BFGTech GeForce GTX 295 @ [H]

TalonMan said:
Good review, I enjoyed the read... :)

1 point from a Nvidia fan...

When considering the “What are the real-world gameplay advantages?”, and the conclusion if it being a "Wash" for the most part, I would have throwen Nvidia a bone for spending millions on GPU PhysX. The new games are just about here, and GPU PhysX would fall under gameplay advantages. :)

There were no PhysX games tested, but still might be nice to have it mentioned.
It may help some on making a selection between a 295, and 4870X2.
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A phrase springs to mind, "Show me the money" ala, show me the games.
 
sparky1_2007 said:
i was really suprised that the gtx260 core 216 was almost dead even with the GTX295.
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I wasn't, the only difference is 24 more streaming processors. It is the same difference between the 192 core and 216 core GTX 260 and we repeatedly saw no difference between them in our testing.
 
Mark_Warner said:
Even though we just got a big batch of new games this past fall, it seems as though, once again, we are left wanting for games to actually challenge this high-end hardware.
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Just out of curiosity did you guys try playing GTA 4 PC with those cards? I know its a buggy ass unoptimised game but I would really like to know how that game performs with this new card. I'm sure your all aware but I think this game is the most demanding out there.
 
I Think that a CCC Crysis on the highest level would be more demanding than GTA4, but thats just me (sure would look nice.... drool...)

And about Physx, I think Mirrors Edge will prove to be the game to use for a while, the Physx in that game actually enhance the eye candy a great bit (look at the comparison)

I feel ya bout Physx tho, but its not something we can test yet unless we use a less popular game that is Physx ready. People wanna see the big names, and thats all they have time to review.

Great read by the way!

Edit

O ya, this line made me rofl!
The Radeon HD 4870 X2’s graphed line looks more like a heart rate monitor of a person dying.
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Outlawz_FC said:
Just out of curiosity did you guys try playing GTA 4 PC with those cards? I know its a buggy ass unoptimised game but I would really like to know how that game performs with this new card. I'm sure your all aware but I think this game is the most demanding out there.
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We haven't tried it, we may include it in the future, there are more 295 reviews comin.
 
jzodda said:
Why in the world would you want 2 4870x2's for such a low res? You won't see any benefits at all from another 4870x2 at that res. The only thing that will go up is your electric bill.
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Currently, not all of the games that I play will run with full detail at an 'acceptable-to-me performance level at the max resolution my LCD supports with the current system in my sig.

I'm hoping I'll get better performance with CrossFireX. Of course, I could be CPU limited right at the moment since I'm only running a 2.66Ghz Xeon X3350 OCd to 3Ghz.
 
Just a fall refresh that came a couple of months late. I'm intrested in the heat and power consumption, but now is the time to just wait for Windows 7 and all will follow.
 
The Radeon HD 4870 X2’s graphed line looks more like a heart rate monitor of a person dying.
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Damn! it was tough to keep from laughing out loud at work when I read that....

Nice review, excellent (that a) huge selection of games were tested.
 
AceGoober said:
Thanks for the review [H]. :)

For the resolution and detail level I run in each game I don't see any real performance benefit for my uses. I'll keep my 4870x2 (soon to be 4870x2 CrossfireX :D ) until something arrives on scene that will give me performance benefits or until I upgrade my 1680 x 1050 LCD to something with a higher resolution.
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at that res you will likely see zero improvements by adding another 4870X2. even now your cpu is not even fully keeping one 4870X2 fed.
 
I have a few questions:
  1. How are drivers on this thing? If I was to purchase one, would I end up with a lot of issues with games and such as it is SLI on a chip or would it run pretty solid?
  2. Are "game profiles" easy to add? I read you basically need them for some games.
  3. I assume I will see a significant increase from a 8800GTS512?
  4. Would it be worth waiting for the next generation of cards coming down the pipe in April or May?

I remember how bad the 7900GX2 was and I have avoided dual GPU cards ever since...

Thanks.
 
is it possible to do 2 gtx295's plus say 8800 class is physx? or is 4 Gpu's the limit under vista?

Also does windows 7 change the number of Gpu's allowed under SLI? or crossfire for that matter?

Emmett.
 
looks like i will upgrade to a GTX280 for 299.99 and call it a day....get another one down the line if i need more horses.
no sense of dropping big coin on dx10 cards when windows7 and dx11 and 40nm/32nm cards are 10 months away
 
Mithan said:
I have a few questions:
  1. How are drivers on this thing? If I was to purchase one, would I end up with a lot of issues with games and such as it is SLI on a chip or would it run pretty solid?
  2. Are "game profiles" easy to add? I read you basically need them for some games.
  3. I assume I will see a significant increase from a 8800GTS512?
  4. Would it be worth waiting for the next generation of cards coming down the pipe in April or May?

I remember how bad the 7900GX2 was and I have avoided dual GPU cards ever since...

Thanks.
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In the 6 games I tested, I had no issues. Profiles are easy to add, but you don't really need to, SLI is enabled and supported by default in the latest games, they are good at including profiles in their drivers. Yes, big increase from what you have. Couldn't answer that.

emmett said:
is it possible to do 2 gtx295's plus say 8800 class is physx? or is 4 Gpu's the limit under vista?

Also does windows 7 change the number of Gpu's allowed under SLI? or crossfire for that matter?

Emmett.
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I'm not aware of any limit to GPUs in Vista.
 
Brent_Justice said:
I wasn't, the only difference is 24 more streaming processors. It is the same difference between the 192 core and 216 core GTX 260 and we repeatedly saw no difference between them in our testing.
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wait, i thought the GTX295 was supposed to be a dual GTX260?
 
sparky1_2007 said:
wait, i thought the GTX295 was supposed to be a dual GTX260?
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have you even read the review or any of the info that has been out for weeks now? its two gtx260 cards with all shaders and tmus unlocked. it has the same number of shaders and tmus as the gtx280 but the rest of the specs for each card are from the 55nm gtx260.
 
sparky1_2007 said:
wait, i thought the GTX295 was supposed to be a dual GTX260?
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New GPU, 55nm, has 240 stream processors (same as GTX 280) but with the same core clock, shader clock and memory bus width and clock and capacity as GTX 260. This means it has 24 more stream processors than a GTX 260 (216 Core).

It is basically GTX 260 (216 Core) at 55nm with 24 more stream processors and more TMUs (each GPU.)

Read - http://hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTU5OSwsLGhlbnRodXNpYXN0
 
Brent_Justice said:
New GPU, 55nm, has 240 stream processors (same as GTX 280) but with the same core clock, shader clock and memory bus width and clock and capacity as GTX 260. This means it has 24 more stream processors than a GTX 260 (216 Core).

It is basically GTX 260 (216 Core) at 55nm with 24 more stream processors and more TMUs (each GPU.)

Read - http://hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTU5OSwsLGhlbnRodXNpYXN0
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yeah but thats 24 more per core for a total of 48 more than a gtx260 216sp sli setup.
 
Brent_Justice said:
yeah and?
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yeah and what? earlier someone said there was very little performance difference between the gtx260 216sp sli set up and the gtx295. you said thats about right because the only difference was that the gtx295 has 24 more shaders when in fact its a total of 48 more than the gtx260 sli setup.
 
cannondale06 said:
yeah and what? earlier someone said there was very little difference between the gtx260 216sp sli set up and the gtx295. you said that the only difference was that the gtx295 has 24 shaders when in fact its a total of 48 more.
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Read his post again. You missed the relevant part in parentheses I think.

This was an excellent review. You guys picked the comparison setups very well and overall, I found this to be among the best reviews I've read on HardOCP.
 
Rage_3k_Moiz said:
Read his post again. You missed the relevant part in parentheses I think.
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i didnt miss anything. the following is what i was referring to. the total difference between the gtx295 and gtx260 216sp sli setup is actually 48 shaders not 24



sparky1_2007 said:
i was really suprised that the gtx260 core 216 was almost dead even with the GTX295.
Click to expand...

Brent_Justice said:
I wasn't, the only difference is 24 more streaming processors. It is the same difference between the 192 core and 216 core GTX 260 and we repeatedly saw no difference between them in our testing.
Click to expand...
 
Personally i'm surprised that the 4870X2 still came out on top. I'm still curious to see a Dead Space benchmark because those early graphs showed a 40% increase over 4870X2 or something.
 
Ah, you were referring to that post. I thought you were referring to post #62.

My apologies.
 
Brent_Justice said:
In the 6 games I tested, I had no issues. Profiles are easy to add, but you don't really need to, SLI is enabled and supported by default in the latest games, they are good at including profiles in their drivers. Yes, big increase from what you have. Couldn't answer that.



I'm not aware of any limit to GPUs in Vista.
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We folders have found out, the [H]ard way.

Vista wont go above 5 GPUs XP will go to 8. I have to credit Tigerbiten on this. He has a 8 GPU box and he has to run XP on it. I have a 6 GPU box and I also have to Run XP.

A warning though. In folding the cards can do funny things is you mix cards with different shader counts (at least in folding) This shows up as the faster card only using the number of shaders on the lower end card. This might be folding specific, and it's just a warning.

 
Nvidia has a habit of releasing cards to match competition but still charge $100 more. It's almost expected from them.

the card itself ftw
the pricing ftl

If this card was 399 or 449, it would be sweet.
 
edinator said:
Personally i'm surprised that the 4870X2 still came out on top. I'm still curious to see a Dead Space benchmark because those early graphs showed a 40% increase over 4870X2 or something.
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Well, that's because so far crossfire has not worked on Dead Space. 4870X2 scores identically as a 4870 1gb on this game. Perhaps the issue will be addressed with Cat 9.1. Who knows. Doesn't really matter either way because I found Dead Space to be completely playable (60 plus FPS) at 2560X1600 on a 4870X2 even if only one GPU was being used. More importantly, the game is not really an ideal candidate for reviews because you can't force higher levels of AA with either Nvidia or ATI control panel.
 
You guys need to freakin advertise when new reviews are out, like a big god damm add saying ''HEY NERD LOOK AT THIS REVIEW''.

Awesome review as always. :cool:

Edit: o shiznickz, you guys did overclocked results! :D
 
How well does the GTX 295 run Grand Theft Auto 4? Will you be updating your GTA performance article with some benchmarks fromt his new card? i hardocp's real world benchmarks. And I really want to know how well teh games I play run.


Alienware from 2006
Intel Pentium D 3.0GHz (800 series)
2GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2 RAM 675Mhz CAS 4
nVidia 256MB 7900GT
Nvforce Mobo
160GB 7200 RPM hard drive.
650 watt PSU
 
adonn78 said:
How well does the GTX 295 run Grand Theft Auto 4? Will you be updating your GTA performance article with some benchmarks fromt his new card? i hardocp's real world benchmarks. And I really want to know how well teh games I play run.


Alienware from 2006
Intel Pentium D 3.0GHz (800 series)
2GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2 RAM 675Mhz CAS 4
nVidia 256MB 7900GT
Nvforce Mobo
160GB 7200 RPM hard drive.
650 watt PSU
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not sure why you listed your specs in your post but even a gtx280 and core 2 quad would be like a supercompter compared to what you have.
 
What I think is absolutely HILARIOUS is that people will ACTUALLY BUY IT.
 
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