GeForce G310 Fermi - Nvidia news! 2010

Tests

3DMark 06

The tests with 3DMark 06 were done with the same settings as the previous one. And also on the 3DMark 06 there’s a small superiority for the single card when compared to the reference models, and a performance closer to the 640MB version. In SLI mode, the CPU visibly limits the performance of the cards that are only able to enhance their own score by 2300 points, not so far away from the performance of the 8800GTX in single-card mode.

Further on the review we will see how the SLI performance can be enhanced according to the CPU chosen.

Tests

3DMark 05

The first test was done without any filters enabled and 2 different resolutions in order to check the range on the cards. The second test was done with filters AA4x and AF8x to see how much the system would lose in performance.

The tests have demonstrated a 400 point differente from the base solution, since the cards used work with different frequences, and the results were close to a GTS 640MB using the default frequencies. In SLI mode, however, the boost in performance is noticeable, and it is superior than a 8800GTX. However, the performances in SLI mode are slowed by the CPU.

For this overclocked version, GainWard used the same active heatsink found on the reference board, which proved itself to be more than enough to keep acceptable temperatures on the G80 core, with reduced noises thanks to the big fan. In order to differ from the reference board, Gainward applied a sticker that covers all the heatsink area.

The PCB is gree, which is the color found on the 320MB versions, differently from the black ones that are featured on the 640MB versions. The card is as big as the reference card (24cm) and there’s only one SLI connector, while on the GTX version there are 2. The power supply is done through one 6pin connector placed at the end of the PCB. The card also features 2 DVI-I connections, plus an S-Video connection.

The card, according to nVidia’s specifications, needs at least 400W and 26A, while in SLI mode, it’s recommended using power supplies that can handle 800W and are certified by nVidia. The list of SLI certified power supplies can be found on nVidia’s official website.

The Core clock is set at 550Mhz and the memories at 880Mhz, instead of the 500Mhz and 800Mhz respectively from the reference board. Nothing else is changed from the reference card when it comes to the other hardware components, where we can find the G80 GTS core with 96 stream processors and GDDR3 memories that form a total of 10 Hynix chips around the core, with a total bus of 320bit.

The G80 was the first graphic core to use an unified architecture for the calculations of vertex and pixel shaders, and it’s compatible with the DirectX 10 libraries that were introduced with Microsoft Vista.

When nVidia introduced the GeForce 8 series, they decided to place a prohibition for the manufacturers when it came to offering cards with different frequencies than the reference board. After the 320MB version, however, nVidia changed its mind, and from then on many manufacturers decided to offer cards with enhanced frequencies.

GainWard, for example, has featured a 8800GTS 320Mb with enhanced frequencies, recognizable by the GS suffix (Golden Sample). We will be using this card to test a SLI configuration on this review. The GTS GS model from GainWard is simply a normal 8800GTS with modified GPU and memory frequencies.

The latest release of the nVidia drivers, WHQL Certificated, adds the stable support for the new GTX 285 and GTX 295 models, and it also brings a better performance PhysX for the game Mirror’s Edge.

Besides offering support to the GTX 285 and GTX 295 cards, the new drivers also update the PhysX System Software component to the version 9.09.0010. Nvidia has confirmed that the new PhysX component is able to offer better performances in Mirror’s Edge. The PC version of EA’s game was developed specially in order to use the PhysX technology.

Also, the new drivers have solved a bug that had appeared on the Beta version with the GeForce GTX 295 cards, in which only one of the graphic cores was recognized as being able to support CUDA and PhysX. Other bugs that affected some SLI configurations were also solved, such as the Fallout 3 crashes when in 1440×900 pixels. A SLI profile was also added on S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Clear Sky Benchmark. In any case, Nvidia has declared that the anti-aliasing active-mode in the SLI configurations has a limited support, however.

The new ForceWare 181.22 supports also the nVidia cards from the GeForce 6 series up to the GeForce 9 series, including also the new GTX 200.

Conclusions - Part 2

One of the limits on the GTX 280 was the limited overclockability with the conventional cooling systems. On the new model, it was possible to raise the core frequencies up to 756MHz, the shaders to 1620Mhz, while the memories got a very good enhancement, going from 1404Mhz (equivalent to 2808MHz), all those while working with the original cooling system and keeping the card’s stability, on a default system with only the card in overclocking.

Hence, nVidia and EVGA deserve the compliments for the great work done on this new GeForce GTX 285.

Conclusion:

The work done by nVidia is in fact excellent, since they decided to work on those that were the “low points” on the GTX 280, such as the high energy requirements when in full load and the high temperatures that came with the 65nm fabrication process, also considering the high manufacturing costs of the previous model, especially when compared with the rival ATI solutions.

We’d have probably expected from nVidia a more noticeable enhancement for the working frequencies when in 3D. Perhaps the choise was to offer a product with higher frequencies but that wouldn’t require that much power as the GTX 280, while offering higher overclocking possibilities for those who wanted to “play” with the frequencies.

Energy and Temperatures

The working temperatures on the card were always great, arriving at a maximum 70°C after stressful testing sessions. The fan speed remained at 40% at all times, which produced very little noise as well. In idle, the card frequencies are noticeably lowered, with the core and memories that go to 100Mhz and the shaders at 300Mhz, and the 2D working temperature remains low, staying at 37°C even after hours of work, doing better than the previous GTX 280 that remained at 42°C.

As for the energy consumption, there was a noticeable improvement of the full-load energy requirements that reaches a maximum of 358 W, very close to the great numbers that the rival ATI HD4870 reaches, and a lot lower than the previous GTX 280.

Call of Juarez

- 1920×1200 - 40,9
- 1680×1050 - 41,9

With filters ON

- 1920×1200 - 35,2
- 1680×1050 - 40,2

Call of Duty: World at War

- 1920×1200 - 85,7
- 1680×1050 - 87,1

With filters ON:

- 1920×1200 - 74,4
- 1680×1050 - 80,3