HARDOCP - Introduction - XFX GeForce GTX 280 and 260 XXX Edition

Date:: Monday , September 08, 2008
Author:: Mark Warner
Editor:: Brent Justice
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XFX GeForce GTX 280 and 260 XXX Edition

The highest clocked GTX 280 and GTX 260 cards from XFX are evaluated. We’ll find out the highest playable gameplay settings in Crysis, Call of Duty 4, Age of Conan, and Race Driver: Grid. We highlight real-world gameplay differences between the XFX GTX 260 XXX and GTX 280 XXX Editions and find which is the best value.

Introduction

XFX is a well-known manufacturer to most PC gamers. A subsidiary of PINE Technology, XFX specializes in PC video cards and motherboards featuring NVIDIA GeForce GPUs and nForce core logic. The XFX website states:

XFX dares to go where the competition would like to, but can’t. That’s because, at XFX, we don’t just create great digital video components—we build all-out, mind-blowing, performance-crushing, competition-obliterating video cards and motherboards. And, not only are they amazing, you don’t have to live on dry noodles and peanut butter to afford them.

XFX is known for their transferrable lifetime warranties, even if the cooling device is modified or replaced. Please be advised, though, that in order to receive this protection, the video card must be registered on the XFX website within 30 days of the original purchase, or the warranty defaults to just 1 year of coverage.

There are several options that XFX offers in their GeForce GTX 280 and 260 lines of video cards. You must be weary of the model number you are purchasing so that you are getting what you want. If you look at the product model numbers for XFX video cards you will find model numbers in this format: “GX-280N-ZDDU.” If you look at their website you will see there are four types of video cards based on the GeForce GTX 280. The two fastest models are the ones with the “XXX” in their product name. The GeForce GTX 280 XXX we are evaluating today is the “GX-280N-ZDDU” which includes Call of Duty 4. The other XXX model, “GX-280N-ZDD9” has the same clock speeds as the ZDDU model but includes Assassin’s Creed instead of Call of Duty 4. These are the fastest video cards offered by XFX.

Similarly, XFX’s GeForce GTX 260 line is comprised of three different models. The fastest models offered are the video cards with “XXX” in their product name. Again, the two different XXX models are clocked at the same clock frequencies, the only difference is the game bundled. We are evaluating the “GX-260N-ADDU” model with Call of Duty 4 included.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 200 Series GPUs

NVIDIA launched the GeForce GTX 200 series of GPUs on June 16th, 2008. The GeForce GTX 200 series is currently comprised of 2 different GPUs. The flagship of the generation is the GeForce GTX 280, with the GeForce GTX 260 playing second fiddle. The GPUs are built on TSMC's 65 nanometer fabrication process and are made of about 1.4 billion transistors.

The GeForce GTX 280 contains 240 streaming processors and 32 ROPs. The streaming processors are clocked by default at 1.296GHz, while the rest of the GPU is clocked to 602MHz. The GTX 280 boasts a 512-bit wide memory bus, sporting good old GDDR3 memory clocked at 2.214GHz, resulting in a massive 141GB per second of memory bandwidth.

The GeForce GTX 260 GPU consists of 192 streaming processors and 28 ROPs. On this GPU, the streaming processors have a reference clock speed of 1.242GHz, and the ROPs and other parts of the GPU are rated at 576MHz. The GTX 260 has a memory 448-bit memory bus with 896MB of GDDR3 memory running at 1.998GHz. That configuration allows for 111GB of data per second to pass through the memory subsystem.

XFX GeForce GTX 280 XXX

The XFX GeForce GTX 280 XXX is clocked higher than NVIDIA’s reference clock speeds. The GPU core is 68 MHz higher than NVIDIA’s reference clock speed, it has been set to 670MHz and the streaming processors are also higher by 162MHz which are set at 1.458GHz. Finally, the memory on this video card is clocked to 2.5GHz DDR (or 1.25GHz actual), which is 290MHz higher than NVIDIA's reference specifications. That memory speed increase gives us a maximum theoretical memory bandwidth of 160GB per second.

The box which this video card arrived in is large. It definitely gives you the feeling that something impressive is inside. The front of the box shows the model information and has small icons describing the various features of the contained hardware. There are four decals attached to the front of the box. In the top left corner, there is a sticker stating that Call of Duty 4 is included in the box, and on the right edge, there is a sticker which says that an HDMI adaptor is included, another sticker proclaiming this video card to be in the XXX series, and finally a "PhysX by NVIDIA" sticker, indicating that the video card inside supports NVIDIA's PhysX physics acceleration.

On one side of the box is located a small block of text indicating the minimum and recommended power supply requirements for the XFX GeForce GTX 280 XXX, and on the back of the box there is the regular marketing materials and bulleted feature list.

Bundled with this video card, customers will find a full version copy of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, just as advertized on the front of the box. Please note that XFX also has an Assassin's Creed bundle option, so if you want the game, be careful which version you select. Also included is a driver CD-ROM, a "Do Not Disturb" door-hanger, a DVI to HDMI adaptor, a single DVI to VGA adaptor, a S/PDIF cable for use with the HDMI adaptor, an HDTV output dongle, and a dual-Molex to single-6-pin auxiliary power adaptor.

This video card's bundle is light on paperwork. Included is a quick install guide, a guide to connecting the HDTV dongle, and a short booklet which contains tips and advice on how to install a video card.

The entire video card is encased in a glossy black plastic cooling shroud. It is so shiny, in fact, that everything around reflected off of it. Even the stickers applied to the flat surfaces of the cooling shroud are extremely shiny. The crinkly texture you see in the reflection is the cloth material we used to diffuse the light source for taking the photographs. Aside from the sticker, this video card is basically identical to every other GeForce GTX 280 based video card out there. There is a fairly large radial blower fan at the back which draws air from within the chassis, blows the air across a heat-sink located under the plastic shroud, and finally out of the case via slots in the dual-slot PCI expansion bracket. NVIDIA has been using this basic design for almost two years now, and the design has certainly served them well.

The back-side of this video card is covered by yet more black plastic and another decal. There are a number of vent slots in the plastic, presumably to allow radiant heat to escape from the back of the video card. The SLI bridge connectors are concealed by a black rubber plug. At the business end of the XFX GeForce GTX 280 XXX, there is an HDTV output port, and 2 dual-link DVI ports, with each DVI port capable of supporting a monitor with resolutions up to 2560x1600. Along the top edge of the card, toward the back, there is an 8-pin auxiliary power connector, a 6-pin auxiliary power connector, and a small black rubber plug which covers the S/PDIF header, allowing you to pass audio through when using the HDMI adaptor.

XFX GeForce GTX 260 XXX

The XFX GeForce GTX 260 XXX also has a higher clock speed than NVIDIA’s reference clock speeds. For this video card, XFX has the GPU set at 640MHz on the GPU core, an increase of 64MHz, and the streaming processors are set to 1.363GHz, for an increase of 121MHz. The memory clock speed also saw a respectable boost, increasing from 1.998GHz DDR to 2.3GHz providing a memory bandwidth of 128.8GB per second of memory throughput.

The XFX GeForce 260 XXX's packaging is almost identical to that of the GeForce GTX 280 XXX we looked at above. The front of the box says "260" in great big print, it lacks a couple of stickers, and the power supply requirement is slightly different, but aside from those changes, it is essentially the same packaging. The missing decals are the HDMI adaptor sticker and the NVIDIA PhysX sticker. Of course, this video card does support NVIDIA's PhysX and HDMI, but the stickers are missing nonetheless. Our bundle did not include the HDMI adaptor or S/PDIF cable.

The XFX GeForce GTX 260 XXX video card itself also looks virtually identical to the GeForce GTX 280 XXX. In fact, the only visible difference is in the power connectors and the model number label. This video card requires a pair of 6-pin auxiliary power connectors. It does not require and 8-pin connector like its big brother. As a matter of fact, if these video cards were presented to you without labels and you couldn't see the power connectors, you wouldn't be able to tell them apart at all.

The back of the XFX GeForce GTX 260 XXX is the same as well. It is covered in the same black plastic shroud, has the same decal, and the same ventilation slots. The video card features 2 dual-link DVI ports and an HDTV output port. For some reason, the dual-slot PCI backplane on the video card we received looked as though it had run afoul of the equipment used to give it its titanium-black color. The finish is blotchy and strange looking. We expect that the products you would receive in retail would not have this minor little problem.

The Competition

The primary competition for the XFX GeForce GTX 280 XXX in the high-end enthusiast space is the ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2, and the XFX GeForce GTX 260 XXX competes with the ATI Radeon HD 4870. Therefore, both of these ATI video cards will be included in this evaluation.