Asus Launches New GeForce GT 730 Like It's 2014 All Over Again

Asus GeForce GT 730 (Image credit: Asus)

As the global semiconductor shortage continues on, manufacturers are taking this opportunity to offload some of their older stuff. Now Asus has (via momomo_us) recently and quietly launched a new model of the GeForce GT 730, a graphics card that dates back to 2014 and was far from being one of the best graphics cards even back then.

Still, the new Asus GeForce GT 730 caters towards professionals that are looking for a graphics card to enable multi-monitor productivity, which does give it at least an excuse of relevance even today. The graphics card comes equipped with four native HDMI 1.4b ports with HDCP 2.2 support and drives monitors with resolutions up to 4K (3840 x 2160).

Built with Asus' Auto-Extreme technology, the GeForce GT 730 comes in a single-slot design with dimensions of 5.8 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches (148 x 105 x 18mm). Not that we expected it to be bulky, but this means it should have no problems fitting inside small-form-factor (SFF) systems. Like countless other GeForce GT 730 models before it, Asus' latest rendition features a passive cooling system to keep your system's noise low.

This particular variant of the GeForce GT 730 utilizes GDDR5 memory, therefore, the GK208 (Kepler) silicon powers the graphics card. Nvidia has already announced its decision to drop Kepler support in the upcoming GeForce R470 driver, which is slated for August 31. However, this only applies to Game Ready updates, performance, new features and bug fixes. Kepler owners will continue to receive security updates until September 2024. The GeForce GT 730 isn't a gaming monster, but it does serve decently as a stopgap solution for processors that lack integrated graphics.

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Asus' specs for its Kepler-powered graphics card point to 384 CUDA cores with a 902 MHz boost clock in gaming mode and a 927 MHz boost clock in OC mode. It also features 2GB of 5 Gbps GDDR5. The memory runs across a 64-bit memory interface with the graphics card ending up with a maximum theoretical memory bandwidth of 40.10 GBps.

One potential strength with releasing a new model of an older card is that the GeForce GT 730 has very low requirements. For one, this graphics card is perfectly happy residing on a PCIe 2.0 slot. It's rated for 38W so no external PCIe power connectors are required. Asus' recommendation for the GeForce GT 730 is a 300W power supply.

Asus hasn't shared the pricing and availability for its new GeForce GT 730. With the graphics card market in its current state, current GeForce GT 730 units are selling for over $100, which is a ridiculous markup for a graphics card that's seven years old.

Zhiye Liu is a Freelance News Writer at Tom’s Hardware US. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.

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10 Comments Comment from the forums

nitts999

4 monitors and no/minimal fans will definitely have a market. I do screencast recordings and multimonitor and silence are both required. This card will fill a niche nicely, that niche just won't be gaming is all.
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InvalidError

nitts999 said:
This card will fill a niche nicely, that niche just won't be gaming is all.
It still might find its way into many gaming PCs as temporary fix for people who built a PC using an IGP-less CPU since there aren't many other options left under $200 unless buying used.
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escksu

InvalidError said:
It still might find its way into many gaming PCs as temporary fix for people who built a PC using an IGP-less CPU since there aren't many other options left under $200 unless buying used.

Not quite, instead it will be more for corporate sector where multiple monitors are required. Cards that can support 4 monitors aren't that common.
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Teeroy32

If these are cheap and in a low profile, it will be a fine upgrade for my HTPC that is only using an i5-3100 igpu. I'd be able to play some newer retro emulators with that card.
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InvalidError

escksu said:
Not quite, instead it will be more for corporate sector where multiple monitors are required. Cards that can support 4 monitors aren't that common.
Almost any low-end card with DP1.4 can do four monitors despite having only three outputs, all you need is an MST hub. Those four-outs cards likely have an MST hub baked-in to split one of the DP outputs. Higher-end cards support 6-8 monitors despite having only four built-in outputs if you use MST hubs or monitors with DP pass-through.
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nitts999

InvalidError said:
Almost any low-end card with DP1.4 can do four monitors despite having only three outputs, all you need is an MST hub. Those four-outs cards likely have an MST hub baked-in to split one of the DP outputs. Higher-end cards support 6-8 monitors despite having only four built-in outputs if you use MST hubs or monitors with DP pass-through.

I didn't know that--thanks for the tip. I just assumed you had to buy a card with the outputs you needed built in.
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rluker5

I picked up a passive pciex1 GT730 a few years back when W3 came out for a physx card. (but an update removed that funcionality from that game :(
The card has Nvidia HDMI 1.4b so it will do 4k60, but at 4:2:0 chroma color compression which is black/white at 4k and color at 1080p. It doesn't look that bad, is most apparent on desktop text and hard to notice in games and movies. Kepler DP1.2 does 4k60 at 4:4:4 just fine, but this card doesn't look like it has that.
You can also bios flash them to extend their range up to Kepler max of 1200-1250 and remove boost if you just want to play around (I flashed mine to 1020 base clock and that lets AB reach high as the card will go), but they are still comparable to a Skylake igpu. But they do remove graphics load from your cpu and give you access to Nvidia control panel so there is that. And the Zotac one I have stays in normal gpu temp range with it's passive cooler.

Good for display and igpu class games.
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Joseph_138

The GT 1030 only draws 30W, and is a much better card. Why didn't they create a card with multiple outputs based on that instead?
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BFG-9000

If ASUS could get their hands on GT1010 chips that supposedly "launched" in January, don't you think they would've used those instead? Essentially a cut-down GT1030

Nope, they are using GT730 because that is all they can get
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Joseph_138

BFG-9000 said:
If ASUS could get their hands on GT1010 chips that supposedly "launched" in January, don't you think they would've used those instead? Essentially a cut-down GT1030

Nope, they are using GT730 because that is all they can get

But that one still draws 30W, and loses 1/3 the performance of a 1030. So what's really the point? Just go with a 1030. Nvidia is just trying to unload the defective 1030 chips they've been accumulating for several years, by releasing the 1010.
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