Our today's guest is the GeForce GTX 285, yet another board with a 55nm chip. The recently announced GeForce GTX 295 card also features a 55nm GPU, as is the case with many other NVIDIA cards such as the most recent GeForce GTX 260 with 216 shaders. NVIDIA opted for a silent approach, where the cards would get a new chip and retain the name without making a big fuss about it, but the GeForce GTX 285 couldn't retain the name as it was clocked higher than the old GeForce GTX 280. The GeForce GTX 280 has so far been the fastest single GPU graphics card running at 602MHz for the core and it packed a 65nm GT200 chip. Gainward's new GeForce GTX 285 runs at default 648MHz core speed. - FudZilla

Gainward GeForce GTX 285 Graphics Version Review

Although these appear to be somewhat identical, there are a couple of things that will help you tell the GeForce GTX 285 and GeForce GTX 280 cards apart. One of the best things that 55nm process brings is improved consumption, so the newer GeForce GTX 285 requires only two 6-pin PCI Express connectors, whereas the 65nm based GeForce GTX 280 required one 6-pin and one 8-pin connector. NVIDIA claims that GeForce GTX 285 draws 183W at max, whereas the GeForce GTX 280 maxes out at 236W. The coolers on both cards are almost identical whereas the backs of the graphics cards are just different.

Compared to the reference GeForce GTX 280, the new GeForce GTX 285 does run faster at default clocks but once you overclock the GeForce GTX 280 the advantage suddenly disappears. The good thing about the GeForce GTX 285 is that you will be able to overclock to above 700MHz but we still don't know whether this is just the last stop. The card's price is a tricky issue, as it currently costs almost as much as a Radeon HD 4870 X2 or very close to it, and it is clear that ATI's X2 card wins in most benchmarks. If you want the fastest card around you might want to get a GeForce GTX 295 which is currently sitting at the top.

But if you currently own a GeForce GTX 280 there is no need to upgrade, unless you really want to save a few cents a month on your power bill and you like to have latest and greatest. The card runs cooler and this is its main advantage over the previous 65nm model, but once again the 55nm GT200 fails to pull off a miracle. The GeForce GTX 285 is clearly better than the previous GeForce GTX 280, but not as much as many have hoped. After all, it is the same chip with a smaller die and transistors. The card beats ATI's Radeon HD 4870 , and if you want the fastest single GPU currently available, then this might be for you.