Fast revised: Review of the BFG GTX 285 OCX - PAGE 14

Power

To measure power usage, we used a Kill A Watt P4400 power meter. Note that the above numbers represent the power drain for the entire benchmarking system, not just the video cards themselves. For the 'idle' readings we measured the power drain from the desktop, with no applications running; for the 'load' situation, we took readings during a demanding part of 3DMark06.)

If you switched from a GTX 280 to a GTX 285 you would actually save cash on your power bill (maybe keep this in mind if you need any plausible cover story for upgrading!)

While just about tying the HD 4870 while fully engaged, at idle the BFG GTX 285 OCX requires a very low amount of power -- even less than our HD 4850. Very impressive. In the power usage department, this video card shines.

A 575W PSU with a combined 12V current rating of 42A or more is recommended by BFG for this product.

Conclusion

Summing this review up is a bit tough -- on one hand, the BFG GTX 285 OCX is the single fastest GPU that we have seen. On the other hand, when you look at the things from a cost-performance perspective, it has a difficult time competing against the dual-GPU double dragons from ATI.

The BFG GTX 285 OCX will initially retail somewhere between $400, and $450 USD. Through pretty much all of the the benchmarks, superior performance is offered by the HD 4870 X2, which sells for between $400 and $500 USD. Meanwhile the HD 4850 X2 from Sapphire puts in a very comparable performance to the BFG GTX 285 OCX and sells for $300 USD -- which unfortunately puts a damper on all the good things BFG has done with this video card.

Compared to the GTX 280, the BFG GTX 285 OCX might as well be called a BFG GTX 290. Keep in mind though, that this has more to do with the aggressive overclocking that BFG administrated on the OCX than it does Nvidia's transition to 55nm for the GT200b.

On the positive side of things, as far as the current arsenal of PC games go, you will not see notice huge, real-world play differences between a HD 4870 X2 and a BFG GTX 285 unless you have either an exceptionally high resolution display, or some uncanny ability to judge framerates. When you get over a hundred FPS in a game, it is tough to figure out how much different playing the same game at 120 FPS would be. So far those that want to avoid the not uncommon drawback of the dual -GPU cards -- that not every game supports SLI and CrossFire -- the GTX 285 could be a strong choice.

We also expect that prices should tumble fairly fast for the GTX 285, and before not too long, it will achieve a better bang-for-buck measure against the HD 4870 X2, which has had the (consumer) benefit of being on the market for quite a few months now, leading to lower prices. 

Though there was one area where the BFG GTX 285 OCX certainly shined: overclocking. The BFG factory overclock was good, but unless we just were extremely lucky with our particular GPU, the overclocking potential of the GT200b has been greatly increased by the shift to 55nm. Our BFG GTX 285 OCX overclocked to impressive levels (especially the memory), and we think it could have been pushed even further. (As a side note, perhaps BFG's water cooling model will knock some socks off.) The overclocking numbers of this card were second only perhaps to the MSI R4830, in recent memory.

While at this stage of the game the BFG GTX 285 OCX does not represent the best value out there, this card is a well built machine, featuring the world's fastest GPU, BFG's superior 24/7 tech support hotline and reputable full lifetime warranty, and no discernible shortcomings besides price. But not every battle comes down to only dollars and cents; in our books, this card is a winner.