The XFX GeForce GTX 280 1GB XXX has proven itself to be the fastest single card on the market at present. It ran flawlessly at its factory overclocked speeds of 670/1458/1250 without problems. Power consumption was just a little more than a reference GeForce GTX 280, coming in at a peak of 410W from the readout of our wall socket power meter. Temperatures were also kept in check, with the card idling at 46ºC and peaking at 79ºC during our load test. The XFX card's fan behaviour was similiar and not any louder compared to the reference GeForce GTX 280. 

For enthusiasts who find that the card still isn't fast enough, there is still some headroom for overclocking, which by doing so, can rival a CrossFired ATI Radeon HD 4870 setup. As a general rule-of-thumb, make sure you have good cooling to ensure stable operation.

If you're wondering, the XFX XXX card retails at US$ 519.99. In contrast, the Standard version of the XFX card goes for US$ 449.99. If you just need to have the fastest card, the XFX GeForce GTX 280 1GB XXX is the answer. Otherwise, it might not be a bad choice to save US$ 70 and opt for the Standard version.

The VR-Zone Performance Award is presented to the XFX GeForce GTX 280 1GB XXX for being the best performing card. Not only is it clocked reasonably quicker than stock, it offers good overclockin' potential. Unfortunately, no doubt this card is fast, we are giving it an 82 only as the price is not very attractive..

 


XFX GeForce GTX 280 1GB XXX

 


Awarded to XFX GeForce GTX 280 1GB XXX

 

From our brief testing of pitting the XFX XXX overclocked against a fake 'Radeon HD 4870 X2', it is almost certain that AMD/ATI would be taking the performance crown away from NVIDIA after what seems a long long time. No doubt the rumored NVIDIA GT200b would be clocked higher, it just doesn't seem to have enough speed in it to combat the dual GPUs onboard the ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2.

Some may argue that it is unfair to compare between a single GPU card, and a dual GPU card. However, we believe that the overall performance crown should be decided by the fastest solution that occupies a single PCI Express x16 slot. Well, NVIDIA could very well surprise the community with a underclocked twin chip GT200 solution running off a single slot. Maybe, just maybe.

At the end of the day, it is us consumers who would benefit from this ongoing war between the two major graphics card companies. We would definitely welcome faster cards with reduced pricing. Both companies are running pretty close to each other in terms of pure performance - ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB vs. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 896MB, ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB vs. NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB... It now boils down to price/performance ratio based on retail prices in your country, personal preferences and what's bundled with the card to make a purchase.

For now the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 1GB (and later possibly GTX 280+) sits alone at the top, waiting for the Radeon HD 4870 X2 to knock on its door. But one thing is for sure, fanboys from both camps are all ready with their weapons, waiting for the launch of the ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 and a NVIDIA GT200 refresh, the GT200b.