An introduction to the GeForce GTX 280

When the NVIDIA G80 first arrived, it brought with it the joy of shader processing for consumer PC graphics. The NVIDIA G92 went on to move this performance to a more affordable level, apart from making NVIDIA ownership a less cranky experience. As with most technolgical product cycles, the trickle-down is followed by a roller coaster ride up the next performance level. What we have with us today is the NVIDIA GT 200 chipset manifesting itself in the form of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 1GB, packing 240 Shader Processors into a 65nm BGA package.

 

 

The big deal, of course, lies in the raw increase of pixel-pushing power. Extra pixels to fill the HD display that you broke the piggy bank for. Video acceleration continues to be handled by NVIDIA's VP2 Engine, so whatever benefits of PureVideo 2 will be retained in this new product range. Notably, the 240SP GeForce GTX 280 will take on NVIDIA's previous flagship power-guzzler, the GeForce 9800 GX2, with the ATI Radeon HD 3870 X2 being the only commercial threat from the Red Camp. Till the RV770, maybe. With no major architectural changes, it only means that the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 will not support Shader Model 4.1 and DirectX 10.1.

 

 

Before we move on, we have a table comparing the specifications of both the older GeForce 9800 GX2 and the just-released GeForce GTX 280.

 

	NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2 1GB	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 1GB
Manufacturing Process	TSMC 65nm	TSMC 65nm
Core Clock	600MHz	602MHz
Stream Processors	256 (128 per core)	240
Shader Processor Clock	1500MHz	1296
Texture Units	128 (64 per core)	80
Raster Units	48 (24 per core)	32
Memory Bus	256-bit on individual core	512-bit
Memory Clock	2000MHz	2214MHz
Memory Capacity	1GB (512MB per core)	1GB
PCI-E Power Connectors	1 8-pin, 1 6-pin	1 8-pin, 1 6-pin

 

Mini-tour around a massive card

At first glance, the GeForce GTX 280 looks like a fusion between the GeForce 8800 GTS 512 and the GeForce 9800 GTX designs.

 

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 sports a similar blower design to that of the GeForce 8800 GTS 512 and the GeForce 9800 GTX.

 

 

At full speed, the 0.48A blower is reported to spin at some 1600rpm. At 100%, mild wind noise and a little whirr is heard, but unobtrusive.

 

 

HDMI audio output similar to that of the GeForce 9800 series. Power is a 6-and-8-pin combination like the GeForce 9800 GX2.

 

 

A rubber cover which prevents unnecessary exposure of the SLI connectors for either dual SLI or tri SLI.

 

 

The back of the card. Dual dual-link DVI outputs and a single S-Video ouput are available.
Also, hot air is expelled from the vents above the display connectors.

 

 

The back of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280. Having a back cover adds a little protection to the PCB.

 

 

GeForce 9800 GX2 and GeForce GTX 280 physical comparision

The GeForce GTX 280 was meant to replace the GeForce 9800 GX2. Let's compare some of the physical differences between the two cards. However, do note that both cards have the same length.

Here are some comparison images between the two cards for your viewing pleasure.

 

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 (above) and its predecessor, the GeForce 9800 GX2 (top).

 

 

The back of the GeForce GTX 280 is vented, but not for the GeForce 9800 GX2.

 

 

Display output options and exhaust vent design are different between the two cards.

 

 

Different arrangement of connectors as there's only one PCB on the GeForce GTX 280 (card on top), but both need a 6-pin and 8-pin power connector each.

 

 

Taking apart the GeForce GTX 280

We took the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 card apart to reveal what's underneath that mammoth cooling unit.

The bare card itself reminds us of the legendary G80 card design, while the rear I/O plate and the cooling unit (not pictured here) is a mix of the current GeForce 8800 GTS 512 and GeForce 9800 GTX designs as mentioned earlier on.

 

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 1GB bare.

 

 

Pictured here is the GT200 core.

 

 

This card is power-hungry, just like the GeForce 9800 GX2 1GB which also requires 6-pin and 8-pin (one each) PCI-E connectors.

 

 

The rear of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 1GB.

 

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 1GB has 16 memory chips to make up a total of 1GB video memory, running on a 512-bit bus. Eight memory chips are on the front, while the other eight are located at the back.

 

The nitty-gritty details

The external NVIDIA I/O chip. The design of having an external I/O chip was present in G80.

 

 

Hynix 0.8ns GDDR3 memory onboard!

 

 

The GeForce GTX 280 uses a 5-phase PWM design by Volterra.

 

 

Looks familiar? It's the same backplate used on the GeForce 9800 GTX.

 

 

SLI connectors on the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280. Tri SLI is possible on the GTX 280!

 

 

The rear of the card has an LED which lights green (operating) or red (no PCI-E power connected).
The light is guided through a light tube from the PCB (where the LED is) to the backplate.

 

 

Test setup and notes

Here's a list of the parts used for our test setup.

 

Processor	Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 (3GHz, 12MB L2) @ 4GHz
Motherboard	ASUS P5E3 Premium (Intel X48 Express)
Memory	Corsair Dominator 2GB 1800MHz DDR3 Kit
Graphics Cards / Drivers	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 1GB (600/1300/2200MHz) - 177.34 XFX GeForce 9800 GX2 1GB (600/1500/2000MHz) - 175.16
Cooler	Scythe Zipang
Storage	Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 80GB SATA x 2
Power Supply	Enermax Galaxy 1000W
Operating System	Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit w/ SP1

 

 

 

 

Benchmarking notes

Futuremark 3DMark Vantage - Two sets of tests were run on 3DMark Vantage. The first is the 'standard' Performance preset, followed by the highest option available, the Extreme preset. The latest 3DMark Vantage version was used for this review.

Enemy Territory: Quake Wars - Testing was carried out at three resolutions of 1680 x 1050 (on 22-inch widescreens), 1920 x 1200 (on 24-inchers) and card-killing 2560 x 1600 (on 30-inchers). Quality was set to the highest available of High.

Crysis - The same three resolution settings were used for Crysis. Game quality was set to either completely High or completely Very High. No AA or forced AF was used.

World in Conflict - Game quality was set at High and Very High. The differences are the level of AA/AF as well as some extra eye-candy processing. On a side note, Medium triggers DX9 rendering instead of DX10.

Unreal Tournament 3 - Processing was set to Intense, while we forced 4x AA and 16x AF from the NVIDIA Control Panel. We did not test without AA/AF as we found out that we were bottlenecked by our processor instead. UT3Bench was used for this test, and all imaging options were set to the highest available (level 5).

 

Benchmarking: Futuremark 3DMark Vantage and Enemy Territory: Quake Wars

 

NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 280 seems unable to shake the older GeForce 9800 GX2 much. The former gets only about a thousand more points more than the latter in 3DMark Vantage's Performance preset.

A larger difference is produced when running the Extreme preset, which seems to suggest the GeForce GTX 280 could excel at higher resolutions with AA/AF or higher quality presets as compared to its predecessor.

 

 

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 Seems like we're a little processor limited at 1680 x 1050 and 1920 x 1200, but a nice boost could be seen at 2560 x 1600.

 

Benchmarking: Crysis, World in Conflict and Unreal Tournament 3

 

 The GeForce GTX 280 manages to eke a few more frames as compared to the GeForce 9800 GX2 in lower resolutions of 1680 x 1050 and 1920 x 1200.  However, at 2560 x 1600, the GeForce GTX 280 pulls out an eight-fold increase over the GeForce 9800 GX2. It was a real pain sitting through the benchmark on High quality with the GeForce 9800 GX2. 23.4fps single card performance could likely mean Crysis at 2560 x 1600 with a pair of GeForce GTX 280 in SLI mode is playable.

 

 

The frame rate increase over the GeForce 9800 GX2 is still nothing to shout about for lower resolutions. There is a substantial jump at 2560 x 1600, but things aren't playable still anyway.

 

 

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 A game where the new GeForce GTX 280 shines is World in Conflict. We are getting about 50% increase across the board.

 

 

The difference is not that much on a Very High quality setting, but we do see marked improvement at 2560 x 1600.

 

 

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 In Unreal Tournament 3, lower resolutions are still capped by processor performance. At ultra high resolution with AA/AF, the GeForce GTX 280 manages to almost double the performance of the GeForce 9800 GX2.

 

Brief overclocking and conclusion: Is the GeForce GTX 280 a worthy upgrade?

 

A quick yank of the sliders in RivaTuner brought us a score of 12,380 3DMarks, up from the default of 10,958 3DMarks. The card managed to clock in at 700/1506/2450MHz for core, shader and memory respectively. The default clocks of the GeForce GTX 280 are 602/1296/1107MHz.

 

This card comes with three modes: standard 2D (for lowest power consumption), low-power 3D (as the name implies) and performance 3D (card runs at full speed). The intelligent mode switching allows for some power savings in situations where 3D processing power is not required such as surfing the Internet.

 

 

 

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The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 1GB, pictured here with a GeForce 9800 GX2 1GB by XFX.

 

In short, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 1GB does not live up to the hype that it generated prior to its release. Indeed there is performance increase, but the difference is not much, and would not affect the majority of the intended group of buyers, who are avid gamers running on medium to large screens, by much. The drivers for the GeForce GTX 280 are very young, and we should be seeing a couple more of revisions soon, together with faster frame rates from minor tweaks here and there with each release.

Some other benefits that do not come as raw performance include lessened complexity in the design of the GeForce GTX 280 as compared to the GeForce 9800 GX2, which may result in a smaller chance of hardware failure. The GeForce 9800 GX2 cooler pumps hot air out via its side, causing internal temperatures of a case to rise. In contrast, almost all the heat (minus the small gaps near the end) is exhausted through the rear vent which can help in preventing rising case temperatures especially when the whole system is on prolonged load.

 

Who should not buy this card? If you're currently running on an NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2 1GB card, you should stay put with that card until we get more concrete performance results as the drivers for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 1GB mature before deciding.

Who should buy this card? If you're looking for a new high-end solution, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 1GB is for you. It is the fastest performing part out there in the market, and will be, until ATI releases its Radeon HD 4870 solution which may pose a threat to the GeForce GTX 280. There are no benefits by sticking to the slightly-matured GeForce 9800 GX2 part. Enthusiasts looking forward to cranking some impressive figures from benchmarks should consider the GeForce GTX 280 too. You have the ability to SLI three of these cards, as compared to two only on the GeForce 9800 GX2, and get better scores, assuming your processor does not end up bottlenecking you.