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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295
Reported by Mervyn Chng on Saturday, January 10 2009 6:00 pm
NVIDIA has finally answered AMD's HD4870 X2 with the GTX 295. Does it deliver?
Temperatures
We ran FurMark's stability testing mode for half an hour to measure load temperatures, after which we allowed the system to idle in desktop for another half an hour before measuring idle temperatures. Note that load temperatures obtain with FurMark are significantly higher than what would be seen under real-world loads.
An infrared thermometer was used to verify the internal diode measurements by measuring the PCB area at the rear of the core. The thermometer readings were consistently 8-10 degrees lower than the internal diode readings.
We ran FurMark's stability testing mode for half an hour to measure load temperatures, after which we allowed the system to idle in desktop for another half an hour before measuring idle temperatures. Note that load temperatures obtain with FurMark are significantly higher than what would be seen under real-world loads.
An infrared thermometer was used to verify the internal diode measurements by measuring the PCB area at the rear of the core. The thermometer readings were consistently 8-10 degrees lower than the internal diode readings.
Extremely surprisingly, the GTX 295 actually manages to keep on par with the single-core GTX 280. Nvidia has done a good job with the heatsink, and the results of the 55nm dieshrink are also evident.
Power Consumption
The GTX 295 actually manages to consume around 40W less than the HD4870 X2, and a full 100W less than two GTX 280s under load. Part of the reason for the HD4870 X2's relatively exorbitant power consumption is the use of GDDR5 memory, which consumes significantly more power than GDDR3.
Note that figures here represent total power consumption of the system and not just that of the graphics card alone, and are thus not comparable with other setups.
Noise
When idle, the GTX 295 is virtually silent. Under load the fan starts to spin up, and while it becomes noticeable, it doesn't quite reach a point where it can be considered annoying.
Still, in comparison to the noisy reference HD4870 X2 design, the GTX 295 can be said to perform extremely well in the noise department.
Power Consumption
The GTX 295 actually manages to consume around 40W less than the HD4870 X2, and a full 100W less than two GTX 280s under load. Part of the reason for the HD4870 X2's relatively exorbitant power consumption is the use of GDDR5 memory, which consumes significantly more power than GDDR3.
Note that figures here represent total power consumption of the system and not just that of the graphics card alone, and are thus not comparable with other setups.
Noise
When idle, the GTX 295 is virtually silent. Under load the fan starts to spin up, and while it becomes noticeable, it doesn't quite reach a point where it can be considered annoying.
Still, in comparison to the noisy reference HD4870 X2 design, the GTX 295 can be said to perform extremely well in the noise department.
