Roundup: Nine GeForce GTX 460 1 GB Boards Benchmarked

Features
By Thomas Soderstrom
published

Happy with Nvidia's GeForce GTX 460, we invited a dozen of the industry's top graphics companies to show off their unique interpretations of the card. Nine responded with what they feel are exceptional products. Can they get any better than reference?

Zotac GeForce GTX 460 1 GB

Available as part number ZT-40402-10P, Zotac’s 1 GB GeForce GTX 460 resembles Nvidia’s reference design mostly in its 8.3” length. Differences begin with a custom cross-flow cooler that allows this card to exhaust most of its heat outside of the case.

Partially blocking the egress of heat is a second dual-link DVI port in the middle of the card’s vent. Placing it there allows Zotac to dramatically enhance its output capabilities, as its card features a full-sized HDMI port, and even DisplayPort connectivity, without the need for adapters.

Zotac’s GeForce GTX 460 still includes a DVI-I to VGA adapter, and the firm even sweetens the pot by including “Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands.” With the second-lowest Web price of today’s contenders, the added game could make this a best-value package for at least a few of our readers.

Zotac is the only company in this roundup to use Nvidia’s reference clock speeds for both the GPU and DRAM. Overclocking is left to its users to figure out.

For this particular card, Zotac’s Firestorm software is no more powerful than Nvidia System Tools. Zotac does update its software occasionally, and interested owners should keep an eye on the Web site for updates.

Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
91 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Tamz_msc
    Good article.
    Reply
  • TheStealthyOne
    I really am a fan of ASUS' DirectCu/TOP cards.

    I can't decide between the 460 and 5850 versions :P
    Reply
  • Tamz_msc
    I would have liked noise benchmarks.
    Reply
  • beans4you
    just installed two gigabyte 460 cards in my brothers new setup, they are pretty nice! can't hear them even with the 2 fans on each and they run around 25/29 C idle, this is as far as I've gotten with tests :p
    Reply
  • falchard
    thestealthyoneI really am a fan of ASUS' DirectCu/TOP cards.I can't decide between the 460 and 5850 versionsThats a contemplative choice? Considering its not the 5830, the clear choice is the 5850.
    Reply
  • Lmeow
    Wow. Jetway's 33 % overclock is nSane... especially on what seems to be nVidia's reference cooler.

    I wonder how many cards can reach that 900 MHz with acceptable noise and voltage levels.
    Reply
  • El_Capitan
    This review is trying to tell us what? Higher overclocked cards give better performance? Duh?

    It would have been better to see each card overclocked to it's most stable overclock first, then test the cards with all the benchmarks.

    I read CPU magazine's article comparing the GTX 460's, and same conclusion. Palit is the fastest, but MSI's is the quietest and coolest.

    I've been looking into getting a pair for SLI. Those that don't have extra space between their PCI Express 2.0 slots should go for the EVGA Superclocked because of the external exhaust. Those that do have space like me and prefer low noise would be better off the MSI's. Performance-wise, they're all great overclockers (every card in this review can overclock higher than Palit's factory overclock). Honestly, you really can't go wrong with any of these cards.
    Reply
  • vixiv
    El_CapitanHonestly, you really can't go wrong with any of these cards.
    Basically.
    Reply
  • void
    I have one gigabyte card and very happy with it. Almost complete silent at idle. and not much noise at 100% fan speed. 50% fan speed is enough to keep it around 60c in games
    Reply
  • amgsoft
    If you are going to use the cards in PC in your home, the less noisy and the coolest is often the best choice.
    Reply