Introduction

While a bit uncommon to have two graphics cards that are ready at the same time, yet choose to release them a week apart, this is the path NVIDIA has decided to take. We actually ended up with a GTX 285 sample a few days before the GTX 295 came. The main reason for this plan, though, is probably due to the fact that NVIDIA didn't want to take focus away from either card.

The plan probably worked to a degree; while last week everyone was in awe of what the GTX 295 was offering, there was plenty of questions regarding what's going on with the cheaper GTX 285 as well.

While we would all no doubt love to own the latest top of the line dual GPU bad boy, for many it's simply not a purchase that can be swallowed by their partner, bank account or even themselves. The GTX 285, on the other hand, should offer excellent performance while not hitting the bank account as hard. The key words there, though, is "as hard", because don't think for a second that the GTX 285 is going to be cheap.

The card we're looking at today comes from GIGABYTE, so with everything said and done let's have a quick look at the package before having a closer look at the card and its specifications. From there we will check out the performance and see how it compares to the older cards like the GTX 280 which is still a very capable card along with the ex performance crown holder, the HD 4870 X2. Let's stop blabbering and get a move on to the package.