Tweaking GeForce GTS 450's Value
A month has passed since we first put the spotlight on Nvidia’s GTS 450, comparing it to everything from the Radeon HD 4850 to the GeForce GTX 460. While the basic reference card wasn’t much of an upgrade from last year’s competing parts, its combination of low price and middling performance made it a worthy contender for new, low-cost gaming builds.
Several manufacturers were already prepared at launch to take this part to a higher level of performance, and today we examine a few examples of those efforts.
We invited all major manufacturers to show of their best parts, and six took us up on the offer. Before we move on to individual package descriptions, here’s a brief look at specification differences.
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| Header Cell - Column 0 | Asus ENGTS450 TOP/DI/1GD5 | ECS Black GTS 450 | Gigabyte GTS 450 GV-N450OC-1GI |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPU Clock | 925 MHz | 850 MHz | 830 MHz |
| Shader Clock | 1850 MHz | 1700 MHz | 1660 MHz |
| DRAM Rate | GDDR5-4000 | GDDR5-4000 | GDDR5-3608 |
| DVI | One Dual-Link | Two Dual-Link | Two Dual-Link |
| HDMI | Full HDMI | Mini HDMI | Mini HDMI |
| DisplayPort | None | None | None |
| VGA | One 15-Pin | By Adapter | By Adapter |
| Output Adapters | None | DVI to HDMI DVI-I to VGA | Mini to Full HDMI DVI-I to VGA |
| Length | 9.3" | 8.5" | 9.1" |
| Height | 4.9" | 5.4" | 4.5" |
| Total Thickness | 1.4" | 2.4" | 1.4" |
| Cooler Thickness | 1.3" | 2.2" | 1.3" |
| Weight | 19 Ounces | 23 Ounces | 20 Ounces |
| PCB Version | Custom | P1060 V1.0 | 3rd-party Reference |
| VRM | Four Phases | Four Phases | Four Phases |
| Warranty | Three Years | Three Years | Three Years |
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| Header Cell - Column 0 | MSI N450GTS Cyclone 1GD5/OC | Sparkle Calibre GTS 450 1024 MB | Zotac GTS 450 ZT-40502-10L |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPU Clock | 850 MHz | 850 MHz | 875 MHz |
| Shader Clock | 1700 MHz | 1700 MHz | 1750 MHz |
| DRAM Rate | GDDR5-4000 | GDDR5-3800 | GDDR5-4000 |
| DVI | Two Dual-Link | Two Dual-Link | Two Dual-Link |
| HDMI | Mini HDMI | Mini HDMI | Full HDMI |
| DisplayPort | None | None | Full-Size |
| VGA | By Adapter | By Adapter | By Adapter |
| Output Adapters | DVI to HDMI DVI-I to VGA | HDMI Cable DVI-I to VGA | DVI-I to VGA |
| Length | 8.3" | 8.5" | 7.5" |
| Height | 5.1" | 5.4" | 4.4" |
| Total Thickness | 1.3" | 2.2" | 1.6" |
| Cooler Thickness | 1.2" | 2.0" | 1.4" |
| Weight | 14 Ounces | 22 Ounces | 15 Ounces |
| PCB Version | P1060-000(B) | Nvidia P1060 | Custom |
| VRM | Four Phases | Four Phases | Three Phases |
| Warranty | Three Years | Three Years | Lifetime |
