NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295: Leading the Pack
by Derek Wilson on January 12, 2009 5:15 PM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
Final Words
We'll start with NVIDIA vs. NVIDIA and move on from there. The GeForce GTX 295 performed pretty much where we expected: between the GTX 260 SLI and the GTX 280 SLI setups. In some games, the GTX 295 performed very nearly at GTX 260 performance, indicating a bottleneck somewhere in memory bandwidth or with the ROPs. Because the clock speeds and hardware widths are the same, on GTX 295 and 260 SLI games limited by memory performance or ROP performance will run fairly similarly. In cases where shader performance was more important we saw more separation, but the clock speed, memory bandwidth and ROP advantage of the GTX 280 SLI system consistently outpaced the GTX 295 by a good margin.
When it comes to how the GTX 295 stacks up against NVIDIA's current line up, it's closer to a single card GTX 260 SLI than anything else. Putting two GTX 260 core 216 cards in SLI will get a little closer, but since the 295 will still have an advantage in shader power we can't expect the gap to disappear. Those who already have a GTX 260 or two will not really be interested in the GTX 295 as an upgrade option, as GTX 260 SLI is very much close enough to GTX 295 performance.
Comparing NVIDIA to AMD, it's clear that NVIDIA has recaptured the halo product at least in the majority of tests we ran in this snapshot of performance. We are noticing a trend that has some games heavily favoring one architecture or another, which makes general recommendations harder than usual. But the advantage this time around is certainly with NVIDIA. The Radeon HD 4870 1GB still hangs on competitively, but SLI wins out over CrossFire.
Though we are using the 8.12 hotfix that improves game performance and (as far as we've noticed) stability on Intel Core i7 systems, we can't be sure when this hotfix will make it into a WHQL driver. We've spent a good deal of time being hard on AMD for their driver support lately. As we've said since the launch of the R700, the success or failure of AMD's new direction for their highest end parts depends entirely on the ability of their driver team to make sure the experience and performance are top notch on single-card dual-GPU platforms. This includes having support in at least beta driver as the launch of new games and having high quality support for all new hardware platforms released. It is also imperative that all fixes in any beta or hotfix driver make it into the very next WHQL driver.
NVIDIA has the advantage on the highest end single card product, but we don't see this as a boon for anyone but people running 30" displays at this point. There really is just no reason to drop the cash on a GTX 295 unless you're looking at 2560x1600 gaming. For smaller displays, cheaper parts will work great. It's still hard to recommend buying for longevity because of the way performance can fall heavily in favor of AMD or heavily in favor of NVIDIA depending on the game. We just can't know until we get there which solution will be better on future titles.
While NVIDIA has the halo, AMD's top of the line card is slightly cheaper than the GTX 295 and still outperforms it in some cases. Currently the Radeon HD 4870 X2 is a $450 card while the GeForce GTX 295 is a $500 part. This 11% price advantage (10% savings depending on how you look at it) might be incentive for some people. We don't consider it enough to recommend the Radeon HD 4870 X2 over the GTX 295 though. There are some opportunities with mail in rebates that could net you a 4870 X2 for closer to $400, but mail in rebates are always hit or miss, aren't permanent and not everyone likes them. If the 4870 X2 were being sold without a rebate for $400, the choice would be more difficult, but as it stands, the GTX 295 gets the nod even considering price from us. If you need a top of the line single card option that is.
The highest performing soluiton we tested is still the GeForce GTX 280 SLI setup. And when the GTX 285 makes its way out, GTX 285 SLI will very likely take that crown. We do have yet to test quad performance as we only have one card. We suspect scaling similar to past experience with quad (meaning between 2x and 3x performance rather than a linear increaes), but we will certainly bring you an update as soon as we are able.
Now what we really need are some midrange GT200 based parts.
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Gasaraki88 - Monday, January 12, 2009 - link
It's stupid to get this card if you don't have a 30" monitor and a high end cpu. They are testing the video card here not CPUs. Testing on slower CPU will just show every card pegged at the same frame rate.This review was fine, thanks. =)
SiliconDoc - Thursday, January 15, 2009 - link
Gee, suddenly the endlessly bragged about "folding" means absolutely zero (ATI cards suck at it BTW) ... and you've discounted CUDA, and forgotten about PhysX ,,, and spit in the face of hundreds of thousands of single PCI-e 16x motherboard owners.Now go to the 4870x2 reviews and type that same crap you typed above - because I KNOW none of you were saying it THEN on the 4870x2 reviews...
In fact, I WAS THE ONLY ONE who said it at those reviews... the main reason BEING THE 4870X2 WAS RECIEVING ENDLESS PRAISE FOR WINNING IN THAT ONE 2560X resolution....
Yes, they couldn't stop lauding it up over how it excelled at 2560x - oh the endless praise and the fanboys drooling and claiming top prize...
Now all of sudden, when the red card get SPANKED hard....
____________________________________________________________
Yes, when I posted it at the red reviews - I didn't have folding or PhysX to fall back on... to NEGATE that... not to mention EXCELLENT dual gpu useage and gaming profiles OUT OF THE BOX.
The facts are, the 4870x2 had better be at least 100 bucks cheaper, or more - who wants all the hassles ?
TheDoc9 - Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - link
It wasn't fine for me, and I don't believe that this card should only be purchased by those with a 30" monitor and bleeding edge cpu. That someone with a fast core proc might be able to find some use with this product vs. the next slowest alternative. Prove to me I'm wrong.Nfarce - Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - link
Ok. I can look at many data results on this website with the GTX280 paired with an i7 and a stock clocked E8500 and do some interpolation of said data into the results here.See Exhibit A from the Jan. 8 article on AMD's Phenom II X4 940 & 920 using a single GTX280:
Crysis Warhead @ 1680x1050 (mainstream quality, enthusiast on) results:
Stock E7200 @ 2.53 GHz-> 66.2 fps
Stock E8600 @ 3.30 GHz-> 84.0 fps
Stock i965 @ 3.20 GHz-> 86.8 fps
Now back to this report with the same game resolution (but using gamer quality with enthusiast on) with a single GTX280:
Stock E7200 @ 2.53 GHz -> ???
Stock E8600 @ 3.30 GHz -> ???
Stock i965 @ 3.20 GHz -> 36.6 fps
Now using the GTX295:
Stock E7200 @ 2.53 GHz -> ???
Stock E8600 @ 3.30 GHz -> ???
Stock i965 @ 3.20 GHz -> 53.1fps
With the above data, it shouldn't take an M.I.T. PhD to reasonably get a figure of potentials with slower CPUs and lower resolutions.
TheDoc9 - Wednesday, January 14, 2009 - link
That actually is informative.A5 - Monday, January 12, 2009 - link
If you're not playing at 25x16, this card isn't going to make anything playable that isn't already on an existing, cheaper solution.In that same vein, the people who will drop $500 on a video card will most likely have a high-end CPU - there isn't a reason to test it on systems that aren't the top of the heap. They're testing the card, not the whole system - the conclusion to be made is that on any given set of hardware, Card X will outperform Card Y.
SiliconDoc - Monday, January 12, 2009 - link
Just like the bloated pig 4870x2 has been for so many months - a costly, outlandish, not neccessary, wild good for nothing at a bad pricepoint, unless you're playing at 2560x - and let's add, at that level it's sometimes not even playable framerates anyway.Glad to see people have finally come to realize what a piece of crap the 4870x2 solution is - thanks NVidia for finally straightening so many out.
This is great.
Hxx - Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - link
you obviously have no clue about video cards or you cannot afford one, which explains your attitude. First off the 4870 x2 is an awesome card much faster than any other card available except the 295. Second, it is reasonably priced at 400 after mir which is not bad for a high end product. This card can run every game out there just as good as the gtx 295. There is no difference between the two because once the game runs at 35 fps or above you will not notice a difference. In other words, the 16 fps difference in cod5 between the cards has no value because the game plays fine at 40fps. The gtx 295 priced at $500 is a waste of money. And btw I am not an ATI fanboy , I own a gtx 280.strikeback03 - Wednesday, January 14, 2009 - link
The 4870x2 launched at $550, so unless you need a new card RIGHT NOW you can wait until the initial rush on the GTX295 is over and the price settles down some.SiliconDoc - Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - link
So tell me about the forced dual mode in ATI ? Oh that's right mr know it all, they don't have that.SLI does.
Yes, I obviously know notihng, but you made a fool of yourself.
BTW - please give me the link for the $400.00 4870x2 - because I will go buy one - then post all the driver and crash issues.
Waiting....