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Graphics Card Reviews: 2007 - 2011 >
Régis Jehl
Test date: December 10, 2009
The card at a glance

For our tests, we used a PNY GeForce GTX 285. On this model, PNY stick to NVIDIA's stock model. Same length, same cooler - though it does have a PNY sticker!

Rear connectivity comprises two DVI outs and a YUV connector. With it, you need to use the supplied adaptor to go from the round connector to YUV.

The box contents are fairly meager and rather standard: a quick installation guide, a DVI-to-HDMI adaptor, an HDMI audio cable - for connecting the sound card to the graphics card to route the audio signal via the card's HDMI adaptor -, a DVI-to-VGA adaptor, and a Molex-to-PCI-E 6-pin adaptor.

There's also a CD with drivers and the detailed installation guide. But we'd encourage you to download the latest drivers from the NVIDIA site.


First released in early 2009, the GeForce GTX 285 occupies the high-end position among single-chip cards in the NVIDIA 200 series. It's the model of choice if you want to use 3D Vision. But is it still good enough to play the latest 3D games?

Size, noise and heat generation

This card is bulky, at 26.7 cm (10.5") long with a double-decker cooler, and we also found it to be fairly noisy. Fan speed is relatively high in idle (40% of its maximum rpm), rather obtrusive even if your computer case has sound insulation. The up side is that the card doesn't generate much heat when no demands are made on it. But during gaming, the sound levels increase a lot (55.4 dB(A)); no way people around you won't be disturbed. In load, the chip held at a little over 85°C.

Energy consumption

Power consumption is pretty good, at 96 W at idle. During intense 3D activity, the power draw increased, but not to inordinate heights - our test computer measured 348 W at the AC outlet. The card uses two 6-pin connectors.
 
Gaming performance

Only the most demanding games challenge the GTX 285. Generally speaking, it can still achieve acceptable framerates at high resolution (1920 x 1200) with texture filters enabled. Admittedly it's not on a par with the Radeon HD 5870 and HD 5850.

Our first bench is with BattleForge, the first DirectX 11 game on the market. With this title, the GeForce is limited to DirectX 10, while the Radeon HD 5870 benefits from DX11 optimizations. At a resolution of 1920 x 1200 and without filters, the 285 scored an average framerate of 30 fps, while the 5870 managed 44 fps.


Performance average.
Click on the image to see all our readings
and compare this model with other cards.

Another example: ArmA 2 at 1680 x 1050 with all filters enabled. We got an average framerate of 26 fps for the NVIDIA card and 50 fps for the ATI. The game wasn't fluid with the GTX 285. You'll need to back off on certain options to keep play reasonably fluid.

Still, with less recent titles that still have enthusiastic fans, the card can perform well. In World in Conflict: Soviet Assault, for example, playing at 1920 x 1200 with all filters enabled, the average was 44 fps for the GTX 285, while the 5870 scored 50 fps.
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Pluses

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Still capable of respectable 3D performance

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3D Vision compatibility

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Low power consumption in 2D

Minuses

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Higher power consumption in 3D

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Noisy

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Much faster cards are now available

4
Although it's starting to show its age, this model can still deliver good gaming performance, though you'll need to lower the settings in more demanding games if you play at high resolution. A good choice if you want to use 3D Vision.

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