Manufacturer: Inno3D Price: $ 130 US Author: Steve Date: 09/11/2010

[ Introduction ]

Today marks the release of the fifth member of the GeForce 400 series, as Nvidia takes the covers off their new mid-range contender the GeForce GTS 450. Based on the new GF106 architecture, the GeForce GTS 450 sheds a lot of weight when compared to existing cards. The end result is a cheaper product that has very low power consumption and thermal output, the only question remaining is how well does it perform? Some of you might be thinking it is a little late for Nvidia to start bolstering their mid-range line-up with rumors that AMD is preparing to start releasing its next generation GPU series codenamed “Northern Islands” next month. While this is debatable, Nvidia has to provide gamers with more affordable DirectX 11 products and right now trimming the fat off the GF100 architecture seems like the only move. The GF100 architecture, which is used by the GeForce GTX 480 and GeForce GTX 470 graphics cards as well as the forgettable GeForce GTX 465, is too large and too complex to be used as a mid-range solution. This was proven when Nvidia tried to release the GeForce GTX 465 which turned out to be much too hot and hungry to compete with products such as the Radeon HD 5830. The solution was the GF104 which featured a 30% reduction in die size, helping to make the GeForce GTX 460 a more power conservative, cooler product. Despite featuring a smaller GPU, the GeForce GTX 460 outclassed the GTX 465 anyway, producing 13% more memory bandwidth. In the end the GeForce GTX 460 turned out to be a cheaper, faster, cooler and more power conservative product than the GTX 465, which helped it to brush aside the AMD competition. Now with the release of the GF106, can we expect more of the same? Can the new GeForce GTS 450 finally put an end to the Radeon HD 5750 and 5770 which have run unopposed for almost 12 months as the only $130/$160 US DirectX 11 graphics cards? Nvidia is suggesting an MSRP of $130 US for the GeForce GTS 450, which places it in direct competition with the Radeon HD 5750. As it stands Nvidia has the GeForce GTX 480 at $500, the GTX 470 at $300, then the GTX 465 for $230 (if you include that), the GTX 460 1GB at $220 and the 768MB version for $170, and now the GeForce GTS 450 at $130. This meant that the GeForce GTS 450 is 24% cheaper than the GeForce GTX 460 (768MB), saving the consumer around $40. The question now remains as to how much slower this new affordable gaming graphics card is when compared to the GeForce GTX 460 (768MB) and how it stacks up against the Radeon HD 5750.

Table of Contents >>> Introduction <<< Inno3D GTS 450 iChill in Detail Test System Specs & 3Dmark Vantage Test: Aliens vs. Predator, Mass Effect 2 Test: Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, Dirt 2 Test: Battlefield Bad Company 2, Far Cry 2 Test: Just Cause 2, Crysis Warhead Test: Metro 2033, Splinter Cell Conviction Test: S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat, World in Conflict Overclocking Performance Power Consumption & Temperatures GeForce GTS 450: Best Budget GPU? GeForce GTS 450 SLI: Taking On the Big Guns! Next Page ->

ProX	Posted on: 09/13/2010 04:02 AM Nice review thanks but it seems like a disappointing release from Nvidia.

uwho	Posted on: 09/13/2010 11:24 AM yeah I agree with the reviewer the gtx460 is still better value. I might get a second

Bossco

Posted on: 09/14/2010 12:58 AM If this card was $100 the I would be getting excited but at $130 its nothing new.

corky

Posted on: 09/14/2010 03:20 AM Those load temperatures are amazing. This would be a pretty good HTPC card, low power, cool and it lets you play StarCraft II Thanks for the review.

Lee	Posted on: 09/14/2010 09:31 AM Its not a BAD card really but its way to late.