Price: TBD
Model Number: 01G-P3-1287-AR
TechWiki Info: 01G-P3-1287-AR
Availability: Now
Warranty: Lifetime
Manufacturer's Product Page: TBD



Nvidia has had a tough time as of late with their GTX 200-series being thoroughly beaten in the price / performance area by the HD 4870 512MB and 1GB cards. What followed were drastic price reductions and the release of the GTX 260 with 216 SPs which contributed to allow the GTX 200-series to compete on a level footing with the best ATI had to offer. Meanwhile, the HD 4870 X2 was released and Nvidia didn’t have an answer to that monster until just last week when they officially unveiled their GTX 295 card. As we saw in the review, Nvidia has finally wrested the performance crown out of ATI’s hands and is on a track to success with a full lineup of 55nm cards.

We all know that one of the major limiting factors of the initial G200 products was the fact that they were built on a 65nm manufacturing process which essentially made their production costs high (hence the prices we saw at launch) and contributed to massive amounts of heat being generated by the core. The GTX 285 on the other hand is the next evolution of the G200 architecture and uses the newer 55nm manufacturing process which should hopefully allow for higher clocks, lower power consumption and decreased heat. However, not all is certain since as we saw with the GTX 260 216 55nm card, power consumption wasn’t affected much and the overclocking was identical to 65nm cards. That being said, as we will come to see the GTX 285 is a different beast altogether.

Other than the 55nm core, what makes a GTX 285 different from a GTX 280? Basically, they are the same card but the GTX 285 carries with it higher clocks much like the 9800 GTX+ did when compared to the vanilla 9800 GTX. Pricing will also be a deciding factor for many since at this point we are seeing a new low in GTX 280 pricing with some cards retailing for significantly less than $400 CAD. Considering that our sources tell us that the GTX 285 will be around $500 CAD before rebates, the GTX 285 could initially receive slow sales. It should also be noted that this is just below the price range where the HD 4870 X2 is currently sitting.

For this particular review, EVGA has sent us their GTX 285 SSC card which in typical fashion has overclocks for the shaders, core and memory. You will also get access to EVGA’s excellent customer service, Lifetime Warranty and Step Up programs. From what we hear, stock of this particular EVGA card should be very good and we have already come to know EVGA for having some of the lowest prices on the market today. All of these things should contribute to make the EVGA GTX 285 SSC Edition one of the most popular cards of this generation.