Legit Video Card Reviews
NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 SLI Video Card Review w/ ASUS, EVGA & MSI
| Manufacturer: | NVIDIA |
| Product: | GeForce GTS 450 |
| Date: | Sun, Sep 12, 2010 - 11:00 PM |
| Written By: | Nathan Kirsch - |
| Share: |
Final Thoughts and Conclusions
After spending a week testing four different NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 video cards we have to admit we are very impressed with the performance of the video card in both single card and SLI configurations. For between $129 and $149 the cards that we tested here today pack a mean punch for the price you pay. If you play games at 1280x1024, 1680x1050 or 1440x900 the GTS 450 video card won't disappoint as long as you are okay turning down the AA and some of the image quality settings in the game. The NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 easily walks all over the ATI Radeon HD 5750 and actually performed equally with the similarly priced ATI Radeon HD 5770! Both cards lead the other in four benchmarks and then in the final benchmark each card led in one of the resolutions tested. The GeForce GTS 450 and the Radeon HD 5770 appear to be fairly equal, but then you have to consider the features that each card offers and what brand you are loyal to, if any.
The NVIDIA GeForce 400 series of DirectX 11 enabled video card is finally starting to look mature with cards now starting out at $129 and reaching all the way up to $499.
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 - $499
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470 - $299
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 465 - $229
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 1GB - $219
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 768MB - $169
- NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 1GB - $129
The ASUS ENGTS450 TOP, MSI N450GTS Cyclone 1GD5 and the EVGA GeForce GTS 450 FTW were all excellent video cards. All are great examples of factory overclocked cards, although not one was a clear winner in terms of performance. The MSI N450GTS Cyclone 1GD5 had by far the best appearance, the best price point ($135) and GPU cooling solution, but it had the lowest factory clock speeds and also pulled up the rear in overclocking. The EVGA GeForce GTS 450 FTW was a monster in the benchmarks, but was the most expensive at $149 and also ran the hottest. The ASUS ENGTS450 TOP clearly had the most effort put into it and is a fully custom card for just $139. Visually the ASUS ENGTS450 TOP doesn't do anything for us and the fact that it consumed the most power of the bunch was a bit of a letdown. It did have great performance in the benchmarks, though, and was hands down the best overclocker of the bunch. The ASUS ENGTS450 TOP was the only card to break the 1GHz core clock barrier with full stability, which is nice to see.
You really can't go wrong with owning any of these cards by ASUS, MSI and EVGA, but we wouldn't call any one of the cards perfect. After reading this review we think you'd agree with us that each card could be improved upon in one area or another. If you are going for looks and low temperatures the MSI N450GTS Cyclone is your best bet. If you want a custom card with a full size HDMI header, a VGA port and solid cooling and overclocking with no worries on power consumption the ASUS ENGTS450 TOP is ideal. If you want a card based on the NVIDIA reference design with a cooler that exhausts all the hot air (ideal for tight cases with bad airflow) then the EVGA GeForce GTS 450 FTW is the card for you.
NVIDIA has knocked another one out of the park with the GTS 450 video card series, but will it be enough to compete with the upcoming AMD Radeon HD 6000 series that is said to be coming later this year? Well, sources in the industry have told us that AMD is planning on renaming existing Radeon 5770 and 5750 GPUs to the Radeon 6770 and 6750. AMD is then said to be releasing RV940 (Barts) for the Radeon HD 6870/6850 and RV970 (Cayman) for the 6970/6950. So, basically nothing changes in this $129-$150 price segment. If this is true and ATI will just have a re-badged 5700 series product competing against the GTS 450 it will be a tight race for months to come!
Legit Bottom Line: The NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 video card is lightweight on the wallet, but still manages to pack a mean punch for mainstream gamers on a budget!
Questions or Comments? View this thread in our forums!
Return to Video Card Home or Return Home
| Review Index |
|
Page 1 - GeForce GTS 450 Brings NVIDIA DX11 to $129
Page 2 - A Closer Look At The GeForce GTS450 Page 3 - ASUS, EVGA and MSI GTS 450 Video Cards Page 4 - The New NVIDIA R260 Series Drivers Page 5 - The Test System Page 6 - Aliens vs. Predator Page 7 - Batman: Arkham Asylum GOTY Page 8 - Just Cause 2 Page 9 - Metro 2033 Page 10 - S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat Page 11 - StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty Page 12 - 3DMark Vantage Page 13 - Unigine 'Heaven' DX11 Page 14 - FurMark 1.8.2 Page 15 - Power Consumption Page 16 - Temperature Testing Page 17 - GeForce GTS 450 1GB Overclocking Page 18 - Final Thoughts and Conclusions |
Socialize