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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280M SLI vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285M

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280M SLI

► remove from comparison NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280M SLI

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 280M SLI is a graphics solution that combines two Nvidia GeForce GTX 280M cards in an SLI setup. As not every game supports SLI efficiently, the performance increase compared to a single card is only about 0-40%. The most frequently used technique is Alternate Frame Rendering (AFR), where one card renders every odd frame while the second card renders every even frame. Due to the SLI setup, users may experience micro stuttering due to the irregular delays between sequential frames.

Each of the two GeForce GTX 280M is based on the G92b core and is produced in 55nm. It features the full 128 pipelines of the G92b and is therefore more comparable to the desktop 9800M GTX+ than the desktop GTX 280.

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 280M SLI is bundled with the GeForce 9400M G chipset (for laptops based on the Core 2 Duo) and therefore supports HybridPower if supported by the manufacturer. With HybridPower, both GTX cards can be disabled and only the chipset graphics core can run, leading to longer battery life (and possibly less fan noise). Modern Core i7 laptops use an Intel chipset and do not support HybridPower.

Since there are two GTX 280 cards active in SLI, the electric current consumption and exhumed heat are about twice as much as what a single GTX 280M can produce. Due to the large power and cooling requirements, this SLI combination is usually reserved for large desktop replacement (DTR) laptops (like the Alienware M17x).

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285M

► remove from comparison NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285M

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285M is a high-end graphic card of the 200M series based on the G92b core and most similar to the Desktop GeForce 9800 GTX+. Therefore the 285M cannot be directly compared to the Desktop GTX 285. The chip is produced in a 55nm fabrication process, which is a step up from the 65nm process of the GTX 9800M. Its 128 pipelines are all enabled as well, as opposed to only 112 pipelines of the GTX 9800M. Compared to the GTX 280M, the GTX 285M features a slightly higher clock speed and is therefore only marginally faster (3-6% on average).

An innovation in the 200M series is the much accelerated switch times if using Hybrid Power (lower than 1 second compared to 7 seconds at the 9800M GTX).

Similar to all other cards with native DirectX 10 capabilities, the GeForce GTX 285M renders 3D images using "Unified Shaders". In other words, there are no longer any more dedicated pixel shaders or vertex shaders. Instead, new stream processors (128 of them in the 285M) now process most of the heavy graphics loading that would have otherwise been done by dedicated pixel and vertex shaders. In fact, the shader units are clocked higher than the core chip itself.

As previously mentioned, the GTX 285M is about 3-6% faster than the GTX280M due to slightly higher clock speeds. This means that notebooks equipped with the GTX 285M should run all modern and demanding games (as of 2009) in high details and resolutions. Only very demanding games, like Crysis Warhead or Metro 2033, may become unplayable if at maximum graphical settings.

Games with PhysX support (e.g., Mirror's Edge) may benefit from improved performance out of the 285M. Still, the Mobility Radeon HD 5870 is arguably a faster and better value single core GPU for laptops.

An advantage of the GeForce GTX 285M is the integrated PureVideo HD video processor (VP2). With this software feature, the 285M can assist the CPU in the decoding of H.264-, VC-1-, MPEG2- or WMV9 videos. 

HybridPower is an Nvidia power-saving technology for Windows Vista used for switching between integrated and dedicated graphics cards. In the future, Nvidia wants this switch to occur automatically with drivers (now known as Optimus). GeForceBoost is not supported with the 285M, as there would be no performance gain in combining the integrated GPU with the dedicated video card.  

The power consumption can be up to 75 Watts (if including the MXM board and VRAM). As a result, the 285M is usually reserved for larger desktop replacement (DTR) laptops with powerful cooling solutions.

In June 2010, the GeForce GTX 480M (mobile Fermi) was announced with a revamped architecture compared to the GTX 285M. Compared to the 285M, the Fermi core will support DirectX 11 and offer better performance at the cost of higher power consumption levels and possibly higher heat output. 

If compared to desktop graphics cards, the performance of the 285M can be considered somewhere in between the 9800 GT and the 9800 GTX, the latter of which is clocked considerably higher (675/1675/1100 MHz) in comparison.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280M SLINVIDIA GeForce GTX 285M
GeForce GTX 200M Series
GeForce GTX 285M SLI compare 256 @ 0.58 GHz256 Bit @ 1020 MHz
GeForce GTX 280M SLI 256 @ 0.59 GHz256 Bit @ 950 MHz
GeForce GTX 260M SLI compare 224 @ 0.55 GHz256 Bit @ 950 MHz
GeForce GTX 285M 128 @ 0.58 GHz256 Bit @ 1020 MHz
GeForce GTX 280M compare 128 @ 0.59 GHz256 Bit @ 950 MHz
GeForce GTX 260M compare 112 @ 0.55 GHz256 Bit @ 950 MHz
GeForce GTX 285M SLI compare 256 @ 0.58 GHz256 Bit @ 1020 MHz
GeForce GTX 280M SLI 256 @ 0.59 GHz256 Bit @ 950 MHz
GeForce GTX 260M SLI compare 224 @ 0.55 GHz256 Bit @ 950 MHz
GeForce GTX 285M 128 @ 0.58 GHz256 Bit @ 1020 MHz
GeForce GTX 280M compare 128 @ 0.59 GHz256 Bit @ 950 MHz
GeForce GTX 260M compare 112 @ 0.55 GHz256 Bit @ 950 MHz
CodenameN10E-GTXN10E-GTX1
ArchitectureG9xG9x
Pipelines256 - unified128 - unified
Core Speed585 MHz576 MHz
Shader Speed1463 MHz1500 MHz
Memory Speed950 MHz1020 MHz
Memory Bus Width256 Bit256 Bit
Memory TypeGDDR3GDDR3
Max. Amount of Memory2048 MB1024 MB
Shared Memorynono
APIDirectX 10, Shader 4.0DirectX 10, Shader 4.0
Power Consumption150 Watt
Transistors1.5 Billion754 Million
technology55 nm55 nm
FeaturesHybridPower, PureVideo HD, CUDA, PhysX readyHybridPower, PureVideo HD (VP2), CUDA, PhysX ready
Notebook Sizelargelarge
Date of Announcement02.03.2009 02.03.2009
InformationMXM 3MXM 3
Link to Manufacturer Pagewww.nvidia.comwww.nvidia.com

Benchmarks

3DMark Vantage
3DM Vant. Perf. total + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280M SLI
3DMark Vantage - 3DM Vant. Perf. total
min: 8728     avg: 9435     median: 9435 (3%)     max: 10142 Points
3DM Vant. Perf. total + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285M
min: 6438     avg: 6521     median: 6498 (2%)     max: 6628 Points
3DM Vant. Perf. GPU no PhysX + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280M SLI
3DMark Vantage - 3DM Vant. Perf. GPU no PhysX
min: 9649     avg: 9947     median: 9946.5 (6%)     max: 10244 Points
3DM Vant. Perf. GPU no PhysX + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285M
min: 5501     avg: 5631     median: 5631 (3%)     max: 5761 Points
3DMark 2001SE - 3DMark 2001 - Standard
min: 37453     avg: 38453     median: 38453 (40%)     max: 39453 Points
3DMark 03 - 3DMark 03 - Standard
min: 57010     avg: 57553     median: 57552.5 (30%)     max: 58095 Points
37372 Points (20%)
3DMark 05 - 3DMark 05 - Standard
min: 19180     avg: 19268     median: 19267.5 (21%)     max: 19355 Points
min: 18935     avg: 18965     median: 18964.5 (21%)     max: 18994 Points
3DMark 06 3DMark 06 - Standard 1280x1024 + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280M SLI
3DMark 06
min: 14340     avg: 15019     median: 15000 (20%)     max: 15717 Points
3DMark 06 - Standard 1280x1024 + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285M
min: 12840     avg: 12989     median: 12988.5 (17%)     max: 13137 Points
3DMark 06 - Standard 1280x800 + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285M
3DMark 06
13729 Points (18%)
SPEC Viewperf 10.0 - SPEC Viewperf 10.0 - 3dsmax
10.2 Points (21%)
SPEC Viewperf 10.0 - SPEC Viewperf 10.0 - Catia
12.3 Points (26%)
SPEC Viewperf 10.0 - SPEC Viewperf 10.0 - EnSight
15.5 Points (33%)
SPEC Viewperf 10.0 - SPEC Viewperf 10.0 - Maya
20.9 Points (11%)
SPEC Viewperf 10.0 - SPEC Viewperf 10.0 - Pro/Engeneer
10 Points (20%)
SPEC Viewperf 10.0 - SPEC Viewperf 10.0 - SolidWorks
11 Points (16%)
SPEC Viewperf 10.0 - SPEC Viewperf 10.0 - UGS Teamcenter
3.4 Points (9%)
SPEC Viewperf 10.0 - SPEC Viewperf 10.0 - UGS NX
5 Points (10%)
Windows 7 Experience Index - Win7 Gaming graphics
min: 6.8     avg: 7.1     median: 7.1 (89%)     max: 7.3 Points
Windows 7 Experience Index - Win7 Graphics
min: 6.8     avg: 7.1     median: 7.1 (89%)     max: 7.3 Points
Windows Vista Experience Index - Windows Vista Leistungsindex - Grafik (Spiele)
5.9 Points (87%)
Windows Vista Experience Index - Windows Vista Leistungsindex - Grafik
5.9 Points (87%)
Cinebench R10 Cinebench R10 Shading (32bit) + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280M SLI
Cinebench R10 - Cinebench R10 Shading (32bit)
min: 4835     avg: 5197     median: 5197 (4%)     max: 5559 Points
Cinebench R10 Shading (32bit) + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285M
4941 Points (4%)
Cinebench R11.5 Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64 Bit + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285M
Cinebench R11.5 - Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64 Bit
min: 30.82     avg: 31.4     median: 31.4 (11%)     max: 32.01 fps

Average Benchmarks NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280M SLI → 100% n=6

Average Benchmarks NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285M → 78% n=6

- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
- Average benchmark values for this graphics card
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance
1 This benchmark is not used for the average calculation

Game Benchmarks

The following benchmarks stem from our benchmarks of review laptops. The performance depends on the used graphics memory, clock rate, processor, system settings, drivers, and operating systems. So the results don't have to be representative for all laptops with this GPU. For detailed information on the benchmark results, click on the fps number.

Mafia 2

Mafia 2

2010
low 800x600
GeForce GTX 285M:
54.9  fps
med. 1024x768
GeForce GTX 285M:
53.8  fps
high 1360x768
GeForce GTX 285M:
52.2  fps
ultra 1920x1080
GeForce GTX 285M:
36.9  fps
low 1024x768
GeForce GTX 285M:
184  fps
ultra 1920x1080
GeForce GTX 285M:
32.8  fps
low 800x600
GeForce GTX 285M:
66.3  fps
med. 1360x768
GeForce GTX 285M:
40.8  fps
high 1600x900
GeForce GTX 285M:
21.4  fps
ultra 1920x1080
GeForce GTX 285M:
13.7  fps
high 1366x768
GeForce GTX 285M:
47.2  fps
ultra 1920x1080
GeForce GTX 285M:
26  fps
med. 1024x768
GeForce GTX 285M:
70  fps
high 1366x768
GeForce GTX 285M:
61.2  fps
ultra 1920x1080
GeForce GTX 285M:
43.3  fps
Risen

Risen

2009
med. 1024x768
GeForce GTX 285M:
59.2  fps
high 1366x768
GeForce GTX 285M:
43.4  fps
ultra 1920x1080
GeForce GTX 285M:
30.3  fps
Need for Speed Shift

Need for Speed Shift

2009
med. 1024x768
GeForce GTX 285M:
75.8  fps
high 1366x768
GeForce GTX 285M:
65.3  fps
ultra 1920x1080
GeForce GTX 285M:
38.6  fps
Colin McRae: DIRT 2

Colin McRae: DIRT 2

2009
med. 1024x768
GeForce GTX 285M:
99.3  fps
high 1360x768
GeForce GTX 285M:
66.2  fps
ultra 1920x1080
GeForce GTX 285M:
32.9  fps
Anno 1404

Anno 1404

2009
low 1024x768
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
105  fps
ultra 1280x1024
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
37.6  fps
124%
GeForce GTX 285M:
46.7  fps
Sims 3

Sims 3

2009
low 800x600
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
312  fps
med. 1024x768
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
145  fps
high 1280x1024
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
120  fps
F.E.A.R. 2

F.E.A.R. 2

2009
low 800x600
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
180 208.8 ~ 194 fps
med. 1024x768
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
127.5  fps
high 1280x1024
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
116.9 123.1 ~ 120 fps
74%
GeForce GTX 285M:
89.2  fps
ultra 1920x1080
GeForce GTX 285M:
47.6  fps
GTA IV - Grand Theft Auto

GTA IV - Grand Theft Auto

2008
low 800x600
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
46.1 65.4 ~ 56 fps
med. 1024x768
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
44.6 45.2 ~ 45 fps
high 1280x1024
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
35.5 62.2 ~ 49 fps
Left 4 Dead

Left 4 Dead

2008
low 640x480
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
165  fps
high 1024x768
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
104  fps
Far Cry 2

Far Cry 2

2008
low 640x480
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
91.6  fps
high 1024x768
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
50.8  fps
Crysis Warhead

Crysis Warhead

2008
low 800x600
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
73  fps
ultra 1024x768
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
35  fps
Racedriver: GRID

Racedriver: GRID

2008
low 800x600
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
122 208.8 ~ 165 fps
med. 1024x768
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
81 127.5 ~ 104 fps
high 1280x1024
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
77 116.9 ~ 97 fps
Call of Duty 4 - Modern Warfare

Call of Duty 4 - Modern Warfare

2007
low 800x600
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
237.2  fps
med. 1024x768
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
175.3  fps
high 1280x1024
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
105.9 119 ~ 112 fps
Supreme Commander - FA Bench

Supreme Commander - FA Bench

2007
low 1024x768
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
77.2  fps
med. 1024x768
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
67.2  fps
high 1024x768
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
64.6  fps
Crysis - GPU Benchmark

Crysis - GPU Benchmark

2007
low 1024x768
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
102.6 108.5 ~ 106 fps
med. 1024x768
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
64.1  fps
high 1024x768
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
52 53.2 ~ 53 fps
95%
GeForce GTX 285M:
50.3  fps
ultra 1920x1080
GeForce GTX 285M:
13.9  fps
Crysis - CPU Benchmark

Crysis - CPU Benchmark

2007
low 1024x768
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
123.5 124.8 ~ 124 fps
med. 1024x768
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
65.4  fps
high 1024x768
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
41.3 53.2 ~ 47 fps
99%
GeForce GTX 285M:
46.4  fps
ultra 1920x1080
GeForce GTX 285M:
13  fps
World in Conflict - Benchmark

World in Conflict - Benchmark

2007
low 800x600
GeForce GTX 285M:
126  fps
med. 1024x768
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
47  fps
179%
GeForce GTX 285M:
84  fps
high 1024x768
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
74  fps
72%
GeForce GTX 285M:
53  fps
Call of Juarez Benchmark

Call of Juarez Benchmark

2006
high 1024x768
GeForce GTX 285M:
36.5  fps
Half Life 2 - Lost Coast Benchmark

Half Life 2 - Lost Coast Benchmark

2005
high 1024x768
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
130.8  fps
World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft

2005
low 800x600
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
267  fps
high 1280x1024
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
52  fps
Doom 3

Doom 3

2004
low 640x480
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
217.1  fps
ultra 1024x768
100%
GeForce GTX 280M SLI:
215.7  fps

Average Gaming NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280M SLI → 100%

Average Gaming 30-70 fps → 100%

Average Gaming NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285M → 107%

Average Gaming 30-70 fps → 97%

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285Mlowmed.highultraQHD4K
Mafia 254.953.852.236.9
StarCraft 218432.8
Metro 203366.340.821.3713.67
Battlefield: Bad Company 247.226
CoD Modern Warfare 27061.243.3
Risen59.243.430.3
Need for Speed Shift75.865.338.6
Colin McRae: DIRT 299.366.232.9
Anno 140446.7
F.E.A.R. 289.247.6
Crysis - GPU Benchmark50.313.9
Crysis - CPU Benchmark46.413
World in Conflict - Benchmark1268453
Call of Juarez Benchmark36.5
< 30 fps
< 60 fps
< 120 fps
≥ 120 fps

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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280M SLIlowmed.highultraQHD4K
Anno 140410537.6
Sims 3312145120
F.E.A.R. 2194127.5120
GTA IV - Grand Theft Auto564549
Left 4 Dead165104
Far Cry 291.650.8
Crysis Warhead7335
Racedriver: GRID16510497
Call of Duty 4 - Modern Warfare237.2175.3112
Supreme Commander - FA Bench77.267.264.6
Crysis - GPU Benchmark10664.153
Crysis - CPU Benchmark12465.447
World in Conflict - Benchmark4774
Half Life 2 - Lost Coast Benchmark130.8
World of Warcraft26752
Doom 3217.1215.7
< 30 fps
< 60 fps
< 120 fps
≥ 120 fps

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Redaktion, 2017-09- 8 (Update: 2023-07- 1)