Nvidia GeForce GTX 280

The GTX 280's power also raises questions of power consumption and heat generation under stress. However, the GTX 280 isn't too bad: at 66 degrees Centigrade it's only a couple of degrees hotter than the 9800 GTX at full pelt, and 12 degrees cooler than the 9800 GX2. The power consumption of our test rig at full load is high at 273W - the 9800 GTX drew a mere 216W in the same system - but nowhere near to the 325W draw of the 9800 GX2.

If you're prepared to pay the price - and it is a hefty one indeed - you'll be getting some of the best graphical performance on the market today. Almost every test we've run shows the GTX 280 demolishing the competition, with only dual-GPU offerings managing to dent it.

Price aside, our only concern is that when the new ATI cards arrive they may be even better. We'll have to wait and see in the next few weeks, but for the moment at least, this is simply the most powerful card on the market. Whether that's enough of a recommendation depends entirely on the state of your bank balance.

Author: Mike Jennings