Test: Club3D R9 285

Konklusion
 

Lad os starte med at besvare det vigtigste spørgsmål: Er AMD Radeon R9 285 hurtigere end Geforce GTX 760? Svaret er i de fleste tests ja, og det er også i flere tests en fornuftig arvtager til Radeon R9 280X da den nye arkitektur er mere energieffektiv. Den opdaterede version af GCN arkitekturen gør det godt og det bliver spændende at se nærmere på de nye features såsom UVD video dekoderen og freesync i fremtidige artikler.

Dette fine grafikkort i mellemprisklassen vil sikkert tvinge Nvidia til at svare tilbage ved at sænke prisen, introducere et forbedret Geforce GTX 760 eller måske fremskynde introduktionen af den næste generation og det er jo noget der kommer os forbrugere til gode.

Larmer blæserne? Ikke voldsomt, med mindre man manuelt tvinger blæserne til at køre 100% hastighed hele tiden.

Hvis man vil overclockke mere end 10-15% skal man lede efter en version af R9 285 med kraftigere strømforsyning, da det testede kort så ud til at ramme grænsen for hvor meget strøm der kunne trækkes gennem de to 6 pins strømstik der er til rådighed.

Innovation/Teknologi - 5
Det er mere evolution end revolution der er tale om når man ser på de løbende forbedringer som AMD har tilføjet til deres GCN arkitektur men deres strategi virker. R9 285 er et markant mere energieffektivt kort end R9 280X og de nye features man får med, gør det til et attraktivt grafikkort.

Design/Layout - 4
Kortet er kompakt og CoolStream køleren gør sit arbejde godt under almindeligt brug og kan holde kortet oppe på i hastighed uden at larme for meget. Jeg kunne godt have ønsket mig 6+8 pins strømstik så man kunne overclockke kortet mere.

Software/BIOS - 3
Kortet blev testet med en AMD beta driver som var den eneste tilgængelige. Der var desværre stabilitetsproblemer i en enkelt test men ellers fungerede den præcis som den eksisterende driver.

Ydelse - 5
Ved standard hastighed leverer R9 285 en solid præstation og er i mange tilfælde hurtigere end Nvidias GTX 760. Kortet er ikke overclocket fra fabrikken, men der er plads til at hente lidt mere ydelse hvis man skruer yderligere op i driveren. Kortet er dog begrænset af at driveren kun tillader 20% mere effekt fordi stik og strømforsyning ikke kan levere mere end det.

Pris - 5
Prisen er sat meget konkurrencedygtig ifht. Nvidia Geforce GTX 760, så mon ikke der kommer et modspil fra Nvidia snart?

UK summary

Lets start by answering the most important question: Is the AMD Radeon R9 285 faster than Nvidias GTX 760? The answer is yes in most tests, and in several of them R9 285 even seems like a heir to the R9 280X because of the much improved energy consumption/performance ratio. The updated GCN architecture does a good job and we are looking forward to taking a look at the new features like the UVD video decoder and freesync.

This fine mid-range graphics card will probably force Nvidia to reduce price or introduce and improved version of the Geforce GTX 760 or even speed up the introduction of the next generation of their architecture and that is something which will benefit us consumers.

Are the fans noisy? Not really, unless they are forced to 100% in the overdrive settings and automatic control is disabled.

If you want more than a 10-15% overclock, you should start looking for a R9 285 with a more powerful power supply and 6+8 pin power connectors, as this card appeared to hit the limit for how much power it could get though the two 6 pin connectors available.

 

Innovation/Technology - 5
It is evolution rather than revolution when looking at the incremental updates AMD have been adding to their GCN architecture, but their strategy works. Radeon R9 285 is significantly more energy efficient than the R9 280X and the new features you get makes it one attractive card.

Design/Layout - 4
The card is compact and the CoolStream cooler does its job under normal load without being too noisy. I wish the card would have had 6+8 pins power connectors instead, so the card could have been pushed more when overclocking.

Software/BIOS - 3
The AMD beta driver which was the only available at the time of testing, was unstable in a single test. Apart from that the driver worked exactly like the existing driver.

Performance - 5
At standard clockspeed, AMD Radeon R9 285 delivers a solid performance and in many cases it outperforms Nvidias Geforce GTX 760. The card is not factory-overclocked, which means that there is room for improvement if you don't mind tweaking clockspeed in the driver. The card seems to be limited by the fact that the driver only allows a 20% power delivery increase, likely because the connectors and power supply can't deliver more power than that.

Price - 5
The pricing is very competitive when compared to the Nvidia Geforce GTX 760. I wonder if Nvidia will reply with an updated price soon?

Test: Club3D R9 285

Innovation / Teknologi	5
Design - Layout	4
Software - BIOS	3
Ydelse	5
Pris	5
Samlet	88%