Overclockability
Another key point in NVIDIA's presentation was the overclockability of the GeForce GTS 450. In their internal tests, they were able to reliably run the GeForce GTS 450 at 860 MHz. The standard clock speed for the GeForce GTS 450 is 783 MHz, so that's a 10% boost in clock speed. Ignore the highly skewed chart in the slide below - it's designed to make the overclock seem more significant than it really is. Our opinion - 10% is a nice boost, to be sure, but hardly anything to shout about.
Of course, NVIDIA says that it's possible for the GeForce GTS 450 to go beyond 860 MHz. In fact, some of their partners will produce cards that far exceed the "conservative" overclock speed of 860 MHz. For example, the ASUS ENGTS450 TOP will feature an overrclocked core clock speed of 925 MHz (+18%), while the Zotac GeForce GTS 450 AMP! Edition will overclock the GPU to 875 MHz.
Generally, NVIDIA claims that most GeForce GTS 450 reference cards should be able to overclock to 900 MHz, or thereabouts. This is partly because the card runs so cool. It will idle at just 30°C. Even at full load, the GPU's temperature will typically remain at around 70°C, far below the 105°C limit.
Conclusion
In their parting remarks, NVIDIA pointed out that the GeForce GTS 450 is targeted at the key gamer resolutions of 1680x1050, 1440x900 and 1280x1024. Based on the Valve Steam Survey of July 2010, 57% of gamers use those resolutions. Hence, the GeForce GTS 450 is designed to ensure maximum playability at those resolutions.
Also, with the far more affordable price point of US$ 129, NVIDIA hopes to convert the mass of gamers still puttering along on old DX10 and DX9 graphics cards to the GeForce GTS 450. We think they may just hit the jackpot with the GeForce GTS 450. After all, the market has been devoid of a new value-level NVIDIA graphics card for ages, with many gamers shunning the rebranded NVIDIA graphics cards based on recycled old technology. The new NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450, on the other hand, is exactly what they have all been waiting for - a truly new value-level graphics card using the latest NVIDIA GPU.
Questions & Comments
Please feel free to post your questions or comments here!
Date | Revision | Revision History |
13-09-2010 | 1.0 | Initial release. |
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