If we consider the first attempts of NVIDIAin the creation of graphics cards that support DirectX 11, it will be noted that they were not very successful. However, the first experiments were replaced by the next generation products, in which, according to the manufacturer, not only the previous defects were eliminated, but also the performance was improved. Is it so? Let's try to understand, having considered the graphics adapter NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450, the characteristics of which allow to call it a strong middling.
The video card is positioned as overclocked beforepurchases. With a detailed study of overclocking, it turns out that the core frequency is overestimated, compared to the standard characteristics, at 27 MHz, the memory has received even less growth - 8 MHz.
Needless to say that performance boostfrom such manipulations will be absolutely useless? However, this marketing trick allows you to hang on NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 a higher price tag. The remaining characteristics are absolutely identical to the standard sample.
The video card is packaged in a small colorfulthe box. The front side informs the user only about the model name, the amount of memory and several NVIDIA proprietary technologies. Here you can find a few words about the fact that the NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 video card is equipped with an improved cooling system, the core of which is made of copper.
Rear packaging also does not burden the userA detailed description of NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450: the characteristics here are only the most basic. Almost the entire area is occupied by advertising texts about the company's proprietary technologies. We will say in advance that the power supply of the system should have a total power of 400 watts, and on the 12V line to issue 22 amperes.
In addition to the video adapter itself in the package you can find:
This is not to say that the package bundle is rich, butin a similar price segment such a set is considered a standard. A simple user of all this will be enough for comfortable work. The disadvantages include the lack of an SLI bridge, but it should be noted that such an element is almost always included in the motherboard package if it has two PCI EXPRESS connectors.
The NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 graphics card is equipped withstandard number of interfaces for connecting devices (two DVI-I and one mini-HDMI). That is, three monitors can be connected to the GPU at the same time without unnecessary problems.
The video card circuit board is no different frommost NVIDIA adapters built on the same chip. On the back of its four memory chips are located, which deprives them of any cooling. Why the engineers chose a similar layout remains a mystery, because the front side allows you to install the IC exactly there. Also on the back of the power controller is unsoldered. As noted earlier, the power provided by the PSI EXPRESS bus is insufficient for the NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 (video card specifications require that a six-pin power connector be connected).
The central part of any such device isgraphic core. Its name is GF 106, and the process technology is 40 nm. It includes 192 shader processors, rasterization units here 16. A 128-bit bus is used to exchange data with the memory.
The total amount of video memory - 1 GB, which is achieveda set of eight integrated circuits. The marking of chips suggests that SAMSUNG was involved in their development. Memory access time is half nanosecond. If you count, then in theory it will allow to disperse them to 4 thousand megahertz. Initially, this parameter is set by the manufacturer at the level of 3.6 thousand.
In addition to no effect on performancefactory overclocking, the video card is different from most similar devices made on the same graphics processor using a non-standard cooling system. It consists of a plastic casing, a fan with a diameter of 8 cm and an aluminum radiator with a copper core. The metal elements are in contact only with the processor, while the memory and power chips are not cooled in any way.
It should be noted that designedvideo adapter in such a way that when the load decreases, the frequencies are automatically reduced, and this allows to reduce power consumption and heat dissipation. This system works at the BIOS level set in NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450. The driver does not affect the situation in any way.
To evaluate the effectiveness of this approach,The video card was tested by FurMark. Automatic adjustment of the cooler speed at maximum load allowed the core to heat up to no more than 60 degrees. It is interesting that at this time the fan was unwound by no more than 17%. Accordingly, the noise level was minimal. After manually setting the speed at 100%, the temperature dropped slightly, only 2-4 degrees, at the most resource-intensive moments, but the screw’s work remained just as quiet.
Only one conclusion: the design of the cooling system is simple, but at the same time it copes with its duties perfectly, while demonstrating a low noise level.
NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450, whose characteristics are notamaze imagination, and refer video card to strong middling, expectedly demonstrates a low level of performance. Factory overclocking does not affect the number of parrots in the benchmarks and the FPS level in games.
The technical characteristics of the device will be enough to run any modern game, but a large number of graphics settings will have to be switched to the minimum or average.
For overclocking video card, you can useMSI Afterburner utility. With its help, the processor frequency can be increased up to 950 MHz, that is, by 15%, and the memory frequency, up to 4690 MHz (30% increase). The most impressive thing is that the adapter after all changes is stable, although the chips are not cooled.
Of course, any increase in frequencies will lead toincreasing heat generation and will require more power, but improving performance will change the graphics settings from low to medium and sometimes to high.
NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 video card, technicalcharacteristics that cannot be called strong are a great competitor to AMD products, such as the HD 5750 and 5770. It is best suited for users who are not too demanding in terms of frequencies.
The price for a graphics accelerator is a bit overpriced, but due to overclocking potential and a quiet cooling system, this drawback cannot be called critical.
The Palit company produces not only a video card withGDDR5 memory chips, but also GDDR3. The price for a similar product is reduced by one third. The idea of installing slow GDDR3 chips on a good adapter is not only strange, but also controversial. After reading the old name on the box, the user can purchase a product whose performance is presented on a completely different level.
From a full-fledged model in 3D applications likeproducts lag behind by 30-60%. And to compensate for this gap will not work even the maximum overclocking. Weak bandwidth of memory chips does not allow to reach the same FPS values, even if the core is overclocked by 30%. The performance difference between the full and the trimmed models is 15% in almost all tests.
Such a product will suit the user whonot going to run resource-intensive applications, but otherwise the savings in finance will result in the need to set the settings of most games to the lowest levels.
