BFG GTX 285 OCX 1GB Video Card Review

A Closer Look at the BFG GTX 285 OCX

With this first crop of GTX 285s, we won’t be seeing any custom cooling solutions or modified PCBs which is why BFG has stayed the course and designed their OCX around the reference design. That means it is the usual 10.5” in length while using a full-coverage heatsink design with a bit of BFG graphics included.

Speaking of the graphics, it is good to see at least one manufacturer sticking with beautifully understated graphics for their heatsink stickers.


The fan hub is the only area on this card you will see an indication that it is indeed the OCX version rather than a stock, OC or OC2 card.


Unlike the GTX 280, since there isn’t any memory ICs on the back of the GTX 285, Nvidia was able to make do without the usual extended heatsink design. This not only saves some money but it has also contributed to make the PCB layout much simpler.


Even though the GTX 285 is based off of the GTX 280, it consumes less power than its bigger brother which means Nvidia was able to design the card without an 8-pin PCI-E power connector. What is interesting is the fact that even though the OCX version is overclocked to quite high frequencies, this still did not necessitate the inclusion of an 8-pin connector. It seems like the 55nm manufacturing process is paying for itself in spades.


I know we are starting to sound like a broken record but once again, the BFG GTX 285 OCX comes with the usual assortment of video output connectors: two DVI and one HDTV.