Today when we speak about high-end video cards the dual GPU solutions such as these Radeon HD 4870 X2 and GeForce GTX 295 are really at the forefront of each line-up, however, single GPU offerings can bring about advantages in other areas such as heat output and often provide a more elegant solution. Today we are looking at two boards, the XFX Radeon HD 4890 Black edition and Zotac's GeForce GTX 285 Infinity. Both are each respective manufacturers fastest single core offerings and bring several improved features to the table. The Black edition contains a 1GHz core while the Infinity is supplied with increased clock speeds and a preinstalled waterblock for unmatched thermal performance. - DriverHeaven

Zotac GeForce GTX 285 1GB Infinity Graphics Review

The Zotac GeForce GTX 285 Infinity is shipped in an orange and black themed box with an illustration of a dragon breathing blue flames over the plastic window. Specifications listed on the front include memory capacity and bus width while the back of their packaging contains information including details pertaining to CUDA and PhysX features. The most obvious difference between this card and the reference models is the inclusion of the waterblock in place of the reference cooler. And the waterblock is one of the highest quality options out there on the market so we should expect to see some impressive thermal results from it.

One feature that Zotac could have removed is the dual slot bracket at the front. BFG's water cooled version for instance has a single slot fitting as the vented bracket is no longer necessary, this frees another slot for expansion cards. The XFX Radeon HD 4890 Black edition is packaged in a rather compact box and the actual Black edition text is quite hard to read, the box must be at a certain angle for it to be fully visible. Surprisingly there is no mention of the 1GHz core despite it being the key selling point of the board, even on the back where a number of other specifications are listed, it doesn't come up as such.

Now unlike the Sapphire Radeon HD 4890 Atomic we tested recently, XFX have employed the reference cooler on top of their custom black PCB. The use of the reference cooler on a special edition card is slightly confusing, especially one which will obviously have an much higher heat output than the reference model. The Black edition offers a huge performance advantage over the reference model due to the 1GHz core speed, the margin is considerable and is illustrated in all of our benchmarks with clear increases in frame rates. So despite the promising performance the card is unfortunately let down by the cooling solution.

Anyone purchasing a Radeon HD 4890 with a 1GHz core clearly wants the best but in its current state this card falls short of the mark. As we mentioned earlier at times we even found it difficult to game on the card without headphones due to the uncomfortable noise level and we are sure that any consumers looking to purchase one of these video cards would have been more than happy to pay a premium for a quiet card. The Zotac GeForce GTX 285 Infinity is one of the most powerful single GPU graphics cards on the market and eclipses the overclocked versions offered by other manufacturers by upping the ante with a 722MHz clock.

And as a result of these increased clocks the Zotac GeForce GTX 285 is a very impressive product. In all of our tests the Infinity just repeatedly outperformed the reference model and outclassed ATI's fastest single GPU solution in the majority of cases. Their Zotac GeForce GTX 285 offers fantastic performance throughout our testing suite and the Danger Den water block offers absolutely phenomenal thermal performance. It is a great product for a water cooled system and a pair of these would make a perfect SLI solution. The board offers significant value over assembling your own and is even supplied with the full manufacturer warranty.