Manufacturer: Gigabyte Price: $ 149 US Author: Steve Date: 03/30/2011

[ Introduction ]

Today we are checking out the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 550 Ti, which has been designed from the ground up featuring a custom PCB, upgraded cooling setup, and overclocked core and memory frequencies. Despite the numerous improvements that Gigabyte has been able to make, they have also managed to hit the MSRP right on target... Nvidia recently expanded their GeForce 500 series with their most affordable option yet, the GTX 550 Ti. With an MSRP of just $149 US the GeForce GTX 550 Ti is 40% cheaper than the GTX 560 Ti, which was released 2 months prior. Codenamed GF116, this new budget orientated GPU features roughly 1170 million transistors in a die size of just 238mm2. Although the core configuration has been cut down quite considerably when compared to the bigger GeForce GTX 560 Ti, Nvidia has helped the GTX 550 Ti overcome what it lacks in complexity with raw frequency. Whereas the GeForce GTX 560 Ti, which was also previously the highest clocked GeForce 500 series graphics card, works at 822MHz the GTX 550 Ti comes standard at a much more aggressive 900MHz. Nvidia is yet to produce a truly impressive low-end DirectX 11 part, so there was quite a lot riding on the GTX 550 Ti. The Nvidia AIC (Add-In Card) partners have been quick to jump on the GeForce GTX 550 Ti and already just 2 weeks after launch there are well over a dozen different examples. Some of the better ones include the Asus ENGTX550 TI DC TOP ($159 US), the EVGA GeForce GTX 550 Ti SC ($159 US) and the MSI N550GTX-Ti Cyclone OC ($155 US). However if you are looking for a GeForce GTX 550 Ti graphics card that sticks to the MSRP while still offering factory overclocking and an upgraded cooler, then we have just the product - the Gigabyte GV-N550OC-1GI, which is arguably the best value GTX 550 Ti graphics card available at $149 US.

Table of Contents >>> Introduction <<< Gigabyte GeForce GTX 550 Ti in Detail Test System Specs & 3Dmark 11 Benchmarks: Dirt 2, Battlefield Bad Company 2 Benchmarks: Crysis Warhead, Far Cry 2 Benchmarks: Call of Duty Black Ops, Splinter Cell Conviction Overclocking Performance Power Consumption & Temperatures Conclusion Next Page ->

Horribleron Posts: 13 Joined: 2010-03-26

Posted on: 04/07/2011 04:02 AM The news gets worse for the GTX550Ti...the new $149 6790 spanks its noodle good. NVidia is going to have to really drop the price on these to get them to sell. There are rumors of a slower GTX560Ti with specs close to that of a GTX460 except for higher clock speeds. Perhaps called the GTX560SE? Supposed to have 336 cores and clocks around 800 MHz.