PNY GeForce GTX 295

PNY GeForce GTX 295 review

Buying PC components is all about choosing the right weapon for the job at hand. Exactly what PNY's GeForce GTX 295 is best suited for is a tricky question. If beating pensioners to death is your bag, you could do a lot worse. A cheap gag, perhaps. But as blunt instruments go, this old bruiser really is an intimidating physical specimen. What really matters, however, is whether it still have what it takes to pummel the competition into submission.The upside to the elephantine proportions and hefty build is that the 295 feels reassuringly expensive. Just as well given the wallet-cecimating £438 sticker. On the other hand, you'll struggle to fit it into many PC's thanks to its girth. Even if it does slide in, the power requirements may trip you up. PNY decrees that a minimum 680 Watt power supply is a must. Oh, and that power supply must have at least one six-pin and one eight-pin PCI Express power rail.It also gets pretty hot during heavy use and isn't exactly the quietest board in Christendom. Put it all together and in the GeForce GTX 295 you get the impression of a graphics chipset created to prove a point rather because it actually makes any sense or there's any real need for it. At least, that's what we thought when the 295 originally launched back in early 2009.