Final thoughts and rating
NVIDIA claims the GeForce GTX 285 to be the "fastest single GPU solution available," and quite frankly, it is.
The card, essentially an overclocked GeForce GTX 280 built on 55nm technology, fulfils its promise of higher performance and lower temperatures. It does so, however, at a significant premium. Priced at around £315, the GeForce GTX 285 finds itself in an awkward position - it's particularly hard to recommend when similar-performance is available from a pre-overclocked GeForce GTX 280 for as little as £275.
Indeed, for the value-conscious shopper, now could be the time to pick up a lower-cost 65nm GeForce GTX 280, before the card heads for extinction. Making matters worse, the dual-GPU Radeon HD 4850 X2 is available for even less - currently retailing at £260.
Once pricing falls below the £300 mark - and we'd expect it do so as the 65nm GeForce GTX 280 is phased out - the GeForce GTX 285 will become a plausible upgrade for many. At present, it's likely to attract only the hardened enthusiast - and that bunch is likely to be willing to spend an extra £75 for the full-blown performance king, the GeForce GTX 295.
Meanwhile, those sat in the AMD camp will be urging the importance of forthcoming drivers, namely Catalyst v9.1. Said to dramatically improve the performance of Radeon GPUs, the driver release could swing performance back in AMD's favour. However, as the drivers aren't openly available to the public, we've opted not to include them in this review. We will, of course, be taking an in-depth look at AMD's new Catalyst suite in the near future - stay tuned for that.
In summary, NVIDIA is able to stretch the legs of its 55nm GTX 200-series GPU, but whether or not the increase in performance warrants the additional premium remains questionable. It's the fastest single-GPU solution available, and the most expensive, too.
The good
The fastest single-GPU graphics card in the world
Architectural efficiency results in lower temperatures and overclocking headroom
The not so good
Premium price, knock-on price drops make 65nm predecessors more appealing
Bundle isn't appetising and doesn't include any games
HEXUS Rating
HEXUS.net scores products out of 100%, taking into account technology, implementation, stability, performance, value, customer care and desirability. A score for an average-rated product is a meaningful ‘50%’, and not ‘90%’, which is common practice for a great many other publications.
We consider any product score above '50%' as a safe buy. The higher the score, the higher the recommendation from HEXUS to buy. Simple, straightforward buying advice.
NVIDIA (GIGABYTE) GeForce GTX 285
HEXUS Where2Buy
The GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 285 1,024MB can be purchased from Scan.co.uk at a cost of £321.17.
As always, UK-based HEXUS.community discussion forum members will benefit from the SCAN2HEXUS Free Shipping initiative, which will save you a further few pounds plus also top-notch, priority customer service and technical support backed up by the SCANcare@HEXUS forum.
HEXUS Right2Reply
At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.
