First Official GeForce GTX 280 Review

[bluesguitar007]

http://forums.vr-zone.com/showthread.php?t=288432

 

[dagger]

http://forums.vr-zone.com/showthread.php?t=288432

Wow, those results are disappointing. Lol for overinflated expectations.

 

[xx12amanxx]

Soo at 1600x1200 the 3870x2 and geforce gx2 stomp it..lol

Man if those scores are somewhat true that's pretty sad even on beta driver's...

 

[Hatman]

They dont stomp it?? They beat it at 3dmark06....


keep in mind this is 1 card/gpu and both of the others have 2 each.


Much faster then a single G92 core tbh... but, it is like beta drivers, so who knows.


I did expect a little more though for the price it is supposed to be launched at. Tbh with this, the price reduced 9800GX2's may be a better buy when it's launched.

 

[axlrose]

it really doesn't look too good. makes me pretty nervous to shell out $700 for it in a few days. i've been waiting since april to build though since i thought the 9800x2 sucked on 2560x1600. i just can't make myself wait until the fall. if the 4870x2 was out not, maybe that would be different, but who knows what that will do in comparison.

just ordered my xhd3000 today, so the process has already begun.

 

[darktravesty]

I expected more for the price, but that review is by no means damning. The GTX280 is only behind in older programs, such as Half life 2 Episode One and 3dMark06, which doesn't bother me in the slightest. What really matters to me is it's performance in Crysis and World in Conflict, where it leads by a significant margin. Admittedly it only leads by a small margin in CoH, but I'm still convinced the GTX280 is the way to go. If someone can prove that it is not, beyond a doubt, however, I will gladly purchase a different card. I'm looking for the best, within a fairly large budget range.

 

[Granite3]

Idiots,

50% better framerates and Crysis and World in Conflict, the new Hard to render games.

Who cares if it gets only 150 frames in HL2, or the older stuff.

 

[dagger]

I expected more for the price, but that review is by no means damning. The GTX280 is only behind in older programs, such as Half life 2 Episode One and 3dMark06, which doesn't bother me in the slightest. What really matters to me is it's performance in Crysis and World in Conflict, where it leads by a significant margin. Admittedly it only leads by a small margin in CoH, but I'm still convinced the GTX280 is the way to go. If someone can prove that it is not, beyond a doubt, however, I will gladly purchase a different card. I'm looking for the best, within a fairly large budget range.

With budget in mind, it's not the way to go. $700 would be almost enough to quad sli two 9800gx2, after the price drop when the new cards comes out. It's more than enough to quad crossfire two 3870x2s, which already dropped to $314.99 before mir, and $284.99 after. It'll drop in price even more after new cards comes out.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121247

Either setups will far outperform the one gtx280 that cost $700 alone.

 

[dagger]

Idiots,

50% better framerates and Crysis and World in Conflict, the new Hard to render games.

Who cares if it gets only 150 frames in HL2, or the older stuff.

Actually, it's lower than 50% for Crysis, and much less than 50% for World in Conflict. The 20fps for 3870x2 doesn't count. World in Conflict has unique scaling problems with the card over single 3870 due to software issue. Compare it with the 9800gx2's score instead. Let's just say, for $700 price tag, there are other good things in life to spend it on.

 

[darktravesty]

With budget in mind, it's not the way to go. $700 would be almost enough to quad sli two 9800gx2, after the price drop when the new cards comes out. It's more than enough to quad crossfire two 3870x2s, which already dropped to $314.99 before mir, and $284.99 after. It'll drop in price even more after new cards comes out.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121247

Either setups will far outperform the one gtx280 that cost $700 alone.

Rumor has it the GTX280 launch price dropped to $500. Regardless, to SLI I would need to get a new motherboard as well, as I got an Intel one that does not support SLI or Crossfire, and my PSU is 650W/52A. Not sure on the exact requirements for putting 9800GX2's in SLI, but I imagine 650W would really be pushing it.

 

[jumpman]

Idiots,

50% better framerates and Crysis and World in Conflict, the new Hard to render games.

Who cares if it gets only 150 frames in HL2, or the older stuff.

just what i was thinking...

 

[dagger]

Rumor has it the GTX280 launch price dropped to $500. Regardless, to SLI I would need to get a new motherboard as well, as I got an Intel one that does not support SLI or Crossfire, and my PSU is 650W/52A. Not sure on the exact requirements for putting 9800GX2's in SLI, but I imagine 650W would really be pushing it.

$500 would make sense, let's hope that's the case. And Intel chipsets do support Crossfire. One Intel chipset also support both Crossfire and SLI, but it's the ultra high end Skulltrial board, and out of price range for most of us.

 

[Guest]

^ exactly... its still in the hundreds... you still can't tell the difference frame wise... anyways this was already posted here... either way I think the 4870 X2 will take the performance crown from nvidia and will be at a better price... but these are beta drivers which probably suck.... and the scores will only get better...

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/page-251494_33_120.html look at the pictures near the bottom of the page... the gtx 280 does significantly better than the other current gen cards...

but once again it shows the 4870 right behind it... so the 4870 X2 in my opinion will be the top dog

 

[bluesguitar007]

Let's just say, for $700 price tag, there are other good things in life to spend it on.

Well, if anyone believes Fudzilla it won't be $700:
http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7888&Itemid=1

That being said, I'll be upgrading my X1950 Pro to an HD 4870.

 

[grieve]

I must have missed something here...

I see the single gpu gtx280 stomping the dual gpu cards; except in 3dmark which last time i checked.. we dont play, so who cares.

Worth $700 ... I dont think so!

 

[4745454b]

I think both sides are right. First, good job Nvidia for getting the performance of two GPUs onto a single PCB, with only one GPU. This is actually a good thing.

The problem is thats all they did. Without seeing more scores and having the details behind them (AA levels? Res?) its hard to say how much better this single card is when compared to the older cards. If all Nvidia could do is give us 9800GX2 in a single card, they *should* have some issues.

I say should because we still don't have any "real" reviews of the 4870. (AMD and rumor sites don't count.) IF AMD has managed to increase the performance of their cards, then yes, Nvidia has a big problem on their hands.

While not as cool, lets not forget the lower end of the market. If this is the big bad 280, how will the 260 compare? Can they even release a 240/220 that performs better then current cards? If the power/heat issues are as large as the rumor sites say, then I don't see much reason to buy the "240" over the 8800GT.

 

[gamecrazychris]

I'm gonna buy it, even if it could be out performed by an SLI/Crossfire setup. Plus it only consums 25wats in idle and I only spend 1/4 of my time playing games so it's gonna make a big differance compared to crossfire HD3870x2 or 2 9800GX2's on my power bill.

 

[darktravesty]

From what I am seeing they managed to make a single GPU card that performs better than the 9800GX2 by large margins in newer games. I am by no means an expert on this sort of thing, but the more I look at it the more I am impressed. However, I definitely agree that we need to see more details on the AA levels and whatnot (or perhaps that information is there, am I missing something? All I see specified are the resolutions)

 

[mathiasschnell]

Hmmm... I'm a bit skeptical. Aside from the lack of specifics, some obvious errors in the article (2560 x 1200 *cough*) and the bias-o-meter on most everyone here (including myself) reading levels over 9000, this is a magazine article and a scan of one at that. This means a few things.

1 - It could be shooped.

2 - Even if it isn't shooped, it's a magazine, which means that they could be inflating their findings or giving you the best case scenario or something like that so that it generates buzz and profits.

 

[soundefx]

The sneaky Nvidia already have plans to put the cards that will compete with the new ones out of commission. Don't expect the 8800 GTS, GTX or even the GT to be sold if they are comparable in performance to the new ones. I think that the EOL of the GTS is soon and the others will join shortly.

 

[crusoe74]

Hey guys, could u imagine a well known MAGAZINE making such awfull mistakes like 2560x1200... lol? Or 1600x1200 and everywhere in the review the poster is talking about 1900x1200. This is FAKE.

FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE FAKE

Just what I was thinking.
nVidia have a huge legal department just waiting to pounce on anyone releasing info prior to the official date, and this is a magazine.

Still can't wait for Monday for the nice official reviews and benchies

 

[dagger]

Just what I was thinking.
nVidia have a huge legal department just waiting to pounce on anyone releasing info prior to the official date, and this is a magazine.

Still can't wait for Monday for the nice official reviews and benchies

Photoshopped pic?

 

[NarwhaleAu]

HD4870 looks like it will FTW

 

[ovaltineplease]

Seems like good performance to me.

You have to compare it to an 8800 ultra or a 9800 GTX - comparing it to the dual GPU cards is not totally fair. Although you still can; the dual gpu cards lose a lot of their scaling if they go into a quad setup - don't forget that.

As a point of interest, gtx280 SLI/tri SLI is going to make tri ultra or quad SLI gx2 look like a jokeshow assuming they get the software working 100%

Factually, do we need this kind of hardware at this particular junction? Probably not. But i'm with Granite3 - this card is quite superior to those it was compared to - and it will be vastly superior compared to 9800 GTX/ 8800 Ultra as well; especially in next generation titles.

For people with large displays, this is a know brainer. Playing 1680*1050 on a 27" would probably look like ****, I only use a 22" but I find anything lower than native res looks terrible. So given native res on large displays, i'd say this card would be a no brainer for that as well.

 

[dagger]

Seems like good performance to me.

You have to compare it to an 8800 ultra or a 9800 GTX - comparing it to the dual GPU cards is not totally fair. Although you still can; the dual gpu cards lose a lot of their scaling if they go into a quad setup - don't forget that.

As a point of interest, gtx280 SLI/tri SLI is going to make tri ultra or quad SLI gx2 look like a jokeshow assuming they get the software working 100%

Factually, do we need this kind of hardware at this particular junction? Probably not. But i'm with Granite3 - this card is quite superior to those it was compared to - and it will be vastly superior compared to 9800 GTX/ 8800 Ultra as well; especially in next generation titles.

For people with large displays, this is a know brainer. Playing 1680*1050 on a 27" would probably look like ****, I only use a 22" but I find anything lower than native res looks terrible. So given native res on large displays, i'd say this card would be a no brainer for that as well.

The problem with that logic is, you'd be comparing $700 card to a $250 card, which makes no sense. You should compare similar costing configurations, regardless of anything else.