 2009 - link
...Could Anantech post a review of the 55nm GTX 260's? In other reviews I have seen it appears the 65nm & 55nm GTX 260's use the same amount of idle power which is odd and at odds with the pattern we have seen with the 285&295 cards at 55nm.Stonedofmoo - Thursday, January 15, 2009 - link
Thank you for posting a more comprehensive review this time compared to the GTX 295 review posted earlier this week.The power and heat statistics are very useful and helps provide the information we need to make a decision.
Keep up the good work!
SiliconDoc - Monday, January 19, 2009 - link
I note Derek doesn't mention if PhysX is enabled or disabled in the NV CP, nor in Crysis for instance.I do wonder - since it could take a few frames from the NV cards. I wonder why that whole deal is SILENCE.
I noted one comment "still shoving PhysX down our throats".
I know I used to see HERE, "PhysX is disabled" before they got to the fps testing.
At other sites, they claim "enthusiast settings" in Crysis for instance, even on a few charts here - meaning as the charts here say and as it is misspelled here "Physics" is ON.
So, I wonder how that whole deal is in this bench set.
I suppose it's left on for NV, then when the red card turn comes, a simple click and no problem - no PhysX - and no couple or a dozen framerate hit either.
Sorry, I certainly can't say good job.
hk6900 - Saturday, February 21, 2009 - link
Remove yourself from the gene pool, retardTheDoc9 - Thursday, January 15, 2009 - link
This review was much better than the original gtx 295 review. Every question I had about these cards was answered and I was able to decide which will be my next purchase.