All right, heres a short review of nvidia's baby monster.
I purchased the zotac edition of the GTX295;
Packaging and contents:
The 295 comes in a neat and tightly packed box showing off all its specs and the card itself through a window:
You also get free racedriver GRiD with the card :hap2: ...I would prefer zotac including newer games like farcry2 they include with their gtx260, but whatever its still free
Inside the box, the card itself is tightly packed in antistatic and very firm padding so theres no chance of damage during shipping:
As for accessories, you get a molex to 6pin and 8pin connector if your psu doesnt happen to have one...Also included is a HDMI to DVI connector, free 3dmark vantage, Drivers CD and, surprisingly a free HDMI cable!!
hyeah:
The card itself:
Right lets move on
Specifications:
Test setup:
For this review I shall be using the following system:
1.Intel core i7 920 @ 3.2Ghz
2.GSkill 6GB 3x2gb DDR3-1600 Mhz PC312800 RAM
3.eVGA x58 SLI motherboard
4.Zotac GTX295
5.Tagan BZ700 PSU
6.Dell SP2008WFP 22" monitor 1680x1050
Lets get cracking:gun2:
Benchmarks:
3dmark vantage
3dmark vantage is the latest gaming/graphics benchmarking tool for PC's by the futuremark group. This latest edition makes use of directx 10 and nvidia physX technology and returns a mean score based on cpu and gpu performance.
A very good vantage score for the king here.
Racedriver GRiD
Racedriver grid is a racing genre game by codemasters, to date it is classified as the racing game with the best graphics for the PC..The game was played at the highest possible settings with the highest possible AA and AF through 3 races through the nurburg ring
Tom Clancy's HAWX
Tom clancy's hawx is the latest edition in the acclaimed tom clancy series, this time you fly as ace pilot crenshaw through an intriguing story line and the affects of modern warfare. You get to fly more than 50 real world aircrafts and push them to the limit whilst enjoying the beautiful detail of the city.
Although the game settings were maxed out, i think there is an fps cap on the game at 60fps so it was stuck at that through the entire run.
The readings were taken in the rio de janeiro map.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
cod4 modern warfare y infinity ward was one of the biggest games of 2007 swiping most of the awards. It features very good graphics and excellent gameplay with a gripping story line and amazing multiplayer experience.
The benchmark was done at the highest possible settings with max AA.
World in Conflict: Soviet Assault
WiC is an RTS game which makes use of directx10 and provides stunning graphics over an intense war torn America atacked by the soviet union...It features unique gameplay in an RTS and is immensly fun and also a big resource hog.
The benchmark was done with the inbuilt benchmark tool at the highest settings with max AA
FarCry 2:
Farcry2 is the next installment to the acclaimed farcry, it features a rich 50sq.km area of civil war torn Africa with the player hunting for the "jackal" a mysterious arms dealer fueling the war... The game makes use of all the graphical features available and provides a beautiful and lush landscape.
bench run
The benchmark was generated by farcry2's inbuilt benchmark tool set to the highest possible settings and highest possible AA.
Crysis Warhead:
Ah, and here we have the most graphically advanced game ever released, crysis warhead by crytek features the best graphics in any game till date, using a tropical setting and giving surreal affects which requires the best hardware to max out.
The benchmark was done with guru3d's benchmark tool in the assault map...Always had a dream of maxing out crysis and it looks like the 295 can just do it....Enthusiast settings at 16xAA.
Conclusion:
Undoubtedly Nvidia has built a monster and boy is it FAST...It is able to run all games at maxed out settings at my resolution of 1680x1050 and probably at 1920x1080 too...The only issue plaguing the card is the cost...At a whopping Rs.32,000 this card does not come cheap but then again the performance is unrivalled, so if you have the pocket and want the absolute fastest, then the zotac gtx295 is the card for you.
Performance: 5/5
Features: 5/5
Packaging and accessories: 4.5/5
Value for money: 3/5
I purchased the zotac edition of the GTX295;
Packaging and contents:
The 295 comes in a neat and tightly packed box showing off all its specs and the card itself through a window:
You also get free racedriver GRiD with the card :hap2: ...I would prefer zotac including newer games like farcry2 they include with their gtx260, but whatever its still free
Inside the box, the card itself is tightly packed in antistatic and very firm padding so theres no chance of damage during shipping:
As for accessories, you get a molex to 6pin and 8pin connector if your psu doesnt happen to have one...Also included is a HDMI to DVI connector, free 3dmark vantage, Drivers CD and, surprisingly a free HDMI cable!!
hyeah: 
The card itself:
Right lets move on
Specifications:
Test setup:
For this review I shall be using the following system:
1.Intel core i7 920 @ 3.2Ghz
2.GSkill 6GB 3x2gb DDR3-1600 Mhz PC312800 RAM
3.eVGA x58 SLI motherboard
4.Zotac GTX295
5.Tagan BZ700 PSU
6.Dell SP2008WFP 22" monitor 1680x1050
Lets get cracking:gun2:
Benchmarks:
3dmark vantage
3dmark vantage is the latest gaming/graphics benchmarking tool for PC's by the futuremark group. This latest edition makes use of directx 10 and nvidia physX technology and returns a mean score based on cpu and gpu performance.
A very good vantage score for the king here.
Racedriver GRiD
Racedriver grid is a racing genre game by codemasters, to date it is classified as the racing game with the best graphics for the PC..The game was played at the highest possible settings with the highest possible AA and AF through 3 races through the nurburg ring
Tom Clancy's HAWX
Tom clancy's hawx is the latest edition in the acclaimed tom clancy series, this time you fly as ace pilot crenshaw through an intriguing story line and the affects of modern warfare. You get to fly more than 50 real world aircrafts and push them to the limit whilst enjoying the beautiful detail of the city.
Although the game settings were maxed out, i think there is an fps cap on the game at 60fps so it was stuck at that through the entire run.
The readings were taken in the rio de janeiro map.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
cod4 modern warfare y infinity ward was one of the biggest games of 2007 swiping most of the awards. It features very good graphics and excellent gameplay with a gripping story line and amazing multiplayer experience.
The benchmark was done at the highest possible settings with max AA.
World in Conflict: Soviet Assault
WiC is an RTS game which makes use of directx10 and provides stunning graphics over an intense war torn America atacked by the soviet union...It features unique gameplay in an RTS and is immensly fun and also a big resource hog.
The benchmark was done with the inbuilt benchmark tool at the highest settings with max AA
FarCry 2:
Farcry2 is the next installment to the acclaimed farcry, it features a rich 50sq.km area of civil war torn Africa with the player hunting for the "jackal" a mysterious arms dealer fueling the war... The game makes use of all the graphical features available and provides a beautiful and lush landscape.
bench run
The benchmark was generated by farcry2's inbuilt benchmark tool set to the highest possible settings and highest possible AA.
Crysis Warhead:
Ah, and here we have the most graphically advanced game ever released, crysis warhead by crytek features the best graphics in any game till date, using a tropical setting and giving surreal affects which requires the best hardware to max out.
The benchmark was done with guru3d's benchmark tool in the assault map...Always had a dream of maxing out crysis and it looks like the 295 can just do it....Enthusiast settings at 16xAA.
Conclusion:
Undoubtedly Nvidia has built a monster and boy is it FAST...It is able to run all games at maxed out settings at my resolution of 1680x1050 and probably at 1920x1080 too...The only issue plaguing the card is the cost...At a whopping Rs.32,000 this card does not come cheap but then again the performance is unrivalled, so if you have the pocket and want the absolute fastest, then the zotac gtx295 is the card for you.
Performance: 5/5
Features: 5/5
Packaging and accessories: 4.5/5
Value for money: 3/5
