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Gigabyte has provided us with their most impressive GeForce GTX 460 offering, the GV-N460OC-1GI, which also happens to be their only 1GB GTX 460 graphics card. This product has been reworked from the ground up, and both the cooler and PCB are not part of the reference specification. In short, this is not going to be your standard GeForce GTX 460 1GB.
The Gigabyte GV-N460OC-1GI measures just 21cm long, which is the same length as the Radeon HD 5770 and most other GeForce GTX 460 graphics cards. The card is so compact that it only measures a few centimeters longer than the PCI Express x16 slot, a remarkable achievement for such a powerful graphics card.
The biggest change made other than the physical dimensions can be seen when looking at the power circuitry. Gigabyte has changed the layout and design when compared to the standard GeForce GTX 460 cards that we have seen, while they have also included their “Ultra Durable VGA Technology”.
Gigabyte claim to provide better overclocking capabilities, lower GPU temperatures and great power efficiency by using 2oz PCB board, Samsung or Hynix memory, Japanese solid capacitors, Ferrite/Metal core chokes, and Low RDS (on) mosfet.
The new cooler is based on the Gigabyte “WindForce 2x” design, using dual copper heatpipes that connect to a copper base. By using a pair of 75mm fans Gigabyte claims to have effectively minimized the flow of turbulence between the fans and in the process has enhanced heat dissipation. The heatsink is also covered by a black fan shroud which is used to better direct the air-flow. Finally, the Gigabyte design has the power circuitry being passively cooled by a small aluminum heatsink.
Despite providing a well equipped cooling solution, Gigabyte has been quite restrained when it comes to the cards operating frequencies. The core frequency has been boosted by just 40MHz to 715MHz, while the memory frequency remains standard at 900MHz (3.6GHz). The shader clock speed is pushed from 1350MHz to 1430MHz, which is higher than even the GeForce GTX 480.
The last addition we can mention on the Gigabyte GV-N460OC-1GI is the HDMI port and the dual DVI ports. Overall the GV-N460OC-1GI is an impressive take on the new Nvidia GeForce GTX 460 and we are keen to see how it will perform against the 768MB version and a standard clocked 1GB GTX 460. |
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FootSoldier |
Posted on: 08/11/2010 12:46 PM
I got a pair of these in SLI and they are faster than my friends GTX 480 and they cost less. Very pleased!!! |
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corky |
Posted on: 08/11/2010 01:02 PM
That's a good looking card with a nice price tag. I was thinking of pulling the trigger on one of these and the review has made it all the more tempting, thanks :S |
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cisco |
Posted on: 08/12/2010 01:44 AM
man these things overclock well. are there any versions that allow voltage mods? |
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boomslang |
Posted on: 08/15/2010 01:06 PM
nice review. this card looks the goods. |
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razor9 |
Posted on: 08/15/2010 11:43 PM
I like how they have used dual fans. The load temps are really low. |
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userdude |
Posted on: 08/21/2010 05:23 PM
Would this card overclock better ,with a superior thermal compound ? |
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ProX |
Posted on: 08/22/2010 10:32 PM
Very cool looking card for the money. @ userdude - Maybe but it ran pretty cool as it was. Chances are they got an average overclocking card. What would really improve overclocking is a voltage mod  |
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Mr.November |
Posted on: 09/08/2010 11:15 PM
When I use your overclocking numbers I get a Driver error when running 3D Mark Vantage? So I'm back on 800/1600/1900 Please tell me what I'm doing wrong? Already have the latest drivers... |
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Lee |
Posted on: 09/14/2010 09:42 AM
This looks much more impressive than those new GTS 450 cards. So whats your take, the 768MB of 1024MB version? |
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Ryoga |
Posted on: 12/17/2010 06:51 PM
Hey everyone. Anyone know of problems with these cards because newegg has a lot of spammers saying these cards are horrible and only last for a few weeks then crap out? Please post.  |
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Whippit |
Posted on: 12/21/2010 05:29 AM
Ryoga thats BS I have had one for months now and I game almost every day with it. Great card for the money and it still is! |