GTX 295 - Amazingly Great

[Marthaz]

GEFORCE GTX-295:

hi there..........


i just bought a new GTX 295 model gaphic card and wanted to share my experience with you:

Check this pic :

It's the GeForce GTX 295. The GeForce GTX 295 is an all new dual-GPU graphics card from NVIDIA based on the 55nm GeForce GTX 200 derivatives.

With that knowledge in mind, a deep preview of what's to come.

NVIDIA is answering the challenge of the 4870 X2 by delivering the GeForce GTX 295. It’s not a “GX2,” but really it is. The GTX 295 design is much more elegant that what we were exposed to in the past with the GX2. So while some might argue, it looks as though leaving the plagued GX2 moniker behind is not only a good idea but a just idea as well.

The GeForce GTX 295 contains two new 55nm GTX 200 series GPUs. The move to 55nm means less power, less heat, and potentially higher clocks; though that latter benefit is not utilized with this video card most likely due to the close quarters of our two pieces of silicon. The interesting part here is the number of processing cores and memory configuration on each GPU.

The memory is composed of 896MB of GDDR3 per GPU, same as the GTX 260 and the memory bus is 448-bit, same as the GTX 260. A GeForce GTX 280 has 1GB of GDDR3 and a 512-bit bus.

With that in mind though, i do have the power of two of these GPUs in a single two slot package, to provide greater performance. As stated, the 55nm GPUs help reduce power usage compared to its 65nm predecessors. This means this video card has a total board power of 289 watts. It will require one 6-pin PCIe and one 8-pin PCIe power connector. The recommended power supply for a single GTX 295 is 680 watts. You can also put two of these in a computer for a Quad-SLI configuration leveraging four GPUs.

This evaluation is going to serve as a preview of the GTX 295. This is simply a preview to show you guys what you can expect performance-wise.

[Marthaz]

People like excess. It doesn’t matter if the economy is in a tailspin or our savings are collapsing; there will always be a guy running around town in a red Ferrari with a blond in the passenger seat and another waiting on his yacht in the Mediterranean. Wanting the best of the best is only natural which is why companies are more than willing to release high-end products which the working class can drool over and only the privileged few can actually afford. These are items for niche markets ranging from high performance cars for the ultra-rich to computer graphics cards that can net you the jealousy of everyone at the next LAN party. Well folks, you are about to get the next lesson in excess brought to you courtesy of Nvidia.

Following in the footsteps of such cards as the Rage Fury Maxx, 9800 GX2, HD 3870 X2 and HD 4870 X2 comes the dual GPU behemoth called the GTX 295. Let’s be honest for a second here; the fastest graphics card on the block. Some of you may be snickering over there on the sidelines since you remember the ridicule Nvidia threw ATI’s way when it took the performance crown with a dual GPU card and are now releasing one of their own. In the end, if it performs up to expectations, who are we to question the dual chippery found on the GTX 295 Nvidia believes they have a winning combination on their hands with their current and near-future lineup being supplemented by this new card and that should be enough to justify just about anything.

The GTX 295 proved to be a boon to Nvidia since it is a proof-of concept for their new 55nm G200b cores and it could also wrest the performance crown off ATI’s head.

There is a single SLI connector on the card which can be used to link a pair of GTX 295 cards together for some quad-SLI action. This connector is located right next to some additional exhaust vents on the side of the card. Unfortunately, in testing it seems that these vents seem to allow the majority of heat buildup from within the heatsink to be dumped directly into your case. This in turn can lead to increased interior case temperatures if you do not have sufficient airflow within your enclosure

[Marthaz]

Nvidia had to answer ATI’s challenge and answer they did. Many of you will probably look at the GTX 295 as nothing more than chest-thumping by Nvidia given the limited market for GPUs coupled with the current economic climate. Well, damn right it is chest thumping and from the results we have seen, Nvidia has every right to be proud of their latest creation. I may not be singing its praises from the rooftops just yet but the potential for a performance monster is definitely there. Like it or not, consumers will soon have another option at the ultra high-end of the performance spectrum.

Indeed, since I showed you the very tip of the iceberg regarding the GTX 295’s performance, I won’t draw any hasty conclusions. What I can say is that with this card it seems like Nvidia is back on track to take the performance crown from ATI with a card that costs nearly the same as the vaunted HD 4870 X2. I can give the GTX 295 the title of Fastest GPU on the Planet. However, even with these early drivers, performance is right up at the top in the majority of applications with excellent scaling when compared to single Nvidia GPUs. That in itself is an achievement since as we have seen with other dual GPU cards, getting acceptable performance increases when going from one GPU to two is challenge. That being said, in order to really benefit from the raw power the GTX 295 brings to the table, you need to be playing at ultra high resolutions which is where this card can really shine.

The same thing can be said about the GTX 295’s SLI profiles since when they work, they work well but when they perform of Nvidia’s flagship card they ae great, particularly in the minimum frames per second department. Basically, good drivers make the dual GPU world go round. It is as simple as that.

All in all, this card has left a pretty positive first impression with me but it is evident that Nvidia has a ways to go when it comes to ironing out some of the kinks. Even though CPU bottlenecking becomes no real concern at lower resolutions, cards like this shine at 2560 x 1600 and allow you to really crank the image quality settings. The bottom line is GTX 295 will find its potential customers waiting with open arms.