Review: EVGA GeForce GTX 285 Mac Edition Published: 6/9/2009 Updated: 6/12/2009 (2F16 Driver Update FYI/Test results) Updated: 6/17/2009 (Added GT120 results to system power usage tests) Updated: 11/10/2009 (FYI 10.6.2 driver update fixes Maya 2009 issues) | |
Cons: Reviewer's Take: (Based on tests at 1920x1200 w/8-core 2.66GHz Mac Pro.) I'm keeping this card in my 2009 Mac Pro in the hope that Snow Leopard (and/or later OS X drivers) will better fulfill the card's potential. (Although the power saving modes (variable clock speeds for GPU, Shaders and Memory) help lower power use/noise (keeping fan at default 40% most times), IMHO it doesn't seem to clock up to full speed in many common (non-game) apps.) I use Bootcamp/Windows for gaming and performance there was impressive. EVGA's Precision utility realtime FPS/Temperature/Clock speed reporting on the G15 keyboard's LCD is a very cool feature. If you already bought the ATI 4870 however (and don't care about Bootcamp/Windows), it's hard to recommend spending $450 on another card at this point. (For most users at least.) Requirements: Early 2009/Early 2008 Mac Pro running OS X 10.5.7 or later. Test System: Early 2009 Mac Pro Dual 2.66GHz, 12GB RAM (6x2GB), OEM WD 640GB HD, OS X 10.5.7 w/all updates as of 6/5/2009. 24in LCD Display (1920x1200). Original MSRP: $449.95. | |
Introduction/Specs | |
EVGA GTX 285 Mac Edition EVGA sent a review sample of their Mac Edition Geforce GTX 285 for testing. Rather than regurgitate every feature (some not supported in OS X currently) Nvidia lists on their GeForce GTX 285 product pages here's a short summary of the card's specs. The clocks are the standard (not OC'd) reference GTX 285 speeds although Windows users can tweak those using EVGA's Precision Utility. (See Bootcamp/Windows notes page.) Note the clock speeds listed are the max (clocks are variable, w/power saving modes.)
The Mac version does not have the connector for a Component Video out dongle present on GTX 285 PC models. (Although personally I'd never use that anyway.) Like typical retail cards, it does not have the support bar/extension (typically done on heavy OEM cards for extra protection during system shipping). It's locked in place by the Mac Pro's sliding retaining bar at the PCIe connector. (To remove the card you press a button on the Mac Pro's front fan cage and slide that forward, which moves the metal bar out of the locked position.) Mac GTX 285 Card ID/Firmware Info: (from Apple system profiler) Here's a photo of the GTX 285 card installed in an Early 2009 Mac Pro: Fan Noise:
As I mentioned back in March, with the Apple shipped ATI 4870 card, ATI's Overdrive (in Windows) reported idle speeds of 600Mhz core/850MHz Memory - i.e. only a downclock of 150MHz on the core. But I don't know if that's accurate. (I saw much lower idle clocks on an XFX 4890/1GB (850MHz GPU) card in a real PC - 240MHz at idle.) There's pros and cons to the Mac GTX 285 power saving (downclocking) feature (more agressive in OS X based on my experience vs Bootcamp/Windows use) - and in my humble opinion it's the main reason for some lower than expected performance in some tests here (at 1920x1200 rez max - not 30in display res where the other cards are running out of steam hardware wise). The GTX 285 card (w/current rom and drivers) rarely seems to fully clock up (GPU, Shader and memory) except in high-load apps like 3D games. The reason I mention all this (and not just throw up a page of benchmarks only) is many Mac Pro owners are extremely sensitive to noise due to the fact the systems are normally very quiet. Some Mac Pro owners have written they'd choose a lower performing card that was quiet, over a faster one that wasn't. For those that are uber-sensitive to noise, I'd not suggest buying any high-end card, as most any can have some effect due to increased power draw (when stressed) and cooling requirements. I would have liked to include some monitoring of system temperatures, fan speeds, etc. but that was not possible in the current workload. And currently there's no card monitoring for OS X. Plus as with anything, YMMV depending on your system configuration, number of drives/cards installed, etc. However I have not seen any noticeable (by sound) increase in system fan speeds in normal use so far. System Power/Wattage Used:
Mac Pro 8-core (Dual) 2.66GHz/12GB ram/2 HDs (7200rpm)/2 Optical Drives/Airport On/BT off. OS X 10.5.7 used for these tests, the current OS version as of the test date - early June 2009. (Game tests ran at w/same settings as the FPS tests - 1920x1200 (single LCD display), 4xFSAA, High Quality settings. Tests ran several times.) Energy Saver set to not allow drive sleep nor system sleep. (My normal settings.) I've not tested wattage in Windows with the ATI 4870 card, although as I mentioned the Mac 4870 doesn't seem to downclock at idle nearly as much as some PC 48xx models. And of the two I've used (Mac 4870 and (PC) XFX 4890)- neither reported any downclocking on the memory clocks at idle per ATI's OverDrive utility. (In the interest of full disclosure, EVGA provides no-cost review card samples to websites including this one. The GTX 285 card was in standard retail packaging and was not overclocked in any way (verified per Windows utility, as no current OS X utils for that). I do not make any commission on sales of this card from any source, including EVGA nor are any promotional payments made. I have been brutally honest in this review, as you can see - it's not likely to get linked from any seller's page. I'd always prefer to comment in as much detail on the pros/cons I've seen with any product tested, and this one is no exception.) | |
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Copyright © 2009, all rights reserved. |
- EVGA - Intelligent Innovation - Official Website.
- Owners of Apple's Mac Pro workstations will have a second, high-end home video card option within weeks, as NVIDIA is planning to release a version of its GeForce GTX 285 chipset specifically for.
Gtx 285 For Mac Pro 12.9
Jun 09, 2009 Mac GTX 285 Card ID/Firmware Info: (from Apple system profiler) Here's a photo of the GTX 285 card installed in an Early 2009 Mac Pro: Fan Noise: This is always a common/first question from readers. My review sample GTX 285 had IMHO little fan noise in typical use. In fact sometimes I almost wondered if the card was fully clocking up in stress.