| ASUS ENGTX460 DirectCU TOP/2DI/1GD5 |  |
| Reviews - Featured Reviews: Video Cards | |
| Written by Olin Coles | |
| Sunday, 08 August 2010 | |
|
Page 1 of 20
ASUS ENGTX460 DirectCU TOP/2DI/1GD5 ReviewBenchmark Reviews was stunned to see NVIDIA's mid-range GeForce GTX 460 graphics solution dominate the price point and threaten high-performance products. Our tests have concluded that both the 768MB and 1GB version can offer great gaming performance, and outstanding overclock headroom. Combined into a SLI set, two stock GeForce GTX 460's compete with the Radeon HD 5870. In this article, Benchmark Reviews takes the highly overclocked ASUS ENGTX460 DirectCU TOP/2DI/1GD5 video card and compares it against a field of DirectX-11 graphics solutions. If you're after a new video card, this 1GB GeForce GTX 460 could be the best $230 ever spent. NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 460 1GB-GDDR5 graphics card empowers DirectX-11 video games to deliver unmatched geometric realism at the $200 price point. Based on the same Fermi architecture that powers their high-end GeForce GTX 480 model, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 delivers mid-range performance for gamers on a budget. The ASUS ENGTX460 DirectCU TOP comes armed with NVIDIA's GF104 Fermi graphics processor, and packs seven Streaming Multiprocessors for a total of 336 CUDA Cores and 56 Texture Units. NVIDIA's 1GB GTX 460 price tag ($220) fits in nicely between the $200 Radeon HD 5830 and $250 GeForce GTX 465, but could deliver even more performance for the value. On the following pages, Benchmark Reviews demonstrates how well a factory-overclocked GeForce GTX 460 performs against these other DirectX-11 video card products. PC video games are still the best way to experience realistic effects and immerse yourself in the battle. Gaming consoles do their part, but only high-precision video cards offer the sharp clarity and definition needed to enjoy detailed graphics. Armed with ASUS Voltage Tweak functionality, this particular GeForce GTX 460 delivers a healthy helping of graphical power at an affordable price. The ASUS ENGTX460 DirectCU TOP/2DI/1GD5 model arrives with a factory overclock, but still has plenty of additional headroom for overclockers to drive out hidden FPS performance using the included ASUS SmartDoctor utility. Benchmark Reviews will test the ASUS GeForce GTX 460 TOP against some of the best video cards within the price segment by using several of the most demanding PC video game titles and benchmark software available: Aliens vs Predator, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, BattleForge, Crysis Warhead, Far Cry 2, Resident Evil 5, and Metro 2033.
ASUS ENGTX460 DirectCU TOP/2DI/1GD5It used to be that PC video games such as Crysis and Far Cry 2 were as demanding as you could get, but that was all back before DirectX-11 brought tessellation and to the forefront of graphics. DX11 now adds heavy particle and turbulence effects to video games, and titles such as Metro 2033 demand the most powerful graphics processing available. NVIDIA's GF100 GPU is their first graphics processor to support DirectX-11 features such as tessellation and DirectCompute, and the GeForce GTX-460 offers an excellent combination of performance and value for games and professional applications alike. At the center of every new technology is purpose, and NVIDIA has designed their Fermi GF104 GPU with an end-goal of redefining the video game experience through significant graphics processor innovations. Disruptive technology often changes the way users interact with computers, and the GeForce GTX-460 family of video cards are complex tools built to arrive at one simple destination: immersive entertainment, especially when paired with NVIDIA GeForce 3D Vision. The experience is further improved with NVIDIA System Tools software, which includes NVIDIA Performance Group for GPU overclocking and NVIDIA System Monitor which displays real-time temperatures. These tools help gamers and overclockers get the most out of their investment.
Manufacturer: ASUSTek Computer, Inc. Full Disclosure: The product sample used in this article has been provided by ASUS.
|
|
Comments
Excellent idea you had!!!
I bought the Asus Top-460 last Thursday before this article was posted.
I won't have it hand for 2-3 more days.
It would seem your recommendation of the Nvidia-460 and my choice of the Asus Top-460 will be well worth the extra dollars.
Appreciate the assisstance.
Thanks.
Mike S.
#en.expreview.com/2010/08/03/galaxys-geforce-gtx-460-packed-0-4ns-samsung-gddr5-memory/8819.html
0,5 ns = 2 GHz
understood what I meant with my research?
2.4 ghz ---> 5 ghz
##samsung.com/global/system/business/semiconductor/family/2010/5/13/865833graphic_product_guid e_apr_10.pdf
0.28 ns = 3.5 ghz ---> 7 ghz !!! :D
What's with the 'TOP/2DI/1GD5'?
Looking to replace my GTX260 and the 460 is by far looking like the best bet at the moment, not too keen on the design of this heatsink though. Might be a bit better at keeping the GPU itself cool but it'll increase case temps due to the lack of a proper exhaust...
It does annoy me somewhat that the majority of 460's seem to be stuck with this style of heatsink rather then the rear exhaust type. Cannot understand their reasoning behind it, especially with a GPU that runs this cool.
Supposedly, the fully functioning GF104 will be the 475 card due out next month or so. Pictures of the chip that will power the 450 and 440 have been leaked on the web. They're due out in the near future as well.
#event.asus.com/vga/2010/engtx460/
The New Egg card is clearly a different version. Olin, could you perhaps give us more feedback on the noise from the card? There isn't a ton of info out there, but I read a review yesterday citing atrocious fan noise. You seem to say it's comparatively quiet. That's really good to hear, although I'd love to see some db measurements on the 1 gb card.
I'm going to add a note beside the NewEgg link.
As far as fan noise, there almost wasn't any to speak of. I tested the games in a case with an open side, and could barely hear the fan. With the case closed for temperature tests, I couldn't hear it at all.
How does the revised cost affect your price/performance numbers? If the TOP list price is $277 and not $230, that would alter things a bit wouldn't it? Of course, it's also available from Amazon for $209, so that would only improve the numbers ;-)
The Newegg version is the 1G but not the Tops as you have figured. According to the Asus sight and Otis's tested version the Tops is blue.
The picture on the Newegg site shows a blue version with a non-Tops part number.
It is the 1GD5 version but no factory OC. Has the CU cooler.
Thanks to Otis I can OC it myself. It will be a Tops. So I'm satisfied with my decision.
ENGTX460 DirectCU/2DI/1GD5
ASUS Exclusive DirectCU Thermal Solution with 3 Heat-pipes!
- ASUS Exclusive DirectCU Thermal Solution: Three 8mm flattened copper heat-pipes contact GPU directly and reach up to 20% COOLER than generic GeForce GTX460
- ASUS Exclusive Voltage Tweak Technology for up to 50% performance
#usa.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=H6TLkh8DlwAs1Liv&templete=2
So once you get to the limit of it, you can still go higher in frequency, but it'll only means more errors (which you don't see) that reduce the performance you gained via said difference in frequency.
Because I seriously doubt you'll be able to reach 1170mhz and only see that little difference you saw.
Best regards.
it is not the good photo of pcb (photo 108 / 739 on chip)
1.the placement of PCI-Express 6pin connectors is to the top not rear
2. eight modules of GD5 not six
3.vrm have a "cooler"
I've narrowed my choice down to either this card or the MSI GTX 460 1GB Cyclone, but can't tell which has the better OC potential and overall cooling. I want to overclock (stock voltage) as much as possible with keeping fan noise being annoying (say - max 40db under constant full load).
From what I can tell, the MSI Cyclone seems to be the better choice - at least in terms of cooling/noise.
Any thoughts on this (esp. Olin)?
Thanks for the help.
There seem to be very few alternatives and most seem to be the reference design type, which looks almost the same as the 200 series cooler that from my experience wasnt particularly quiet.
EVGA seem to do one with a bigger fan, but even then it only seems to be in 768mb...
HERE: ##newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814261077
I wonder if the additional RAM is worth it? Would you consider a review of this one?
I know that in the past, manufacturers have always made what they thought would sell, knowing that many people are married to the notion that "More Is Better". Oftentimes that's not the case.
I have 8GB of RAM in each of my systems and to change to 16GB would be extremely expensive with little benefit for my usage patterns. (there remains a little man on my shoulder egging me on though)
This next upgrade has to last me as I probably will not come into any significant amounts of cash for a very long time after it's done. (retirement incomes stay the same regardless of inflation)
The AMD Hex-Core black combined with these will do the trick.
##komplett.se/k/ki.aspx?sku=603885
Thanks again =) Sorry for bad english =)
Thanks
ATI just released some cards too, (6850 and 6870) but I don't like that they can't do CUDA and Phys-X,......and for me that's not good enough. Otherwise they *do* perform well.
In reality, either card will meet my needs but while I wait for delivery, it's nice to have something to obsess about. ;)