NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295: Leading the Pack
by Derek Wilson on January 12, 2009 5:15 PM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
Final Words
We'll start with NVIDIA vs. NVIDIA and move on from there. The GeForce GTX 295 performed pretty much where we expected: between the GTX 260 SLI and the GTX 280 SLI setups. In some games, the GTX 295 performed very nearly at GTX 260 performance, indicating a bottleneck somewhere in memory bandwidth or with the ROPs. Because the clock speeds and hardware widths are the same, on GTX 295 and 260 SLI games limited by memory performance or ROP performance will run fairly similarly. In cases where shader performance was more important we saw more separation, but the clock speed, memory bandwidth and ROP advantage of the GTX 280 SLI system consistently outpaced the GTX 295 by a good margin.
When it comes to how the GTX 295 stacks up against NVIDIA's current line up, it's closer to a single card GTX 260 SLI than anything else. Putting two GTX 260 core 216 cards in SLI will get a little closer, but since the 295 will still have an advantage in shader power we can't expect the gap to disappear. Those who already have a GTX 260 or two will not really be interested in the GTX 295 as an upgrade option, as GTX 260 SLI is very much close enough to GTX 295 performance.
Comparing NVIDIA to AMD, it's clear that NVIDIA has recaptured the halo product at least in the majority of tests we ran in this snapshot of performance. We are noticing a trend that has some games heavily favoring one architecture or another, which makes general recommendations harder than usual. But the advantage this time around is certainly with NVIDIA. The Radeon HD 4870 1GB still hangs on competitively, but SLI wins out over CrossFire.
Though we are using the 8.12 hotfix that improves game performance and (as far as we've noticed) stability on Intel Core i7 systems, we can't be sure when this hotfix will make it into a WHQL driver. We've spent a good deal of time being hard on AMD for their driver support lately. As we've said since the launch of the R700, the success or failure of AMD's new direction for their highest end parts depends entirely on the ability of their driver team to make sure the experience and performance are top notch on single-card dual-GPU platforms. This includes having support in at least beta driver as the launch of new games and having high quality support for all new hardware platforms released. It is also imperative that all fixes in any beta or hotfix driver make it into the very next WHQL driver.
NVIDIA has the advantage on the highest end single card product, but we don't see this as a boon for anyone but people running 30" displays at this point. There really is just no reason to drop the cash on a GTX 295 unless you're looking at 2560x1600 gaming. For smaller displays, cheaper parts will work great. It's still hard to recommend buying for longevity because of the way performance can fall heavily in favor of AMD or heavily in favor of NVIDIA depending on the game. We just can't know until we get there which solution will be better on future titles.
While NVIDIA has the halo, AMD's top of the line card is slightly cheaper than the GTX 295 and still outperforms it in some cases. Currently the Radeon HD 4870 X2 is a $450 card while the GeForce GTX 295 is a $500 part. This 11% price advantage (10% savings depending on how you look at it) might be incentive for some people. We don't consider it enough to recommend the Radeon HD 4870 X2 over the GTX 295 though. There are some opportunities with mail in rebates that could net you a 4870 X2 for closer to $400, but mail in rebates are always hit or miss, aren't permanent and not everyone likes them. If the 4870 X2 were being sold without a rebate for $400, the choice would be more difficult, but as it stands, the GTX 295 gets the nod even considering price from us. If you need a top of the line single card option that is.
The highest performing soluiton we tested is still the GeForce GTX 280 SLI setup. And when the GTX 285 makes its way out, GTX 285 SLI will very likely take that crown. We do have yet to test quad performance as we only have one card. We suspect scaling similar to past experience with quad (meaning between 2x and 3x performance rather than a linear increaes), but we will certainly bring you an update as soon as we are able.
Now what we really need are some midrange GT200 based parts.
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SiliconDoc - Monday, January 12, 2009 - link
Pssst ! The GTX295 wins hands down in both those departments...that's why it's strangely "left out of the equation".(most all the other sites already reported on that - heck it was in NVidia's literature - and no they didn't lie - oh well - better luck next time).
Amiga500 - Wednesday, January 14, 2009 - link
Well... to be honest...If leaving out power consumption pisses people like you off - good one anandtech!
(I guess your nice and content your nvidia e-penis can now roam unopposed?)
SiliconDoc - Thursday, January 15, 2009 - link
First of all, it's "you're" when you are referring to my E-PENIS. (Yes, please also capitalize ALL the letters to be properly indicative of size.)Second, what were you whining about ?
Third, if you'd like to refute my points, please make an attempt, instead of calling names.
Fourth, now you've fallen to the lowest common denominator, pretending to hate a fellow internet poster, and supporting shoddy, slacker work, with your own false fantasy about my temperament concerning power and the article.
What you failed to realize is me pointing out the NVidia advantage in that area, has actually pissed you off, because the fanboy issue is at your end, since you can't stand the simple truth.
That makes your epeenie very tiny.
kk650 - Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - link
Remove yourself from the gene pool, fuckwit americuntdarckhart - Monday, January 12, 2009 - link
from all the games where the gtx295 beats the 4870x2, it's only a 3-5 fps win. i don't see how that "gets the nod even considering price." at best, that's $10 per frame. i think we need to see thermals and power draw (i don't recall if you talked about these in the earlier article) to better justify that extra $50.JarredWalton - Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - link
I bought a 4870X2 a couple months back... if I had had the option of the GTX 295, it would have been my pick for sure. I wanted single-slot, dual-GPU (because I've got a decent platform but am tired to dual video cards). I cannot overstate the importance of drivers, and frankly ATI's drivers still disappoint on a regular basis. Until and unless ATI can get driver profiles into their drivers for CrossFire, I don't think I can ever feel happy with the solution. Also, 4870X2 drivers need to bring back the "CrossFire disable" option in the drivers; we all know there are two GPUs, and there are still occasional games where CrossFire degrades performance over a single GPU.TheDoc9 - Monday, January 12, 2009 - link
Definitely a half-ass review, something I don't expect from Anandtech. Something more to come later?Many questions on these cards can still be asked;
-Testing at other resolutions, not just a recommendation to stay away unless playing at 2500 res. and a 30" monitor.
-Testing on other rigs, such as a mid range quad core and dual core to give us an idea of how it might perform on our rig (who don't own a mega clocked i7)
I don't like to sound negative, but honestly there was no enthusiasm written in this preview/review/snapshot/whatever it's supposed to be. Kind of disappointing how every other major site has had complete reviews since launch day. Was this written on the plane trip home?
bigonexeon - Friday, January 16, 2009 - link
i dont see the point of using an intel i7 as intel released a article that the i7 cache 3 has a memory leak thats only attempt at fixing it is a software patch which there not going too fix until the second generation of the i7s also why compare standard cards too a newer card why not put the older cards newer designs against the newer cards etc the superclocks,xxx which is the latest edition of the old model usedtheprodigalrebel - Monday, January 12, 2009 - link
Might want to take a second look at the line graph and the table below it.Iketh - Monday, January 12, 2009 - link
This article was just right. I had no enthusiasm to read about this card because there isnt anything to get excited about. Apparently Derek didn't either. Im sure there will that enthusiasm again when a next gen card appears and there is something new to talk about.It's also having to follow the Phenom II article.