GeForce GT 430: The HTPC Crowd Gets Fermi On A Diet
After addressing mainstream gamers with the GF106-based GeForce GTS 450, Nvidia is nudging a new GPU into the desktop space, built onto a card seemingly tailor-made for HTPCs. Does the new $79 GeForce GT 430 taste great, or is it just less filling?
Test Setup And Benchmarks
The cards we chose for comparison can all be found within $5 of the GeForce GT 430’s MSRP of $79, including the GeForce GT 220 DDR3, the GeForce GT 240 GDDR5, the Radeon HD 5570 DDR3, and the Radeon HD 5670 GDDR5.
To better represent a level playing field (and to address some of the concerns we've seen in the comments section), all of these cards have been set to reference clock rates for testing.
Test System | |
---|---|
Motherboard | Asus M4A785TD-V EVO Socket AM3, AMD 785G, BIOS 0410 |
Processor | Phenom II X4 970 3.5 GHz, Quad-Core, 6 MB L3 CacheOverclocked to 4.0 GHz |
CPU Cooler | Cooler Master Hyper TX3 |
Memory | Crucial DDR3-1333 Dual-Channel 2 x 2048 MB, 669 MHz, CAS 9-9-9-24-1T |
Graphics | Gigabyte GV-N220OC-1GI (GeForce GT 220) 1 GB DDR3, 720/1566 MHz GPU/Shaders, 800 MHz MemoryAsus ENGT430 (GeForce GT 430) 1 GB DDR3, 700/1400 MHz GPU/Shaders, 800 MHz MemoryGigabyte GV-N240D5-512I (GeForce GT 240) 512 MB GDDR5, 550/1340 MHz GPU/Shaders, 850 MHz MemoryRadeon HD 5570 Reference 1 GB DDR3, 650 MHz GPU, 900 MHz MemoryRadeon HD 5670 Reference 512 MB GDDR5, 775 MHz GPU, 1000 MHz Memory***all clock rates set to reference specifications for the purposes of benchmarking*** |
Hard Drive | Western Digital Caviar Black 1000 MB 7200 RPM, 32 MB Cache SATA 3Gb/s |
Software and Drivers | |
Operating System | Microsoft Windows 7 x64 |
DirectX Version | DirectX 11 |
Graphics Drivers | AMD Catalyst 10.9, GeForce 260.77 beta (GeForce GT 430), GeForce 258.96 (all others) |
Benchmark Configuration | |
---|---|
3D Games | |
Crysis | Patch 1.2.1, DirectX 10, 64-bit executable, benchmark tool General Benchmarks: Low Quality, Textures, Shadows, Physics, Shaders, Water, and Sound to MediumAnti-aliasing Benchmarks: Low Quality, Textures, Physics, Water, and Sound to Medium, Shaders to High |
Just Cause 2 | Version 1.0.0.2, in-game benchmark,Low Settings, Shadows and Water to Medium, No AA, 2x AF |
Aliens vs Predator | Benchmark Tool, Medium Settings, SSAO Off, Dx11 tesselation and shadow sampling off, no AA, 8x AF |
StarCraft II | Version 1.1.1, Custom Tom's Hardware BenchmarkHigh Quality Preset, No AA |
DiRT 2 | In-game benchmarkDirectX 11, High Quality Preset, No AA |
Synthetic | |
3DMark Vantage | Version: 1.01, Total System score |
Stay On the Cutting Edge: Get the Tom's Hardware Newsletter
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Current page: Test Setup And Benchmarks
Prev Page Nvidia's Reference GeForce GT 430 And Asus’ ENGT430 Next Page Benchmark Results: Synthetics And DX11 Tests-
fausto Anybody use HTPC state side with a satallite/cable provider? cable card? are you able to decode OnDemand and Premium Channels in the United States?Reply
Because it seems like HTPC's primary options are services like Hulu and Netflix. -
cknobman Not impressed.....at all.Reply
Its not like Nvidia was racing AMD to the market here so I fail to see why they insist on pushing out a product that is not priced competitively.
Heck Nvidia's new product isnt even priced appropriately against their last generation cards much less AMDs year old offerings. -
christiangordon faustoAnybody use HTPC state side with a satallite/cable provider? cable card? are you able to decode OnDemand and Premium Channels in the United States?Because it seems like HTPC's primary options are services like Hulu and Netflix.Reply
I have used the HTPC cards and they don't work with Sat/ATT companies for OnDemand. They are basically good for 720p 1080p formats
-
rolli59 Slots in next to HD5570 low profile for small form factor cases with limited size PSU!Reply -
neilnh faustoAnybody use HTPC state side with a satallite/cable provider? cable card? are you able to decode OnDemand and Premium Channels in the United States?Because it seems like HTPC's primary options are services like Hulu and Netflix.Reply
I use my HTPC for OTA HD networks (Fox, ABC, NBC, etc), Hulu, ESPN3, Blu-ray, and DVD-rips. I get HD on most of the shows I watch, and Hulu doesn't look bad for the others. There are very few gaps, but some would care a lot about them... HBO, NFL network, ESPN content that isn't available on ESPN3. Overall though, no monthly fee for all my TV with HD DVR... I like it. Some people use cable cards, but my whole reason for going the HTPC route was to save money, not pay more. -
ikefu The only reason for this card is if you actually watch 3D Bluray, for anything else the 5670 seems way better.Reply
I have a 55" 3d TV but hate the glasses so much I can't ever see myself using 3D playback. I'd go for 5670 just for the occasional gaming session. -
Onus This just shows how good the HD5670 is. And, with GDDR5 versions of the HD5570 available, there's just no reason for this card at this price. Pass.Reply