Factory Overclocked GTX 285 x2 SLI Review

[T_altantic]

Here is a quick review of GTX 285 x2 SLI:

First, lets take a look at the graphics cards.
MSI GTX285 1GB Overclocked Edition (GPU/Memory/Shader Clock): 680MHz/1250MHz/1476MHz
XFX GTX285 1GB Black Edition (GPU/Memory/Shader Clock): 690MHz/1300MHz/1476MHz





Test Setup:
Intel Core i7 920 (Overclocked @ 3.36 GHz)
Cooler Master V8 Cooler
Asus P6T Deluxe
Kingston HyperX 3 x 1GB DDR3 1600MHz
Nvidia Geforce GTX285 SLI, 1GB x2:
MSI Geforce GTX285 OC Edition 1GB (Factory Overclocked)
XFX Geforce GTX285 Black Edition 1GB (Factory Overclocked)
Cheetah® 15K.5 SAS 3Gb/s 146.8-GB Hard Drive (Primary)
Western Digital 640GB Caviar Black (Secondary)
Samsung DVD Writer Master 22x
Enermax Galaxy 1000W DXX
Silverstone FT01
Windows Vista Business 32 Bit
ViewSonic VX2433wm 23.6 LCD Monitor (1920x1080)

[T_altantic]

3Dmark Vantage:
Single MSI GTX 285 Overclocked:


Running both @ same speed, both Clocked @(GPU/Memory/Shader Clock): 680MHz/1250MHz/1476MHz


What if they run @ different clock speed? What happens to the performance?
MSI GTX285 1GB Overclocked Edition (GPU/Memory/Shader Clock): 680MHz/1250MHz/1476MHz
XFX GTX285 1GB Black Edition (GPU/Memory/Shader Clock): 690MHz/1300MHz/1476MHz


Overclock both @(GPU/Memory/Shader Clock): 725MHz/1420MHz/1560MHz

[T_altantic]

Enough of Graphics Benchmarking, time to Look @ real game benchmarking.
I will be comparing a Single GTX 285 vs GTX 285 x2 SLI.

Street Fighter IV
GTX 285

GTX 285 x2 SLI


Good Performance Increase

Devil May Cry 4
Settings

GTX 285

GTX 285 x2 SLI


Good Performance Increase

The Last Remnant
GTX 285

GTX 285 x2 SLI


Little Performance Increase

[T_altantic]

Crysis Warhead
GTX 285

GTX 285 x2 SLI


Excellent Performance Increase

Company of Heroes
Settings

GTX 285

GTX 285 x2 SLI


Poor Performance, worse than single card running

[T_altantic]

Enough of Benchmarking, Lets take a look of the next important thing:
PowerConsumption
Average Laptop, X60s



GTX 285

GTX 285 x2 SLI



Normal Usage: Its about 260W, 13x of your Laptop @ max!

Idle Temperature @ Low fan speed:


Running @100% Load hits as high as 90C when running @80% fan speed for 15mins

Conclusion:
Adding on another GTX 285 is indeed powerful enough even for the most demanding games, allowing you to play at max settings. Having GTX 285 in 2 way SLI really beats all the most powerful single consumer graphics card in the current market, whether is GTX295, Radeon 4870x2. However, is such power needed? Do take note that not all games will improve performance, some even decreases its performance. Take example, although company of heroes claims that it supports SLI, the results prove otherwise. The fps drops drastically to give you average performance. We also have to take note of the power consumption and noise. SLI doubles up your noise, much noiser than GTX295, since there are 2 fans running. SLI is also power hungry. Lastly, the price/performance ratio is also very low, compare to HD4850 x2, HD4770 x2 Crossfire or GTX260 x2 SLI. The bottomline: Unless you are PC enthusiast, or you want to Tri SLI to get the most powerful configuration, having a GTX 285 x2 SLI is not worth. Get another GTX 285 to SLI in the future when GTX285 becomes cheap or when you come across a 2nd hand GTX 285 at low price.

[T_altantic]

Pros:
Able to handle any PC games in the current market, allowing you to play @ max settings in Full HD
Good for breaking benchmark records
Able to handle any PC games for the next 2 years

Cons:
Very Expensive, Not worth the money to buy another first hand GTX285 in the current market
High Power Consumption, you need a good PSU

[ragnarok95]

I think GTX285 Sli will beg for mercey if you are using a 30in running its native resolution. ^^

[T_altantic]

Yup. 3 way SLI of GTX285 can't even handle crysis warhead @2560x1600, of course 2 way can't.

[T_altantic]

BUMP...........................

[ionicle88]

bro... tri SLI la... FTW liao lor~

[T_altantic]

Haha, I love to bro, but my mobo wouldn't allow me to. It is designed for 2 way sli only. The most I can is Quad SLI. LOL...

[ionicle88]

change to evga classified le lor~

[nightkids86]

u use 1mth of yr i7 rig == 1yr of X60 usage ..
hahaa

[ionicle88]

Originally Posted by nightkids86

u use 1mth of yr i7 rig == 1yr of X60 usage ..
hahaa

u mean the electricity arh...

ok la... mine is like taking average of 500W according to my power meter daily....

[xBlackHawkx]

Nice results. Where you got that EcoPlug and how much?