GeForce GTX 460 Roundup » -::: MITRAMSI :::-

GeForce GTX 460 Roundup

Category: VGA

Added: 17 September 2010

Six GeForce GTX 460 768MB and 1GB graphics cards in tests

Andrey Vorobiev; September 7, 2010.

We're going to review a number of GeForce alt GTX 460 768MB 192-bit and 1024MB 256-bit products. Note that we're specifying bus widths and memory sizes. As you will see, these two product variants are quite different in terms of performance.

Card design

Gainward GeForce GTX 460 1024MB GS-GLH
GPU: GeForce GTX 460 (GF104) Interface: PCIe x16 GPU clock rate (ROPs/Shaders): 800/1600 MHz (the standard is 675/1350 MHz) Memory clock rate, physical (effective): 1000 (4000) MHz (the standard is 900 (3600) MHz) Bus width: 256-bit Stream processors: 338 TMUs: 56 (BLF/TLF/ANIS) ROPs: 24 Size: 200x100x33mm PCB color: red RAMDACs/TDMS: integrated into GPU Outputs: 2 x DVI (Dual-Link/HDMI), HDMI, VGA Multi-GPU: SLI (Hardware)
Inno3D Geforce GTX 460 OC 1GB
GPU: GeForce GTX 460 (GF104) Interface: PCIe x16 GPU clock rate (ROPs/Shaders): 750/1500 MHz (the standard is 675/1350 MHz) Memory clock rate, physical (effective): 950 (3800) MHz (the standard is 900 (3600) MHz) Bus width: 256-bit Stream processors: 338 TMUs: 56 (BLF/TLF/ANIS) ROPs: 24 Size: 200x100x33mm PCB color: green RAMDACs/TDMS: integrated into GPU Outputs: 2 x DVI (Dual-Link/HDMI), HDMI mini Multi-GPU: SLI (Hardware)
Leadtek WinFast GTX 460 768MB
GPU: GeForce GTX 460 (GF104) Interface: PCIe x16 GPU clock rate (ROPs/Shaders): 675/1350 MHz (standard) Memory clock rate, physical (effective): 900 (3600) MHz (standard) Bus width: 192-bit Stream processors: 338 TMUs: 56 (BLF/TLF/ANIS) ROPs: 24 Size: 200x100x33mm PCB color: black RAMDACs/TDMS: integrated into GPU Outputs: 2 x DVI (Dual-Link/HDMI), HDMI mini Multi-GPU: SLI (Hardware)
MSI N460GTX Cyclone 1GD5/OC
GPU: GeForce GTX 460 (GF104) Interface: PCIe x16 GPU clock rate (ROPs/Shaders): 730/1460 MHz (the standard is 675/1350 MHz) Memory clock rate, physical (effective): 900 (3600) MHz (standard) Bus width: 256-bit Stream processors: 338 TMUs: 56 (BLF/TLF/ANIS) ROPs: 24 Size: 210x100x33mm PCB color: black RAMDACs/TDMS: integrated into GPU Outputs: 2 x DVI (Dual-Link/HDMI), HDMI mini Multi-GPU: SLI (Hardware)
Palit GeForce GTX 460 Sonic Platinum 1024MB GDDR5
GPU: GeForce GTX 460 (GF104) Interface: PCIe x16 GPU clock rate (ROPs/Shaders): 800/1600 MHz (the standard is 675/1350 MHz) Memory clock rate, physical (effective): 1000 (4000) MHz (the standard is 900 (3600) MHz) Bus width: 256-bit Stream processors: 338 TMUs: 56 (BLF/TLF/ANIS) ROPs: 24 Size: 200x100x33mm PCB color: red RAMDACs/TDMS: integrated into GPU Outputs: 2 x DVI (Dual-Link/HDMI), HDMI, VGA Multi-GPU: SLI (Hardware)
Zotac ZT-40402-10P
GPU: GeForce GTX 460 (GF104) Interface: PCIe x16 GPU clock rate (ROPs/Shaders): 675/1350 MHz (standard) Memory clock rate, physical (effective): 900 (3600) MHz (standard) Bus width: 256-bit Stream processors: 338 TMUs: 56 (BLF/TLF/ANIS) ROPs: 24 Size: 200x100x33mm PCB color: black RAMDACs/TDMS: integrated into GPU Outputs: 2 x DVI (Dual-Link/HDMI), HDMI, 1xDisplay Port Multi-GPU: SLI (Hardware)

Gainward GeForce GTX 460 1024MB GS-GLH Inno3D Geforce GTX 460 OC 1GB Zotac ZT-40402-10P Palit GeForce GTX 460 Sonic Platinum 1024MB GDDR5 MSI N460GTX Cyclone 1GD5/OC
1024MB GDDR5 SDRAM in 8 Samsung chips on the front side of the PCB. The memory chips are designed for the peak clock rate of 1250 (5000) MHz.
Leadtek WinFast GTX 460 768MB
768MB GDDR5 SDRAM in 6 Samsung chips on the front side of the PCB. The memory chips are designed for the peak clock rate of 1250 (5000) MHz.

Comparison with the reference design, front view
Gainward GeForce GTX 460 1024MB GS-GLH	Reference card NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460

Inno3D Geforce GTX 460 OC 1GB

Leadtek WinFast GTX 460 768MB

MSI N460GTX Cyclone 1GD5/OC

Palit GeForce GTX 460 Sonic Platinum 1024MB GDDR5

Zotac ZT-40402-10P

Comparison with the reference design, rear view
Gainward GeForce GTX 460 1024MB GS-GLH	Reference card NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460

Inno3D Geforce GTX 460 OC 1GB

Leadtek WinFast GTX 460 768MB

MSI N460GTX Cyclone 1GD5/OC

Palit GeForce GTX 460 Sonic Platinum 1024MB GDDR5

Zotac ZT-40402-10P

As you can see, cards from Leadtek, Inno3D and Zotac copy the reference design. While Palit, Gainward MSI cards feature minor PCB layout improvements, especially related to power supply units.

Leadtek's 768MB card has the same PCB as the 1024MB counterparts, it just lacks two memory chips and narrower bus.

All graphics cards have 6-pin supplemental power connectors.

Maximum resolutions and frequencies:

240 Hz maximum refresh rate
2048 x 1536 x 32bit @ 85Hz Max -- analog interface
2560 x 1600 @ 60Hz Max -- digital interface (Dual-Link DVI/HDMI)

Cooling

Gainward GeForce GTX 460 1024MB GS-GLH
This cooler has three parts: the main heatsink, the power circuitry heatsink and the cover. The main heatsink has copper base and cools only the core. It also has heatpipes for improved heat dissipation. Both heatsinks are under the same cover that has a fan in the middle. The fan is low-speed, so the cooler is nearly silent.

Inno3D Geforce GTX 460 OC 1GB
This is a similar cooler, but it has no power circuitry heatsink. This fan is also a low-speed one, so the cooler is also nearly silent.
Leadtek WinFast GTX 460 768MB
This is a reference cooler. Under the cover is a oval heatsink with heatpipes. Only the core is cooled. Thanks to the low-speed fan, the cooler is quiet.
MSI N460GTX Cyclone 1GD5/OC
A Zalmanesque round cooler with heatpipes interconnecting heatsink's sides and bottom and a massive fan in the middle. Only the core is cooled. The fan is silent, so the cooler is very nice in this regard.
Palit GeForce GTX 460 Sonic Platinum 1024MB GDDR5
This cooler is very similar to Gainward's, just the cover has a slightly different shape.

Zotac ZT-40402-10P
Zotac provides a turbine that drives air through the heatsink, cooling both the core and the memory chips. Thanks to the low rotation speed, the cooler is quiet.

Traditionally, we monitored temperatures using EVGA Precision (based on RivaTuner).

Gainward GeForce GTX 460 1024MB GS-GLH

Inno3D Geforce GTX 460 OC 1GB

Leadtek WinFast GTX 460 768MB

MSI N460GTX Cyclone 1GD5/OC

Palit GeForce GTX 460 Sonic Platinum 1024MB GDDR5

Zotac ZT-40402-10P

MSI's Zalmanesque cooler wins, Zotac's solution lags behind a little. Maybe its low speed and that it cools both the core and the memory chips results in the higher overall temperature. Solutions from Palit and Gainward do a great job cooling down those noticeably overclocked cards. In general, the cooler performance is quite nice, the temperature doesn't exceed 80°C (except for that of the Zotac's card).

Bundles

A basic bundle for such graphics cards should include the following items: a user manual, a software CD, and DVI-to-VGA/DVI-to-HDMI adapters where applicable. Now let's see what other accessories are bundled with each card.

Gainward GeForce GTX 460 1024MB GS-GLH
A basic bundle with a power splitter.
Inno3D Geforce GTX 460 OC 1GB
A basic bundle with a power splitter.
Leadtek WinFast GTX 460 768MB
A basic bundle with power splitters.
MSI N460GTX Cyclone 1GD5/OC
A basic bundle with power splitters.
Palit GeForce GTX 460 Sonic Platinum 1024MB GDDR5
A basic bundle with a power splitter.
Zotac ZT-40402-10P
A basic bundle with power splitters and a bonus PC game.

Boxes

Gainward GeForce GTX 460 1024MB GS-GLH
A cardboard box in a stylish jacket. The bundle is stowed into compartments, the card is securely fixed. They should've specified card's bus width on the box, though.

Inno3D Geforce GTX 460 OC 1GB
A similar package with the card securely fixed inside. It's nice to see all necessary specifications on the box, bus width included.

Leadtek WinFast GTX 460 768MB
A traditional thick cardboard box, the card is secured in polyurethane foam. It seems like Leadtek has adopted a kind of "noname design," using the same box for different cards and just ticking off exact specifications. There's no bus width data or even the word "GeForce" on the box.

MSI N460GTX Cyclone 1GD5/OC
A jacketed box with the card secured in polyurethane foam. There's no bus width data on the box as well.

Palit GeForce GTX 460 Sonic Platinum 1024MB GDDR5
The box is identical to the Gainward's. It's no surprise, both products are made at the same factory.

Zotac ZT-40402-10P
A traditionally yellowish box with a window through which you can see the card. There's necessary information on the box, including bus width. The card is securely fixed in its compartment.

Performance tests

Testbed:

Intel Core i7-975 3340 MHz CPU
ASUS P6T Deluxe motherboard on the Intel X58 chipset
6GB of 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM from Corsair
WD Caviar SE WD1600JD 160GB SATA HDD
Tagan TG900-BZ 900W PSU
Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit, DirectX 11
30" Dell 3007WFP monitor
ATI CATALYST 10.7; NVIDIA Drivers 258.96.
VSync disabled

Benchmarks:

Far Cry 2 (Ubisoft) -- DirectX 10.0, Shaders 4.0 (HDR), built-in benchmarking utility (the Middle level), maximum settings.
CRYSIS Warhead (Crytek/EA) -- Cargo, DirectX 10.0, Shaders 4.0, Very High settings, batch file, timedemo available by e-mail request.
Colin McRae: DiRT 2 (Codemasters) -- DirectX 10.0/11.0, Ultra High settings, run the benchmark as follows: "dirt2.exe -benchmark example_benchmark.xml".
Warhammer 40.000: Dawn Of War II (Relic Entertainment/THQ) -- DirectX 10.0, Super High settings, run the benchmark from the in-game menu.
Just Cause 2 (Avalanche Studios/Eidos Interactive) -- DirectX 11.0, Super High settings, run the benchmark from the in-game menu.
Aliens vs. Predator (Rebellion/SEGA) -- DirectX 11.0, Shaders 5.0, Very High settings, run the benchmark from the in-game menu.
Tropics Benchmark 1.3 (Unigine) -- DirectX 10.0, High settings.
Heaven Benchmark 2.0 (Unigine) -- DirectX 10.0, High settings.
Heaven Benchmark 2.0 (Unigine) -- DirectX 11.0, High settings.
3DMark Vantage 1.02 (FutureMark) -- DirectX 10.0, Shaders 4.0, multitexturing, Extreme settings.

We'd like to thank Unigine for helping us set up their benchmarks.

Long ago we proved how unreliable were test results obtained with the FRAPS utility. Sadly, this only leaves us benchmarks built into games. For this reason we prefer to use a small number of tests, but all of those are transparent and precise. What's more important, they accurately show the correlation of graphics card performance.

Note that we provide the results of standard GeForce alt GTX 460 768MB/1024MB cards as well as the results of GeForce GTX 460 1024MB cards factory-overclocked to 800/1600 MHz (which is the highest factory overclocking for now). This way you can easily imagine what performance should be in between.

Far Cry 2

Crysis Warhead, Cargo

Colin McRae: DiRT 2

Warhammer 40.000: Dawn Of War II

Just Cause 2

Aliens vs. Predator DirectX 11.0

Unigine Tropics Benchmark

Unigine Heaven Benchmark DirectX 10.0

Unigine Heaven Benchmark DirectX 11.0

3DMark Vantage Graphics Marks

Conclusions

Inno3D Geforce GTX 460 OC 1GB is a good solution with a decent cooler (<76°C). It mainly copies the reference design, but its overclocking is enough to beat GeForce GTX 465.

Leadtek WinFast GTX 460 768MB is a copy of the reference design that heats up to 71°C. This isn't much, but the card isn't overclocked either.

Gainward GeForce GTX 460 1024MB GS-GLH is an excellent solution. It's one of the best GeForce GTX 460 today. It's both factory-overclocked, quiet and well-cooled (<79 °C). Not only it outperforms GeForce GTX 465 and Radeon HD 5830, it also catches up with GeForce GTX 470 and occasionally outdoes Radeon HD 5850.

MSI N460GTX Cyclone 1GD5/OC is a very very interesting product with an excellent cooler (<61°C) and matching overclocking potential (also thanks to the improved great power circuitry layout and voltage adjustment capability). This solution also outperforms GeForce GTX 465 and Radeon HD 5830.

Palit GeForce GTX 460 Sonic Platinum 1024MB GDDR5 is identical to the Gainward's solution, but offers better cooling (<74 °C).

Zotac ZT-40402-10P is essentially a reference card with a 256-bit bus and 1024MB of memory. Unfortunately, it's not very well cooled (<82°C), but the heat isn't critical. The card also has a nice bundle.

In general, GeForce GTX 460 1024MB 256-bit outperforms the 768MB counterpart, primarily thanks to the wider bus. Already at standard clock rates this solution is faster than GeForce GTX 465 which, being based on GeForce GTX 470, is too expensive, hot and power-hungry. In other words, GeForce GTX 460 1024MB kills GeForce GTX 465. And it also outperforms the primary rival, Radeon HD 5830.

We express gratitude to Gainward, InnoVision, MSI, Leadtek, Zotac and Palit for the provided graphics cards. The PSU is provided by TAGAN, the monitor is provided by NVIDIA.

Key tags : Inno3D GTX 460, Leadtek WinFast GTX 460 768MB, Gainward GTX 460 1024MB GS-GLH, MSI N460GTX Cyclone, Palit GTX 460 Sonic Platinum, Zotac ZT-40402-10P

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Author: mas_sas

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Comment 1

26 September 2010 23:57

lita
Group: Guest Number of News: 0 Number of Comment: 0 Register: --	nice review

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