Which GTX 285? or Go GTX 295?

erebusting

New Member
I was looking to update my GTX 9800+ to either a GTX 285 or GTX 295 but I heard the 295 isnt much better especially when compared to the price difference....So I was thinking about a 285 after that, and noticed that there are several versions....GTX 285 OCX, GTX 285 OC2, GTX 285 OC+, & GTX 285 OC...(I am looking to get a BFG brand, because I qualify for the "Trade-Up" Program, and those are from their site -www.bfgtech.com-)...This is really confusing I dont even see just a regular 285 so how are they going to show the OC versions, maybe the 'OC' one is the base model?...:confused::confused:

So hopefully some of you can shine some light as to which one I should get and/or what are the differences, maybe which one is better even ?...

I will be pairing it with an i7 build I have in mind for the near future, if that helps...?

Please help me out guys...
& Thanks To All of You in Advance!....
 
I was looking to update my GTX 9800+ to either a GTX 285 or GTX 295 but I heard the 295 isnt much better especially when compared to the price difference....So I was thinking about a 285 after that, and noticed that there are several versions....GTX 285 OCX, GTX 285 OC2, GTX 285 OC+, & GTX 285 OC...(I am looking to get a BFG brand, because I qualify for the "Trade-Up" Program, and those are from their site -www.bfgtech.com-)...This is really confusing I dont even see just a regular 285 so how are they going to show the OC versions, maybe the 'OC' one is the base model?...:confused::confused:

So hopefully some of you can shine some light as to which one I should get and/or what are the differences, maybe which one is better even ?...

I will be pairing it with an i7 build I have in mind for the near future, if that helps...?

Please help me out guys...
& Thanks To All of You in Advance!....

Why not get a cheap gtx 280, it's almost the same as the 285.
 
I have to agree with Leopold Butters. Not a big difference for the price they charge. Id get the 280 and giggle that you saved 50/100 bucks.
 
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hmmm...

Do you think on the more overclocked editions that they maybe improved the heatsink/fan ? since it is overclocked it would cause more heat and it would be smart to do so, but im guessing that they did not...because if they did, then I might think about getting one with a better heatsink/fan just to be on the safer side...


also about the 280...hmm well that does sound smart and all, but since I am eligable for the trade up program (and would like to take advantage of it) I only have the option to choose one of the 285s or the 295....so thanks for the idea it is a great one, just not an option for me...


one more thing, I read that the 295 has 2 gpus ?....would it be better to just get that? -I will plan on doing quad sli in the future if possible (I figure it might be cheaper than just upgrading to the newest card ? idk... but i like the option...BTW, just a side question...does a gigabyte extreme x58 or gigabyte ud5 support quad sli? I cant find any information on that)....

so please help me decide, and/or maybe you can tell me what you are using/ have used out of the 285/295 and what you have to say about it?....

so I guess bottom line, the main question is should I go for the 295 or a 285 -(I will overclock either one as I see needed)....?

Thanks You All In Advance!
 
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i would go for the 285, dual gpu solutions aren't the greatest, and as for the better clocked cards having better cooling, unless it comes with a waterblock on it(and a 360mm rad to cool it) they're all the same
 
Well, if you get a trade in deal, i'd get the 295, only because i would love to have HDMI out built into my video card, and the 295 has that. That way you can get lossless audio through surround sound if you have it. Hopefully when the next gen of video cards come out HDMI is a standard.
 
I would get the 285 then if your only options are those. The 295 is horribly expensive and performs in the same area.
 
I would get the 285 then if your only options are those. The 295 is horribly expensive and performs in the same area.

does it really perform in the same area?....it seems like with a little overclocking it would be like having 2 GTX 285's ?....
hmm...hard to decide- its driving me kinda crazy ! lol

:confused:
 
Well in the GTX 295, you only have one PCIe interface for two GPU's but in an SLI 285 setup, each GPU has its own connection to the motherboard. I'm not sure exactly how much of a performance impact this would be but I know it affects it.
 
I can speak on behalf on both cards. And by far i got a ton of better results with the gtx295 and i had the evga gtx285 superclock edition. I got anywhere from 15-25 fps better with the 295 on crisis and over 3,000 pts better on my 3dmark score.
 
I can speak on behalf on both cards. And by far i got a ton of better results with the gtx295 and i had the evga gtx285 superclock edition. I got anywhere from 15-25 fps better with the 295 on crisis and over 3,000 pts better on my 3dmark score.

That's what i'm talking about baby! I just purchased a GTX 295 from eVGA. haha :D Wohoo!
 
yea I kind of like the 'idea' of the 295....plus I can always add another one later and have quad sli, with one slot still available on a tri sli motherboard....
-still thinking though-...
Would I be able to overclock the 295 well? -someone above me said its basically 2x 260s overclocked ? or is that just theoretical because if it is actually 2x 260s overclocked then I dont see it being able to overclock too much more...
also...I know it is a demanding card, so I was wondering would the 295 be bottle necked by an i7 920, x58 motherboard with 6gb corsair dominator ram, and a 1000w corsair psu ...?...and what about quad sli 295's ?....

Thank You All Very Much For Your Help and Your Help to Come! =)
 
The GTX 295 is 2 GTX 280 GPU's on one card with the memory of 2 GTX 260's. I don't think it would bottleneck your system but I seriously doubt you need to worry about bottlenecks on a system that will run everything. :P
 
lol as far as your question about it being bottlenecked know way in hell. lol The corei7 is the newest and best processor on the market and a gtx295 would not be bottlenecked by it whats so ever. I can speak on behalf of that as well. Also same deal with the ram espicailly since its ddr3. And the 295 is theoriticaly as you stated 2 gtx 260s but when compared to two 260s in sli its is better. Also its one one card. Also it is quite easy to overclock espicailly if you go with evgas card. They recently released a voltage tunner which lets you up the voltages on your card to overclock more than ever before. I just downloaded it the other night and will be overclocking my 295 soon and will let you know. Evga's card also comes with an easy program for Overclocking called percision. And as far as quad sli of 295's thats 2 physical gtx295 cards in your motherboard. Each card has 2 gpus on it so hence when you connect both cards you have 4 gpus running in sli. (Quad Sli) Wow that was a lot of typing haha :)
 
lol..

lol yea, my posts are alot of typing usualy as well, but I just like to get my ideas down as if I was talking to you guys in person....

anyways..as far as getting EVGA -which I have no problem with EXCEPT that I am eligible for the TRADE-UP program with BFG, so I would like to take advantage of that which means BFG is the only option....now with that in mind I wonder if I could oc the BFG 295 just as good as an EVGA 295 (I cant see why not)...... ??

please post your results on that overclock -[bigd54]-

also a side note:
would anyone know if the gigabyte extreme x58 mobo OR the gigabyte ud5 mobo are able to do quad sli? (or at least, show me how to find out--google does not produce results on this subject for me--...)--would you guys even recommend those boards?
 
As far as the evga I would probably get better overclocks because I am able to up the voltage. You will hit a wall at some point because there is not enough power to the card to increase the speed anymore at which point I am able to up the voltage to increase these speeds. Im sure you would be able to find some kind of voltage program though. AS far as quad sli it would be suported it will be because your only using 2 slots for 2 gtx 295s you wont find to much information as far as support because all the x58s will suport quad sli. It was not popular untill two gpus came out on one card. You will see a lot about tri sli indicating 3 cards (physically) connected in sli. I do however recomend the evga x58 motherboard for there great service and its a great Overclocker.
 
295 it is!...?

So I feel that the 295 would then be my best option, since I can only 'TRADE-UP' once...I think I would rather get the best one now, instead of the second best--and then having to find someone to buy that one in order to upgrade to the 'best one' (295 in this case)....
does that sound logical/right ?

and yes I read the rules on the TRADE UP program and I am pretty sure it said after I trade up I then cannot use that card to trade up again....


is there anything I am missing out on?....Or any of you guys want to disagree with that?....

--as for the evga motherboard, well I have heard that the gigabyte is supposed to be one of the best overclockers as well...not sure if that is right though but from researching it-it seems that it is so...

side question: There is like 4 x58 mobos from gigabyte and I am confused
about which one to get -theres the extreme and the ud5 which I had in mind- then there are the ud4p and some kind of 'Pro' one which is in the price range of the extreme.....anyone know anything about that?
 
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