Zotac GTX285 AMP! Edition Review

Posted by: James Clewer (gt_junkie) on: 04/17/2009 07:53 PM [ Print | 0 comment(s) ]

Features

On paper the GTX 285 AMP! looks like a highly capable card offering many improvements over it's littler brothers the original GTX 260 (192 and 216 stream processor varieties) and even the virtually brand new GTX 275.

It offers more memory (1gb vs 896mb), better memory bandwidth (512bit vs 448bit) and a higher stream processor count (240 vs 192/216) when compared to the 260's as well as having more available memory and bandwidth than the 275. Indeed it even trumps its original equivalent model the GTX 280 - although not by much. Specs are identical until you get to the manufacturing process size of the G200 core.

The 280 is built on a warmer running, more power hungry and consequently less efficient 65nm process whilst the 285 is built on a 55nm process. This also means that unlike the GTX280 the GTX285 actually has two 6 pin PCI-E sockets rather than one 6 pin and one 8 pin (far more rare) which makes it a more attractive proposition for people not wanting to use cable adapters.

Lastly, any one worth their salt will spot that the 'AMP' designation of any Zotac card refers to an overclocked edition. What we have here is a core clock of 702mhz (up 54mhz over stock), a memory clock of 1296mhz (also up 54mhz) and a shader clock of 1512mhz (36mhz above stock) these numbers may look small but as you will see they do have an impact.
The size of a flagship card like this could introduce some problems if the space in your case is limited. First of all the card is a considerable length so the depth of the case will be a factor. Also, consider airflow for the card. Although the heatsink on this model does a good job it can't work miracles - decent cable tidying skills and some degree of cool air flowing towards it would definitely be a good thing.