Worth going from 280 FTW to 285 FTW?

[darXoul]

Hi, I'm currently using an EVGA GeForce GTX 280 FTW and I have the possibility to sell it for a decent price. I don't really want the GTX 295 because I dislike multi-GPU solutions due to potential driver issues, microstuttering, input lag, etc., plus it's goddamn expensive here, especially now due to skyrocketing USD and EUR exchange rates.

I'm playing in 1920*1200 and I'm demanding in terms of eye candy (AA, AF, in-game settings). Now, would you say it's worth selling the GTX 280 FTW and getting the GTX 285 FTW instead? I assume it would be roughly 10% faster so nothing breathtaking or even particularly noticeable here but the card should O/C way higher (my 280 FTW artifacts above around 700-705 MHz core) and run quieter, cooler and at a lower power draw level. Maybe it would enable me also to increase something in Crysis I would have to pay around $250 for the upgrade so it's quite a bit, although you have to consider that PC parts are in general MUCH more expensive in Europe than in the US - e.g. the EVGA 295 GTX costs over 650 bucks.

Do you think it's worth it to upgrade the card or rather a waste of money? I know it's my decision but I thought maybe some of you had 280 => 285 upgrade/step-up experience and could share it as "real world value added" impressions.

BTW, any news on the GT212 from other sources than Fud/Inq? Canned or not? Q3 release likely?

 

[polarbear6]

well u surely r missing a lot but cutting the multi gpu option

a 4870x2 according to my belief is a steal for the money

and again u could try buying another 280gtx and sli them

 

[mhouck]

Personally, I think that's a waste of money. I doubt you are going to notice game play improvement. IMO you should wait for the next shrink or even until dx11. but that's just my take.

 

[alcoholbob]

No the difference is barely noticeable. If the 280 is choking on a game (lets say 20fps) then then 10% increase would give you what, 2fps?

But if you're a high roller and hate dual GPU at the same time then go for it. Here's my question, for $250, couldn't you buy aftermarket cooling and overclock the 280?

Based on the PCGH reviews and some other freelance benchmarks microstutter is still a real problem. nVidia and ATI both like to say the CPU is at fault but the fact is that most of these reviews are run at 4GHz so they don't hold.

Here's my take, in a game where twitch factor (shooters) are a problem, single card is the way to go, yes, but you shouldn't even be running at high settings anyway. Competitive gamers almost always run at lower settings, in fact the CPL guys run aroung with CRTs and low or medium resolutions. For the single player experience I believe in dual GPU since it will lead to a higher performance average and minimum fps will typically be at least (as in higher) than overclocking a single card through the roof.

 

[lavaheadache]

Are you really asking if it's worth going from a gtx280 to a gtx285 for $250? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, How did you even consider this as being reasonable?

 

[Hugh H]

I'm a GTX280 user, and I'll wait until the GT300b (with Direct X 11) in Q4 before I upgrade again. If you upgrade now, you will be paying a lot for no noticeable difference, and when dx11 comes you would want to upgrade again.

 

[polarbear6]

hey what sort of games do you play at what resolution, antialiasing,

 

[garritynet]

I think you would notice zero difference in games and be out $250. 10% is still just 2-4fps. Can you tell the difference in Far Cry 2 at 41 and 44 fps?

 

[MarcVenice]

GTX285 isn't 'that' special. You're going to have a hard time reaching higher then 725mhz, even on a FTW edition. Then again, it is EVGA, with the voltage tuner. Well, $250 is still way to much for a imperceptible difference.

 

[Wreckage]

While the GTX285 is the better card, it's not $250 better. Maybe $30. I would hold onto that 280 until the fall when the new gen of cards show up. Then you should see a big difference. Spend that $250 on a bunch of games.

 

[Pelu]

lol... i got a 4870x2 and I OC it.... to make it explode and claim the insurance lol.... new gpu in a year or two for free lol!!! thx assurance company and their 100 bucks insurance... well not really free card is more like a 100 bucks card...

 

[chizow]

I'd agree its not worth $250 over your 280. The main benefit of the 285 is significantly higher shader clocks, with the GT200b B3 hitting ~1700 on the shader compared to around 1400-1450 max on the GT200. There are a few games that would benefit from that increase, mainly Crysis, but its definitely not worth the difference. Better to wait for GT212 (June/July) or GT300 (Nov/Dec) if you're looking for a worthwhile single-GPU upgrade.

 

[Pelu]

how old is your 280 right now?

 

[badnewcastle]

Originally posted by: mhouck
waste of money.

 

[NewtypeX]

If you were looking to upgrade from say....a 8600gt or something I would go for the 285 but from a 280 to 285? That makes no sense. You'd probably not see any perceivable difference in-game.

 

[alkalinetaupehat]

Meh. Not for $250. Maybe if you were doing an Evga Step-Up (does that exist in EU?) or something like that. Heck, the only reason I've got a 285 instead of my 260 is a screw-up I made when I was trying for a cheap 280...Though L4D is like 20fps faster now
Try and manage to wait it out until December or so, that's when (rumor has it) the new cards will be out. I've heard both the GT300 series and GT212 or whatever, so meh. Considering product launches the past few years with ATI/Nvidia, there should be something neato out around then.

 

[darXoul]

Thanks for the replies and "facepalming my sanity"

I guess I'll wait for GT212 and make it my bridge chip until end of 2009/beginning of 2010 when it's upgrade time again - probably to some kind of i7 system, along with 30" LCD and GT300, maybe even GT300 SLI.

Step-up does exist in EU but IMO, the shipping cost and waiting time make it quite unattractive. It's my second EVGA card, and I always prefer to sell old card, buy new one, instead of stepping up. Besides, since only vanilla cards are offered as step-up options, I'd end up getting a card that's probably even slightly slower or equally fast as mine.

I bought my 280 in September.

 

[Hugh H]

Originally posted by: darXoul
Thanks for the replies and "facepalming my sanity"

I guess I'll wait for GT212 and make it my bridge chip until end of 2009/beginning of 2010 when it's upgrade time again - probably to some kind of i7 system, along with 30" LCD and GT300, maybe even GT300 SLI.

Step-up does exist in EU but IMO, the shipping cost and waiting time make it quite unattractive. It's my second EVGA card, and I always prefer to sell old card, buy new one, instead of stepping up. Besides, since only vanilla cards are offered as step-up options, I'd end up getting a card that's probably even slightly slower or equally fast as mine.

I bought my 280 in September.

Good thing you thought this over. Still, GT212 will not be dx11, so I wouldn't suggest going that route with GT300 so close.

I'll build a completely new rig by the end of 2009, which should include Windows 7, GT300 with dx11 (maybe SLI), a 32nm Westmere CPU (sorry i7), and hopefully a decent Solid State Drive. That woule be as high-end as it comes then.

 

[alcoholbob]

New rig this soon while you have a GTX280? Daaaamn. You planning on maxing Alan Wake or something? All the AAA games are multiplatform these days anyway, what runs on consoles will run on your PC no problem.

 

[Sentry2]

Like others have said...the 285 isn't going to clock much higher than your 280.

My 280 SSC that I had could not get past 792MHz (on water) no matter how much voltage I ran through it. OVP on those cards (and the 55nm versions) kinda sucks. You could of course do a mod to get around it but it probably wouldn't even be worth it. You'd need a pretty decent water cooling setup. Basically all that work really isn't worth it.

I'd say your best bet would be to hold off until the DX11 cards show up. If you're feeling kinda brave you could use EVGA's voltage tuner when it shows up. Depending on how much noise you can put up with you might be able to give it some more juice to hit 756MHz but I'm not sure...might run pretty hot...though not as bad as these 295's I'm running...I'm kinda surprised EVGA is releasing a software tuner for the 295's...especially with out voiding the warranty...even after replacing replacing the factory goop with AS5 these things still run HOT! :Q Crysis averages 50 - 80+ fps @ 1920x1080 4xAA DX10 MAXED so I'm satisfied for now. :thumbsup:

 

[imported_Asianman]

ECONOMIC CRISIS... there is a better place for your money rather than in the hands of NVidia, and its called a bank. (preferably one of the banks that won't shut down)

 

[darXoul]

Originally posted by: Asianman
ECONOMIC CRISIS... there is a better place for your money rather than in the hands of NVidia, and its called a bank. (preferably one of the banks that won't shut down)

Hehe, I'm a banker myself, and my bank is even 100% safe as the only state-owned bank in my country, so I guess it's not a bad idea

 

[darXoul]

A small update - I used the EVGA voltage tuner with my 280 FTW, and it was pretty much counterproductive in my case. Higher temps, fan going berserk way sooner e.g. in FurMark stability test, no OC boost. Barely reaching above 700 core/1500 shaders/2600 memory without artifacting.

If I can find a decent deal, I think I'm gonna risk the dual GPU plunge after all and get a GTX 295. According to the latest Inq news (yeah, yeah, I know... ), the GT212 was canned for sure so holding my breath waiting for a worthy single GPU replacement may be a bad idea.

At least, in the case of 280 FTW => 295 upgrade, the performance increase WILL be noticeable, unlike 280 FTW => 285 FTW.