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ZOTAC GeForce GTX 285 1GB AMP
Introduction
In the midst of all the rebranding and fine-tuning, NVIDIA managed to make again, the most powerful single-GPU video card. Well, they also made the most powerful dual-GPU video card but that’s not what I’m reviewing, is it. I’m reviewing the GTX 285, the die-shrunk, power-boosted bastard of the GTX 280. It’s really, really powerful. There has to be some kind of flaw, right? In some ways, it’s overpriced, but is that even fair? It’s maybe a bit expensive, but only compared to other video cards--for less than $400, I’m sure everyone at NVIDIA thinks they’re just giving these away. Which is sad for them, great for everyone else. This is an exemplary performer on its own, and costs $200 less than the GTX 280 back when it came out. Did I mention how frustratingly powerful it is? ZOTAC, always at the ready with their factory-overclocked parts, sent me a pure example of their top-shelf video card.     The Card & Bundle Unless you’re crazy for PCB layout there’s no way to know that this GTX 285 was really different than, say, a 9800 GTX, I mean, a GTS 250, sorry. Gone is the heatspreader off the back, so this hardware is distinctly different compared to its progenitor, the GTX 280.     Also, the card only uses two six-pin Molex auxiliary power connections, not the six+eight-pin power configuration. While this may seem like an indication of lower power consumption, combined, those still deliver 150W over the minimum 75W of a PCI-Express slot, so it’s very possible that this is still very hungry hardware. The bundled software includes a copy of the well-received racing game, GRID, as well as a copy of 3DMark Vantage, and the driver CD. Accessories are two power adapters, an HDMI adapter, an audio cable for said HDMI, and a VGA adapter. Plus, there’s a paper manual and paper warranty.
Page 1: Introduction, The Card & Bundle
Page 2: Specifications and Setup Page 3: DirectX 10 Titles Page 4: DX9, OpenGL, and Synthetics Page 5: Video, Power, and Overclocking Page 6: Conclusion 
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Add Comment
2 User Comments 1 - Posted by
Bogeyman
on April 5, 2009 - 9:18 pm Another good review, Max! I can't wait till you guys test out the GTX 275. If the initial benchies are any indication, the 285 might be Invidia's red-headed stepchild (just a joke here). With the 260's going for bargain prices and the 275 pretty much being equal to the 285 in some games, the folks who have gone out and purchased one of these will want to kick their pooches. Anyways, can't wait to see you guys bench the 275 against this card. I guess invidia could have sweetened up the initial releases of the 275 to make it look better. But then again, they wouldn't do such a thing, would they? 2 - Posted by
Kurtis
on April 6, 2009 - 4:36 am We've got at least one GTX 275 en route for testing/review, so keep an eye peeled for that. :)
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