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?

Asus ENGTX460 DirectCU TOP/2DI/1GD5

Also listed at some vendors as the ENGTX460 DirectCU/TOP/2DI/1GD5, Asus’ flagship GeForce GTX 460 solution comes with exceptional GPU and DRAM data rates on a customized PCB, its twin six-pin PCIe power connectors moved to the top edge.

Asus’ unique cooler design still fits within two case slots, allowing SLI configurations on motherboards that have only one empty slot between primary PCIe x16 slots. Its top-mounted power connectors could, on the other hand, prevent installation into some compact gaming cases.

The ENGTX460 DirectCU TOP/2DI/1GD5 includes an HDMI Mini port, in addition to two dual-link DVI-I connectors, but bundled adapters rely on a DVI output to connect full-sized HDMI cables. A CD wallet accompanies an otherwise standard installation kit.

A 775 MHz GPU clock and GDDR5-4000 make this the second-fastest card in today’s lineup, though the included overclocking software is a little less aggressive than some competing vendors.

Asus does include the rare voltage control in its Smart Doctor tuning software, but a range of 1.00-1.087V allows a maximum increase of only 7%.

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Various monitoring functions can be custom-set, and the fan can also be configured in four stages.

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HyperDrive mode allows the ENGTX460 DirectCU TOP/2DI/1GD5 to be overclocked while games are running.

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