nVidia GT200 Series Review Thread

[chizow]

Well I had placed an order for a GTX 280 from Newegg today but there's a 35% cash back deal going on over in Hot Deals. Picked up a GTX 280 for like $450 bucks, but I think that's still $50 more than what people who never spend $600+ on video cards are willing to pay.

Hot Deals Link

Even Hotter: The vendor is Mwave, which means you will get EVGA's warranty......incredible deal, not sure how long it will last.

 

[ChaosDivine]

Originally posted by: Denithor
I don't think I'll be picking up either GTX 260 or 280. At $400 I can just as easily get a PS3 with a built-in BluRay player free.
Now, if the 4850 performs at the same level as the 9800GTX for $200...maybe.

That's weird, I've been sorta thinking the same thing. Aside from Crysis (which I could play well with hacked Ultra High settings under XP at 1280x1024), my trusty 8800GTS 320MB seems to run everything I can throw at it and with its crappy resale value (IINM you can get a brand new Zotac one for ~$90 after rebate), I don't see the value in upgrading it just yet as even an 8800GTS 512MB would be nearly 2x the cost for less than 2x the performance.

Spent the money on a used RROD XB360 instead ($150 + new controller) and have been playing through a large backlog of titles (Darkness, GH3, GTA4, PGR3, Bully, Dark Sector, Forza 2, Burnout Revenge, etc.)

 

[sourthings]

http://www.tweaktown.com/artic...the_gtx_280/index.html

Night, night 280, sleep tight.

 

[taltamir]

how is tweaktowns rep? cause he isn't actually giving us anything...

 

[ViRGE]

Originally posted by: taltamir
how is tweaktowns rep? cause he isn't actually giving us anything...

They're usually pretty good, IMHO, although this seems to be usually disjoint for them.

 

[Idontcare]

Originally posted by: ViRGE

Originally posted by: taltamir
how is tweaktowns rep? cause he isn't actually giving us anything...

They're usually pretty good, IMHO, although this seems to be usually disjoint for them.

Maybe not so bad a disjoint, must consider the possibility of what this guy knows that he just can't tell us about:

As frustrated at NVIDIA as I am, who has really annoyed me is ATI. The fact that the NDA has been pushed back is just killing me. Knowing the results on the HD 4850 has completely changed my outlook on the GTX 280. At the moment, a lot of review websites have compared the GTX 280 to the 9800 GX2 and they see the performance being similar with a single core, then they see the new technology that?s implemented into the card and find it all to be pretty amazing. Performance talks though, and if these people had seen the HD 4850 run in CrossFire, I don?t doubt that their opinion on the cards would have likely changed.

 

[Tempered81]

looks like TulipGTX's dubious screenshots of the "Grand Trim" 200 may have been legit - Hahah.

 

[Blacklash]

The GTX 260 and 280 are good cards for those that aren't interested in SLi or Crossfire for whatever the reason. They also excel @ 1920x and up with AA.

http://img228.imageshack.us/im...4125/wic2560barhm4.jpg

If I were interested in SLi I'd probably just get get two 8800GT cards or GTS and overclock them manually. ECS 8800 GTS 512Mb is sitting over on Newegg for 160usd with rebate.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814134037

Asus 750i board for 150usd to drop them in-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813131232

ATi users are out of luck with Crossfire and multi-gpu when AFR does not work well in a title. nVidia has more than one method of AFR.

I've been using a single 8800GTX I overclock in my main rig since 11|2006. I will be getting a GTX 280 to replace it.

 

[taltamir]

It seems disappointing thus far...

I wouldn't say not for those who don't want multi-GPU.. bur rather, for those who don't want DUAL GPU. the GX2 might make more sense if that is all you buy. But what about if buying multiple GTX 280s?
last I checked the max is still 4 cores... how does 3x GTX 280 compare to other 2x9800GX2 or 2x4870x2... well, it remains to be seen.

 

[LightningRider]

Buying multiple GTX 280s? Like that's an affordable option.

 

[nitromullet]

Interesting that out of all the reviews posted by the OP, only one contains any mention of GTX 260 SLI benchmarking... http://www.hardware-infos.com/...Performance-Ergebnisse
Is it just me, or does anyone else think that GTX 260 SLI (2-way) is probably one of the more interesting setups this gen?

With a little OCing it looks like you can bring a 260 close to 280 performance:

http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/...wxMCwsaGVudGh1c2lhc3Q=

...and given the fact that (@MSRP) two 260s costs only $150 more than a singe 280... well, everyone here gets it, so I digress.

[tinfoil hat on]
I wonder if NV stipulated in the NDA that no 2-way SLI GTX 260 benchmarks could be posted until June 26, so as not to steal the GTX 280's thunder?

Even ChrisRay, who obviously has the means to conduct a GTX 280 vs. GTX 260 SLI comparison didn't post GTX 260 SLI benchmarks...

http://forums.slizone.com/index.php?showtopic=23084

...why?

Did he really think more people would be interested in GTX 260 3 way SLI verses GTX 280 SLI (two $1000+ systems) than GTX 260 SLI verses GTX 280 ($800 vs. $650)?

he says:

Unfortunately I was unable to test the GTX 260 SLI

ummm... two is less than three... if you have three cards, you can test two.

No disrespect intended to ChrisRay, but this just doesn't make any sense to me...
[/tinfoil hat off]

btw... might be nice to add that |H| review to the OP, even if their methods aren't everyone's favorite. They still do a pretty thorough review of the GTX 200 cards.

 

[taltamir]

Originally posted by: LightningRider
Buying multiple GTX 280s? Like that's an affordable option.

It isn't, but lets be honest, who here owns a 1000+$ monitor even capable of 2560x1600?

Another thing is that it seems the GTX 280 gives monsterous benefits to speed when OCing... someone with a waterblock could probably take it far.

 

[Xed]

Any measurements on the stock fans noise level other than "it's loud/louder than an 8800gtx"?

 

[BFG10K]

Any measurements on the stock fans noise level other than "it's loud/louder than an 8800gtx"?

http://techreport.com/articles.x/14934/16
http://www.computerbase.de/art...#abschnitt_lautstaerke

 

[sourthings]

Just so folks can have an informed decision who are debating getting a 280. Here are benches showing that a pair of crossfired 4850s outperform a gtx280 for high res gaming, as well as low res of course. Done by someone here on at. Link to his post at the top of the page:

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...AR_FORUMVIEWTMP=Linear

and here are more benches from another website again showing CFed 4850s outperforming the gtx280:

http://www.abload.de/image.php?img=crysis4xaaql2.jpg

Of important note here, look at the crysis benches, the first set is 1920x1200 dx9 high settings and 4xAA, the 4850s beat the gtx280. The second link is 1920x1200 _very_ high settings in _DX10_ with _4xAA_ the 4850s handily beating the gtx280 with an avg framerate of 23.

Suffice to say, I guess we can count on two 4870s crossfired and the single slot 4870x2 when it arrives really overtaking the gtx280. Just going on what we've heard about the difference between the 4850 and 4870, a fair guess might be 30-35fps at 1920x1200 dx10 very high 4xaa in crysis and 40-45 dx9 high settings 4xaa.

From what I've read in some other posts from folks who understand hardware, due to the size and heat output and bus width of the 280 we won't be seeing a 280gx2 type card and it will be left to SLI options only.

So, looks like ATI has likely done it. 4870x2 will be the fastest single slot card available and two 4870x2s in quad CF may very well beat out tri slied 280s. At the least, ATI is going to win the single slot best performing card this round.

:beer: good on them, and good for gamers all round, unless prices change they'll also be giving more performance for a cheaper price. gg.

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: ViRGE

Originally posted by: taltamir
how is tweaktowns rep? cause he isn't actually giving us anything...

They're usually pretty good, IMHO, although this seems to be usually disjoint for them.

I don't have a lot of experience with TweakTown, but they posted low numbers for the 9800GX2 pre-launch.

When ChrisRay started a thread on Rage3d telling people the drivers they used only recognized the card and weren't close to done, some guys claiming they were from TweakTown joined Rage3d and got into a war with the members and staff of that board.

Some of it is probably still there, I think one guy joined as Tweak1. (heh)

Anyway, I like their pre-release forecasts as well, but would say take ANY pre- NDA info with a large grain of salt. Sometimes the people have engineering samples at higher clocks than launch, sometimes they have pre-production drivers that offer better performance but render errors, sometimes worse performance. Until you see the launch day reviews it's a crapshoot on info.

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: nitromullet

Even ChrisRay, who obviously has the means to conduct a GTX 280 vs. GTX 260 SLI comparison didn't post GTX 260 SLI benchmarks...

http://forums.slizone.com/index.php?showtopic=23084

...why?

Did he really think more people would be interested in GTX 260 3 way SLI verses GTX 280 SLI (two $1000+ systems) than GTX 260 SLI verses GTX 280 ($800 vs. $650)?

he says:

Unfortunately I was unable to test the GTX 260 SLI

ummm... two is less than three... if you have three cards, you can test two.

No disrespect intended to ChrisRay, but this just doesn't make any sense to me...
[/tinfoil hat off]

You've got to remember we aren't reviewers, we don't do this for a living. Any time we spend on this is time we're not spending with our family, friends, other hobbies- and doing a review like Chris does is work and time.

Chris put a LOT of time into that review.

 

[Xed]

Originally posted by: BFG10K

Any measurements on the stock fans noise level other than "it's loud/louder than an 8800gtx"?

http://techreport.com/articles.x/14934/16
http://www.computerbase.de/art...#abschnitt_lautstaerke

I must be blind. Thanks bfg

 

[ajaidevsingh]

Great i am getting a GTX 260 for $500 with extra duty!!

Now is not the time to buy a 260 ahmm

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: sourthings
Just so folks can have an informed decision who are debating getting a 280. Here are benches showing that a pair of crossfired 4850s outperform a gtx280 for high res gaming, as well as low res of course. Done by someone here on at. Link to his post at the top of the page:

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...AR_FORUMVIEWTMP=Linear

and here are more benches from another website again showing CFed 4850s outperforming the gtx280:

http://www.abload.de/image.php?img=crysis4xaaql2.jpg

Of important note here, look at the crysis benches, the first set is 1920x1200 dx9 high settings and 4xAA, the 4850s beat the gtx280. The second link is 1920x1200 _very_ high settings in _DX10_ with _4xAA_ the 4850s handily beating the gtx280 with an avg framerate of 23.

Suffice to say, I guess we can count on two 4870s crossfired and the single slot 4870x2 when it arrives really overtaking the gtx280. Just going on what we've heard about the difference between the 4850 and 4870, a fair guess might be 30-35fps at 1920x1200 dx10 very high 4xaa in crysis and 40-45 dx9 high settings 4xaa.

From what I've read in some other posts from folks who understand hardware, due to the size and heat output and bus width of the 280 we won't be seeing a 280gx2 type card and it will be left to SLI options only.

So, looks like ATI has likely done it. 4870x2 will be the fastest single slot card available and two 4870x2s in quad CF may very well beat out tri slied 280s. At the least, ATI is going to win the single slot best performing card this round.

:beer: good on them, and good for gamers all round, unless prices change they'll also be giving more performance for a cheaper price. gg.

I love how the folks lauding ATI or the 9800GX2 just love to ignore the fact you could SLI 2 cards for greater than GTX 280 performance for much less months ago. 2x 9600gt close, 2x 8800gt faster without a doubt, 2x 8800gts even faster, 9800gx2 about the same as gt and gts, 2x 9800gtx slightly faster and even offers tri-sli.

Finding 2 cheap cards and slinging them together for faster performance than a single-card single-GPU solution isn't anything new, that's one of the main draws of CF/SLI. While its great that 2x4850 perform about the same or better than a GTX 280, that doesn't make the problems with multi-GPU go away and its certainly not that exciting when you compare it to say, a pair of 8800GTS 512MB that may very well outperform it for less money.

Judging from Steel Six's results, it looks like he's 1) running a significantly faster CPU than AT and 2) already running into CPU bottlenecking (look at Crysis 1680 and 1920 no AA). Honestly I don't think those 4850s are any faster than any of the other SLI/multi-GPU solutions that have been around for the last 7-8 months. I think most folks here can make an inforrmed decision though. If you have an NV board and a G92 class GPU you're probably better off just doubling up if you're ok with SLI. If you have an Intel/AMD board and want to upgrade and you're ok with CF, then you're probably better off with ATI.

 

[happy medium]

Originally posted by: chizow

Originally posted by: sourthings
Just so folks can have an informed decision who are debating getting a 280. Here are benches showing that a pair of crossfired 4850s outperform a gtx280 for high res gaming, as well as low res of course. Done by someone here on at. Link to his post at the top of the page:

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...AR_FORUMVIEWTMP=Linear

and here are more benches from another website again showing CFed 4850s outperforming the gtx280:

http://www.abload.de/image.php?img=crysis4xaaql2.jpg

Of important note here, look at the crysis benches, the first set is 1920x1200 dx9 high settings and 4xAA, the 4850s beat the gtx280. The second link is 1920x1200 _very_ high settings in _DX10_ with _4xAA_ the 4850s handily beating the gtx280 with an avg framerate of 23.

Suffice to say, I guess we can count on two 4870s crossfired and the single slot 4870x2 when it arrives really overtaking the gtx280. Just going on what we've heard about the difference between the 4850 and 4870, a fair guess might be 30-35fps at 1920x1200 dx10 very high 4xaa in crysis and 40-45 dx9 high settings 4xaa.

From what I've read in some other posts from folks who understand hardware, due to the size and heat output and bus width of the 280 we won't be seeing a 280gx2 type card and it will be left to SLI options only.

So, looks like ATI has likely done it. 4870x2 will be the fastest single slot card available and two 4870x2s in quad CF may very well beat out tri slied 280s. At the least, ATI is going to win the single slot best performing card this round.

:beer: good on them, and good for gamers all round, unless prices change they'll also be giving more performance for a cheaper price. gg.

I love how the folks lauding ATI or the 9800GX2 just love to ignore the fact you could SLI 2 cards for greater than GTX 280 performance for much less months ago. 2x 9600gt close, 2x 8800gt faster without a doubt, 2x 8800gts even faster, 9800gx2 about the same as gt and gts, 2x 9800gtx slightly faster and even offers tri-sli.

Finding 2 cheap cards and slinging them together for faster performance than a single-card single-GPU solution isn't anything new, that's one of the main draws of CF/SLI. While its great that 2x4850 perform about the same or better than a GTX 280, that doesn't make the problems with multi-GPU go away and its certainly not that exciting when you compare it to say, a pair of 8800GTS 512MB that may very well outperform it for less money.

Judging from Steel Six's results, it looks like he's 1) running a significantly faster CPU than AT and 2) already running into CPU bottlenecking (look at Crysis 1680 and 1920 no AA). Honestly I don't think those 4850s are any faster than any of the other SLI/multi-GPU solutions that have been around for the last 7-8 months. I think most folks here can make an inforrmed decision though. If you have an NV board and a G92 class GPU you're probably better off just doubling up if you're ok with SLI. If you have an Intel/AMD board and want to upgrade and you're ok with CF, then you're probably better off with ATI.

I just ordered 2 -8800gts (g92) cards for 320.00$ AR. In my opinion it's the best bang for your buck now.

Edit:just found a 8800gts for 146.99$ after 40$ rebate. Even better deal.
http://fxvideocards.com/ZOTAC-...ideo-Card-p-16280.html

Thats less then 300.00$ for 2 cards after rebate.

 

[Nemesis 1]

Originally posted by: Ocguy31

Originally posted by: bryanW1995

overpriced at anything over $499.

What in the world are you basing that on? Someone please answer me! What did the 9800gx2 launch at? Now you get that performance and even better, without having to deal with SLI. Too many ATI boys in here today. I cant wait to trash those cards when they come out for not even touching the GTX280.

Relax child .
The first thing you need to do is relax, OK . Than you have to stop thinking graphics only here. This 280 is a nice card the big problem here is NV focused to much Focus groups propaganda on graphics performance instead of CUDA. IF they would have focused on this . The disappointment would be less now . Hype would have been less befor launch.
Here what you need to do . If you want to be a warrior! Here at AT forums good luck with that. There alot of smart people here ,that you can learn much from . There are also decievers here who sometimes lead ya to great disappointment. Theres all types here , but all have one thing in common they love the tech. Really child thats what this is all about !Isn't it? The tech that is. You want to do battle in forums against fanbois the first thing you need to do is this. BE A FANBOIS OF THE TECH not the company. Arm yourself with Research get an understanding of the future progress in the differant areas .Knowledge arm yourself withit. See your vision of what tech future looks like and the direction each company is moving . Than the ones that fit your idea of were its all going . Be a fanbois of those companies. Thats what I did. The future I see is direction Intel is heading . Oddly enough ATI is also got a fantastic future.
Now thats how I feel . Read about each companies direction and learn what the crossroads are in each tech. Than you can see the progress more clearly.

That said take heart child this is a nice GPU and Cuda is nothing to make jokes about .

But do yourself a favor . Research ATIs tech and learn and than you might see a direction.

 

[Keysplayr]

Nemesis, you come into threads and purposely try to get as many people revved up as much as you can. You even said to me you do it for fun. Now you're telling someone to relax. You have absolutely no business telling someone how to behave on a forum.

Back OT ONCE AGAIN. CUDA is now coming into it's own. There is an install base of over 70 million CUDA capable GPU's out there, and that number is growing everyday. Over 60,000 downloads of Nvidia's C-compiler to date, companies and scientific institutions are vesting time into using CUDA for business, research, any sort of intense computation that can be made to function on a CUDA enabled GPU. You've seen FASTRA. You've seen F@H. You've seen Badaboom Transcoding. Now look at this:

Acceleware Announces GPU Based Cluster Solution

Click Link for entire article ^

"DRESDEN, Germany, June 17 /CNW/ - At the International Supercomputing Conference, Acceleware Corp. (TSX-V: AXE - News), a leading developer of high performance computing (HPC) solutions, today released the world's first commercially available GPU-based cluster solution, the C30-16. This solution combines Acceleware's new clustering technology with its portfolio of designed-for-parallel computational algorithms to harness the power of 64 GPUs, delivering unprecedented performance and scalability for enterprise customers."

These are just a few examples dude. There is potential for tens of thousands more if so many are using the compiler. The Tesla platforms are gaining ground and many are ravenous for it. So, to even hint that there isn't enough focus on CUDA is a well-unfounded claim on your part. All eyes are on CUDA right now and in the foreseeable future.
It's big. And it's here. Look all over the web for CUDA information. It is everywhere now.

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: happy medium
I just ordered 2 -8800gts (g92) cards for 320.00$ AR. In my opinion it's the best bang for your buck now.

Edit:just found a 8800gts for 146.99$ after 40$ rebate. Even better deal.
http://fxvideocards.com/ZOTAC-...ideo-Card-p-16280.html

Thats less then 300.00$ for 2 cards after rebate.

Yep, looks to be an excellent deal for those with an SLI board or already have a GTS and want more performance. I think some people want to overlook G92 options and pricing because its "year old performance" or something, but are perfectly willing to wait a few weeks and pay more for.....year old performance. In a week or two I'd expect the 9800GTX to fall to $200-220 (its already $240-250 AR) or so making it a very intriguing option against the upcoming RV770 solutions.

 

[Nemesis 1]

Keys you may think I am not relaxed but I am vary much so when it comes to tech discussions.

I said I thought 280 was OK. I said I think cuda is good. What do you want from me.

Cuda let me tell you something techfollow. Cuda is just a crack in the ice. The thaw just beginning. Intel is taking 2 roads to get to the same place. Because they have to. Intel going X86 on the larrabee is by design . When Intel made its choice in which research project to develop they came up with a 2 fold attack

1). A x86 GPU designed to cut NV cuda off at the pass and to gently nog AMD/ATI(ATI gpus are very good at ray tracing.) in the correct direction and as of now it looks like its might work . We'LL see. AMD stands to make a great deal up money as a Co processor and gpu. But its not like intel isn't working on their own little SPunits. Never the less In time combining a AMD/ATI Copressor with allthose little EPIC SPs working along side a Itanic superscaler in the 32nm/22nm . I am wagering is going to be something to behold

No, you're not, and the next time you drag a thread off-topic I'm sending you on a vacation. You've had enough slack, now it's up to you not to hang yourself with it

-ViRGE