After a long wait, the re-birth of the fastest single GPU based graphics card on the planet is here, the GeForce GTX 285 card. Successor to the phenomenally successful GeForce GTX 280, the GeForce GTX 285 has received a die shrink to 55nm as well as a slightly redesigned card as we shall see later. Thanks to the shift over to the 55nm process NVIDIA have used smaller transistors and as a result clock speeds have been increased along with a reduction in power usage. This has allowed NVIDIA to use dual 6-pin PCI Express cables rather than the 6-pin plus 8-pin configuration which should appeal to the wider market, especially those who don't have an 8-pin power connection at their disposal. - Overclock3D

ASUS Extreme GTX 285 1GB Graphics Series Review

Power requirements aside, the main attraction of the GeForce GTX 285 is the increased clock speeds as standard. The GeForce GTX 280 had a 602/2200MHz settings and this has been tweaked slightly to 648/2484MHz. While this might not appear to be a huge increase, especially when compared to the ATI clock speeds, there will still hopefully be plenty of overclocking headroom left in the board as with the GeForce GTX 280. Now overclocked editions are already in the works, and no doubt ASUS have the TOP edition ready to roll. But today we will be looking at the standard, stock clocked Extreme GTX 285 from ASUS.

The power consumption has been decreased by 53W, so those worried about electricity bills should feel a little more relaxed, especially those intending to use a 3-way SLI setup. This power decrease should also reduce the heat given off by those increased frequencies but all this is conjecture at the present. ASUS have never been a manufacturer to disappoint when it comes to packaging so we had high expectations for the GForce GTX 295. The outer packaging is nothing too fancy, in fact it is relatively basic when compared to some other manufacturers. The front of the outer box has a mystical knight on horseback kicking out.

The card itself is near identical to the GeForce GTX 280, being the same length and using the same reference cooler. The rear of the card is where we see a few changes. No backplate for a start, as all of the 1GB memory chips are now placed uppermost on the PCB and there is no longer a need to have memory cooling on the rear. While we appreciate this might aid in cooling the card we can't help feeling that it just looked odd and also does not afford the protection of its forbear. Being the same cooler as the GeForce GTX 280, the card is quiet. The noise is comparable to a light hum at idle and even under load it is okay.

NVIDIA have frequently been criticised for rehashing the same product with few differences in the past but this is plainly not the case with the GeForce GTX 285. The die shrink from 65nm to 55nm has brought an increase in clock speeds that our benchmarks have shown, increase performance significantly. Sadly, our tests also show that despite the fabrication change, power consumption is almost the same as the GeForce GTX 280, as is the heat output. In fact, rather than seeing a decrease in these areas we found the opposite. The card can be forgiven for giving out a little extra heat as the fan didn't spin up too much during our testing.

If you want trouble free, high performance gaming then there is no doubt that the GeForce GTX 285 will serve you very well thanks to its uncomplicated setup. Its performance at high resolutions is exemplary and it worked without a hitch with everything we threw at it. Couple this with amazing overclocking ability and you have one stonking graphics card. However the current GeForce GTX 280 owners shouldn't rush to upgrade to the GeForce GTX 285 cards either, as both cards overclock to similar levels making the performance of the two quite comparable. So it really comes down to the same old story about when and how to upgrade.

If full-on performance is all that matters, the dual core GPU's clearly have the upper hand. Their single GPU champ has been in training, had a fabrication workout and gone a diet along with a new wardrobe. This has seen the GeForce GTX 285 perform well but perhaps not the significant increase in performance we were hoping for. However, if you are looking for an upgrade from a midrange card up to hassle free high-end gaming, we would certainly recommend the ASUS Extreme GTX 285 which for now, until the overclock versions are upon us, is the highest performing single core graphics card on the planet.