NVidia GeForce GT 430

[gamefreak_32]

I want a review of nVidia GeForce GT 430 as a gaming graphics card. Help please......

 

[jjb8675309]

Im sure you can find plenty of reviews all over the net via google, however imo the gt 430 is crap for gaming... I can almost guarantee that you will be disappointed. However, if you list your full system specs, budget, and resolution, then I can make an informed recommendation. For gaming I would'nt go any lower then a gts 450 (on the nvidia side of things).

get back to me with that info so I can give you proper advice..

 

[nforce4max]

It is a weak card over all unless you are unable to use any thing better. It is slightly weaker than a typical GT240 which is on par with a 9600gt. For the price if you have the room can afford higher end card such as the 8800/9800gt and maybe get lucky on a 4850/4870 on the second hand market. Beyond that it is ok for budget gaming lets say 1280x1024 to 1600x900 on low to medium settings for light weight games.

 

[jjb8675309]

^ yeah agreed the 4870 or 9800 gt (psu permitting) would be a good choice in the used market like nforce said, I agree it is okay (really marginal at best) for budget gaming but like I said before I still think that overall it will end in disappointment, the gt 430 is a great HTPC card from what I recall.

OP: please get back to us with your full system specs including psu make and model and your monitors native resolution, thanks

 

[gamefreak_32]

My specs are-intel core 2 duo E7500 @ 2.93 GHz, 4GB ram ddr2, an old motherboard of biostar. My budget is not much around $160~$170. Have a well enough monitor of samsung which supports HD so display is not the issue. Be advised.....

 

[jjb8675309]

what is the monitors resolution? what is the make and model of your power supply?

 

[gamefreak_32]

Samsung P2370HD 23 Widescreen HD LCD Monitor - 50,000:1, 1920 x 1080

 

[jjb8675309]

ok and now the most important question.... the make and model of your power supply?

 

[gamefreak_32]

something of ATX with 350 watts

 

[jjb8675309]

well with that psu you are limited to a 5670, but that will def not cut it @1080p so first of all are you willing to replace the psu, and if so what is your total budget for psu and gpu?

 

[gamefreak_32]

say around $175~$180

 

[jjb8675309]

ok Id go for something like this although you will have to lower settings if you are gaming at full 1920X1080 in the more demanding titles but I'd get something like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371034

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121390

 

[jjb8675309]

I know this combo is probably a few bucks more than your budget but the GPU has a good rebate

if you go with any less of a graphics card such as a gts 450, or worse, you will really have to scale down settings and likely bump down your resolution to get games to be playable... just FYI

overall I'd get these components and then start saving for a new cpu and motherboard upgrade bc if you want to go with any higher of a graphics card then your cpu will seriously start holding you back and even with a 768mb gtx 460 you will be held back a little, I would also suggest Overclocking your CPU if you can

 

[jjb8675309]

furthermore if you can afford a psu that you can carry over to a new build I would highly recomend doing so, if your gonna go that route then get this psu, it will run any single graphics card on the market today:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371015

 

[gamefreak_32]

Thanks for all the help......really appretiate it.........

 

[jjb8675309]

you are welcome, I see you are relatively new to Toms, if there is anything else I can help you with just let me know or pm me (personal message), also it is an option to select the best answer given if you feel that your question was properly answered

 

[jjb8675309]

did you decide what you are gonna go with?

 

[gamefreak_32]

Best answer selected by gamefreak_32.

 

[gamefreak_32]

Ya roughly. I will stick to your opinion and I have absolutely decided that I will not buy nVidia GT 430. Bt I will be looking something above GTS 450 as you said if its fits in my budget. I am thinking of bying that psu next month and wasting the entire money on the GPU at the moment. If there is nothing else then GTS 450 it is.......thanx again for the advice.

I have one more question.

I take it that you are a vet in gaming going by your specs. I have an Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.93 GHz 1066Mhz 65W. Is it good enough for gaming temporarily? Cz if I have to upgrade to i7 extremes( which I eventually will) I'll have to upgrade my entire system including motherboards and rams, and I dnt have the cash backup for all of it right now. So do you reckon that nVidia GTS 450( or higher) combined with my processor can run Crysis 2 and Deus Ex Human Revolution???

Cant live a day without gaming.........these crytek guys are freaks.......

Be advised......

 

[jjb8675309]

yeah your core 2 duo will hold up fine for now but certain games that are optimized for quad cores (BF3, Crysis 2) then you will find yourself scaling back settings a good deal to get them to run smoothly... however the cpu you have is fine for now and it is certainly well matched with the gts 450 or gtx 460 768mb... both of these cards will not cost you an arm and a leg and you can save your money for a better build. But, by no means do you need an i7 to game, its basically a waste unless you are running triple monitors and sli, etc. An i5 is more then good for a future purchase and the AMD bulldozer cpus and mobos will be out in a few months. For now the best thing to do is get the psu and gts 450, game on that for now and start saving, the gts 450 will at least give you a good taste of what a modern gpu can do potentially. As far as crysis 2 goes you will be able to play it, but not at 1080p and all high settings. The game is only is dx9 and as so it will run a little better than the original crysis which brought any system of its time to its knees...

 

[jjb8675309]

here is a youtube vid of crysis 2 being played on a i7 machine which is not really the best way to judge its performance but you can get somewhat of an idea, obviously the performance you will get with your system will be less but you can see the gts 450 paired with a very capable cpu can run pretty good, but let me restate, this video is not really a good thing to judge its performance on but atm i cannot find any benchmarks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKggk3O1djo

 

[gamefreak_32]

Thanx man.......looking forward to playing crysis 2

 

[king smp]

well with that psu you are limited to a 5670, but that will def not cut it @1080p so first of all are you willing to replace the psu, and if so what is your total budget for psu and gpu?

Funny my HD4650 plays Crysis Warhead at 1080p gamer settings no AA/AF

If you want max settings then you need a better card (like gtx460 best bet)
but HD5670 is ok for medium settings

Depends on your standards of gaming

Playing all out max settings on highest res with heavy aa/af is cool
but it comes down to budget and priorities

Crysis warhead and Bioshock 2 at 1080p with medium settings
still looks good

What do I know
I remember thinking Zaxxon 3D in 1980s was cool graphics LOL

 

[jjb8675309]

^ yeah well what you deem as acceptable performance is much lower than what I prefer so in the end its all relative, but I mean even a 5850 is not enough for 1080p (for me), the 5670 is def okay for med settings or higher settings on a low res but I think the op is best suited with the gtx 460 overall..

I remember when the original half-life came out, I thought wow how can 3d graphics be any better? lol well obviously they have improved a great deal since then and will continue to into the future...

crysis warhead is no doubt more demanding than crysis 2 and I think a gtx 460 will fair pretty well considering the fact that it will not play the game "maxed out" at 1080p but darn close to it

 

[jjb8675309]

however I think we both can agree that the gt 430 is not a gaming card