XFX GTX280 XXX Extreme

 

The package...


XFX have allways known how to make there packaging look very impressive, with the Bright green Glow on the box, letting you know your in for something special. Inside the box you get your standard Drivers which i never use, a do not Disturb card and a copy of Assasins creed, you also get a Dual Molex to 6in adaptor and a compostie out cable.

 

I must Admit it's getting pretty tiring having to upgrade $1000 video cards all the time, and now with the new GTX280 it's like, Give me a break, it seems like they are upgrading  video cards every 3-4 months. The last one, the 9800GTX being a major dissapointment, then the introduction of the 9800GX2 in Quad SLi with Drivers that where never 100%, and the use of any AA in games was impossible. Sure it was good in the benchmarks but the problems that came with it made it a headache to own.

That said i must admit the GTX280 is unlike the previous two releases, it reminds me of when i first bought my 8800GTX, it was in a league of its own, and was a great Improvement over the previous model the 7900 series.

It is very satisfying to know that you can play every game on the market with the highest settings and with only one card, thats the way it should be, apart from Crysis I was able to max out every game at 2560x1600 with no problems.

The question alot of people are asking right now is, is the GTX280 a good replacement for the 9800GX2? When it comes to Pricing the 9800GX2 is a little cheaper but you get the hassles of having to run SLi.

 

 

The Card itself isn't to shabby to look at, a combination of metal and plastic gives it a Impressive feel and look, it is also completetly enclosed in the casing as the 9800GX2 was and also shares the same 6pin and 8pin power Plugs. Now I can go on all day about all the specs, so i will just go straight to the gaming performance.

 

Crysis the game we all love and hate.

 

33 FPS average isn't bad for a single card, making it playable on 22inch LCDs with 1680x1050 resolutions

 

1680x1050 DX10 Very High

 

GTX280 on the left                                                              9800GX2 on the right


Maxishines Performace Chart | Test 2

1920x1200 ,DX10 Very High, Gameplay, performed over 2 minutes of the

same scene "At first light".

 

1920x1200 DX10 Very High

 

1. 9800GX2  35.82 avrg    2. GTX280  33.43 avrg      3. ATI 4870  26.965  avrg    4. 9800GTX  23.04 avrg


Not making much difference going from 1680x1050 to 1900x1200, but clearly faster than the 9800GX2  in Crysis.

 

 

3D Mark Vantage

Extreme Preset 1920x1200


 

 

1. GTX280 5722      2. ATI 4870 3775      3. 9800GX2 3689    4. 9800GTX   2262

 

Vantage Produced nice results 5722 on Extreme preset.

 

 

Race Driver Grid

2560x1600 All settings max

 

 

1. 9800GX2  70 fps     2. GTX280  62 fps    3. ATi 4870  58 fps    4. 9800GTX 47 fps


 

CALL OF DUTY 4

2560x1600 4xAA Settings Max

 

 

1. 9800GX2 68.1     2. GTX280 66.2     3. ATi 4870 46.8     4. 9800GTX 39.1

 

 

Assassins Creed

2560x1600 All settings on High

 

1. 9800GX2  49.1     2. ATi 4870  44.2     3. GTX280  45.9     4. 9800GTX  34.9

 

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