First review is always the hardest
It’s been years since I started this website, but I didn’t feel the need to make a review. I’ve always admired the work from people at other sites. The amount of dedication required to prepare such a comprehensive test is always overwhelming. You need time, knowledge and equipment to even consider making a review.
Writing a review is not as easy as it was few years ago. Putting a card through few tests and writing down all the results is not enough. We need to analyze the behavior of the GPU in each scenario to fully understand the limits of a particular model.
Nevertheless, I finally found time, gained experience, and received substantial support from HIS, who were happy to contribute by adding more cards to this test.
I couldn’t possibly have picked a better time to introduce my first review, as the second half of 2014 is a very exciting time for all graphics cards enthusiasts. AMD has just updated their mid-range stack, and NVIDIA introduced their new series.
I decided that my first ever review will cover Tonga-based graphics, the Radeon R9 285.
To make this review a little more interesting I added Sniper Elite 3, which was just recently updated to support Mantle, Shadow of Mordor, known for very high VRAM requirements, and Alien: Isolation.
This test however will not include frame pacing or 4k experience, as both require significant investment, which I am not yet ready to make. My goal is to expand my review inventory in a new graphics card first. That said, my next review will cover Maxwell based model.
Next few pages will showcase each card that is being tested in this review.
