GTX 275 SLi vs GTX 285

So i did a search and quick scan through 20 pages of threads, and didn't find an answer to my question. I'm upgrading my graphics in my comp, and I can't decided which would give me better performance.

I currently have 2x 8800GS in SLI and want to upgrade to either 2x GTX 275s in SLI or a single GTX 285. Which setup would give me better performance. Here are my specs:

eVGA 680i
C2E 6850 OCed to 3.5GHz
BFG 850W PSU
8GB XMS2 Ram
Vista Ultimate x64 (in process of upgrading to Win7 x64)
24" Samsung @ 1920x1200

I mostly play FPS, racing, and WoW as well as CS4 and Flash CS3.

Like I said, I can't decided which setup would yield better performance gains at my resolution/gameplay. I know in essence, a 275 is a chopped 295, but would 2 of them out perform a single 285? Thanks in advance for all recommendations.

Reply to mantismn

one gtx 275 almost match gtx 285 but two of them will outperform gtx 285 by a lot.
i think gtx 285 would be enough for that res.

Reply to Anonymous

at that resolution a gtx 260 core 216 will still be plenty. I am currently at that resolution and my 8800 gts 512 doesn't have any problems

But to answer your question yes gtx 275 sli should outperform a single gtx 285.

Here's a link to a review for gts 250 sli vs gtx 285. At 1920*1200 the sli tandem mops the floor with the 285.
In theory a gtx 275 sli will be somewhat greater since gtx275> gts 250.
http://xbitlabs.com/articles/video [...] html#sect0

Message edited by dmv915 on 04-30-2009 at 09:49:09 AM

Reply to dmv915

all depends on how long you want the rig to last for? cause obviosuly a single 285 for now would do the job and get another down the line when they become cheaper. but 2 x 275s in sli atm would easily outperform the 285. its a toughie, but either choice would be great tbh

Reply to godfath3r

At this resolution the GTX285 is not enough for games like crysis , crysis warhead, farcry2, Stalker: Clear Sky, cryostasis, empire total war...
So if you want to play with max setting and good fps i advise you to go with 2x GTX 275s in SLI.

Message edited by michaelmk86 on 04-30-2009 at 04:58:39 PM

Reply to michaelmk86

Thanks again for all your feedback! As far as the rig lasting, I don't plan on keepin it forever, I mean, the 6850 is already pretty dated. he he I would keep the card/s for my next build though.

Reply to mantismn

isn't the gtx 275 half of a gtx 295? why not just get the gtx 295?

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Reply to PsyKhiqZero

Go with the two 275s in SLI

Sweet, thanks again for all the input. I'm prolly gonna go with the 275s in SLI. I guess lastly, my CPU won't be a bottle neck for those cards, will it?

Reply to mantismn

Get one GTX 295 instead of dual 275's in SLI.
Reasons: 1. No stutter
2. Less heat
3. Less noise from 2 fans
4. Your games will recognize all all of the GTX 295's memory (in SLI you get the combined dual GPU horsepower but you don't get the memory doubled)

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Reply to hundredislandsboy

1: ? No stutter?
2: Good point
3: Noise isn't a huge issue, i already have the 8 fans in my case runnin at 100%.
4: Definitly a good point bout the memory.

Hasn't nVidia had issues in the past with their dual GPU cards though? I've read the reviews on the 295 and it does in fact look phenomenal, but have they resolved those past issues??

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Reply to mantismn

PsyKhiqZero wrote :

isn't the gtx 275 half of a gtx 295? why not just get the gtx 295?

The GTX295 is two GTX260s w/ slightly more cores and OCed, and performs the same as two OCed GTX260s.

The GTX275 on the other hand, performs between a GTX260 and GTX285, almost reaching the level of a GTX280.

Two GTX275 > GTX295 ~ 2xGTX260 > GTX285 >/~ GTX280 > GTX275 > GTX260

------------------------------ i7 920, E5300
GTX260, HD4870, HD4830
Reply to Bluescreendeath

hundredislandsboy wrote :

Get one GTX 295 instead of dual 275's in SLI.
Reasons: 1. No stutter
2. Less heat
3. Less noise from 2 fans
4. Your games will recognize all all of the GTX 295's memory (in SLI you get the combined dual GPU horsepower but you don't get the memory doubled)

mantismn wrote :

1: ? No stutter?
2: Good point
3: Noise isn't a huge issue, i already have the 8 fans in my case runnin at 100%.
4: Definitly a good point bout the memory.

Hasn't nVidia had issues in the past with their dual GPU cards though? I've read the reviews on the 295 and it does in fact look phenomenal, but have they resolved those past issues??

1. The GTX295 is essentially two SLIed GTX260 cores in one GPU. It has the same stuttering issue as any mutli-GPU setup. And stuttering really isn't even an issue since it's not noticeable.

2. Heat really isn't an issue if you have a good mid or full tower. The GTX275 doesn't run that hot anyways. Two of them in SLi wouldn't make the case that much hotter than a GTX295.

3. Not a significant increase in noise going from single to mutli-GPU. I went from 1 9800GTX+ to 2x9800GTX+, and barely noticed any difference in noise increase.

4. The GTX295 has 1792 MB divided between two cores. That is 896mb per core.
That would be the same amount of memory as two GTX275s, which has 896mb each.

The advantage is that the GTX295 is cheaper and easier to install/maintain, but two GTX275s will give you more performance and if one is fried, the other will be fine.

Message edited by Bluescreendeath on 05-01-2009 at 06:23:06 PM

------------------------------ i7 920, E5300
GTX260, HD4870, HD4830
Reply to Bluescreendeath

The GTX260 uses a 65nm chip while the gtx295 uses a 55nm chip. The gtx 295 has lower memory and core clocks then the gtx275 which is understandable because the GTX 295 has 2 GPU in one package.

I still say that i'm correct for the most part a gtx275 is essentially HALF a gtx 295.

GTX295 vs. GTX260 core 216 specs
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3498

GTX275 specs
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/G [...] ,7332.html

While over performance between 2 gtx275 vs. a single gtx295 mybe a little higher, I would prefer the single slot solution personally. Mybe save the other pci-e x16 slot for a OCZ Z-Drive. lol

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Reply to PsyKhiqZero

PsyKhiqZero wrote :

The GTX260 uses a 65nm chip while the gtx295 uses a 55nm chip. The gtx 295 has lower memory and core clocks then the gtx275 which is understandable because the GTX 295 has 2 GPU in one package.

I still say that i'm correct for the most part a gtx275 is essentially HALF a gtx 295.

GTX295 vs. GTX260 core 216 specs
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3498

GTX275 specs
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/G [...] ,7332.html

While over performance between 2 gtx275 vs. a single gtx295 mybe a little higher, I would prefer the single slot solution personally. Mybe save the other pci-e x16 slot for a OCZ Z-Drive. lol

Most recent model GTX 260s use the 55nm GPU. I have two GTX 275s arriving tomorrow. I am confident that dual 275s will handily beat a GTX 295. I sent back my dual HD 4890s after CrossfireX in the drivers kept acting up. Just couldn't afford two GTX 285s, but I am sure I will be happy with what I have coming. Do the 275s and don't look back....

Message edited by Balthazar2k4 on 05-01-2009 at 11:51:44 PM

Reply to Balthazar2k4

I bought a rig from Vigorgaming and wanted a GTX 295 but they were out of stock so they decided to give me two GTX 275s.

So far its a bust on my machine, I get 24 FPS with a i7 920 oced to 3.8ghz, 6gb ram at 1600mhz and of course the SLI 275s.

That 24fps is in crysis, I get around 60 fps in other titles like far cry 2 etc. But Ive done everything I can think of to make this SLI combo work and it just wont.

Ive tried contacting Vigor but Im overseas and only have email to contact them with, and they are really slow.

They got all these good ratings.

Anyways got off track.

Maybe someone can help me? Ive redone the drivers and uninstalled one card and all that other crap.

Also I cant find for the life of me a card diagram showing me which bridge the SLI strip should go on. There is one nearest the DVI ports and then it looks like one right behind it. That one behind it I guess is the secondary, or does it matter? does it matter what card I plug my monitor into?

If I uninstall the drivers and reboot then reinstall, same exact issue. Everything is installed correctly, I have no errors, it just does NOT perform at all to expectations or to what all these reviews and ratings are showing online.

I did a winvantage test and I got 54000 something on the CPU test and only 5000 on the GPU test.

Anyway, sorry for rambling. Maybe someone can give me some aid!!

Wolf9292@yahoo.com

Reply to Ironwolf1974

I have a i7-920 at 3.8 ghz, 6gb of ram at 1600mhz, vista 64 updated, 185.whatever newest drivers are.

Im running it through a DVI to HDMI connector to a 37 inch samsung HDTV at 1920x1080.

Dual Zotac 275s with the SLI bridge in place, at least where I THINK it should be. Cant find any information on which one to use, the connector closest to the DVI connectors or the one farthest away.

Ironwolf

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to Ironwolf1974

the 275 GTX is very close to the 285GTX. i.e. its the same GPU (afaik) but with a bit less memory, a bit smaller memory bus. in most games it varies by a few fps at best.
so naturally GTX 275 SLI will outperform it by a lot.

if you can afford two GTX 275, go for it. or just go for the 295 GTX which is really two GTX275 on a single PCB... then you always have the future option of getting dual GTX 295 when you want to upgrade (though who would need that kinda insane power, i cant imagine).

Reply to xsistor

Ironwolf1974 wrote :

I have a i7-920 at 3.8 ghz, 6gb of ram at 1600mhz, vista 64 updated, 185.whatever newest drivers are.

Im running it through a DVI to HDMI connector to a 37 inch samsung HDTV at 1920x1080.

Dual Zotac 275s with the SLI bridge in place, at least where I THINK it should be. Cant find any information on which one to use, the connector closest to the DVI connectors or the one farthest away.

Ironwolf

This response is a bit late (sorry I arrived via Google), if I remember correctly you need to have a sli bridge on both connecters when using dual sli. But this is just ramblings of a young PC enthusiest.

Callum

Reply to Callum

Just found this thread on google as im having to replace my GTX 295 and for the same price tag SLI 275's seem to handle slighter better from this review posted after this thread started...GeForce GTX 295 Vs. GTX 275 SLI: When Two Are Better Than One

Reply to tomaso1z

Forum Graphics & Displays : Nvidia GTX 275 SLi vs GTX 285

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