Asus GTX-295 (ENGTX295)

CONCLUSION

Now that we've tested the GTX-295 and spent more hours with it on the test bench than we care to think about we've got to say that in the testing we've done Nvidia has pulled one out of the hat with the GTX-295. We're sure that some games will favor the 4870x2 but the testing we've done, and redone, shows that they have grabbed the fastest single GPU crown. Considering that ATI announced a price drop on the 4870x2 the day before the GTX-295 makes it's maiden appearance we're pretty sure they know that the GTX-295 has ripped the crown from the head of the 4870x2. Let the spin doctors put their spin to it any way that they want. We're sure you'll be seeing things like: "In order to bring better value to our customers we've dropped the price." When you've been in hardware as long as we have you learn to recognize things that the general public might miss. The dropping of the price of the 4870x2 is to keep it at a price point comparison level with the performance of the GTX-295. To those not so well versed in PR speak, that means keeping the price of a product equal to the performance. The GTX-295 is expected to release at $499 (USD), it outperformed the 4870x2 in our testing. So the correct response from ATI is to lower the price of the 4870x2 so that it's price reflects the performance you get dollar for dollar.

All the PR speak aside.

In our opinion you are looking at the fastest single GPU on the planet, the Asus GTX-295. There will be those that argue, moan whine, wail and gnash their teeth. That's the way things work in the computer world, you buy the best the fastest the newest the shiniest and along comes something newer faster and shinier. Newer faster and shinier is here now.

We really like the cooling on the Asus GTX-295, top end even OCed it was no where near thermal limits. It churns out FPS at unbelievable rates and offers an SLI like solution on one card making it easy to use and can run on any board with a PCI-E 16x expansion slot. We really like that with two GTX-295s you can run Quad SLI, while one of these is more than enough for most people, we're not more people and aspire to the "More Power" school of thought.

Once again the war of the GPUs continues to the benefit of the end user. We like the Asus GTX-295, it churns out FPS like no other single card we've seen. The Asus GTX-295 overclocks like a champ and we topped 700MHz core and 1100 MHz memory. We achieved some amazing scores in Vantage, and the performance translated well into games.

We are trying out a new addition to our scoring system to provide additional feedback beyond a flat score. Please note that the final score isn't an aggregate average of the new rating system.

• Performance 9.5
• Value 9
• Quality 10
• Warranty 9
• Features 9
• Innovation 10

Pros:

+  Runs cool
+  Quad SLI Capable
+  Out-performs The 4870x2
+  Good bundle (Except we'd like to see a full game title)
+  Great Overclocking Result
+  Asus Quality

Cons:

-  May Be To Large For Some Cases
-  Odd Power Connector Placement
-  Not Having This Much GPU Power Sooner

With it's blazing performance and new status as the fastest single GPU on the planet the Asus GTX-295 well deserves a score of 9.5 out of 10 and the Bjorn3D.com Golden Bear Award!