Roundup: Nine GeForce GTX 460 1 GB Boards Benchmarked

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?

Sparkle GeForce GTX 460 1024 MB GDDR5

Another card with a logical model name (but excessively long model number), Sparkle Computer’s SXX4601024D5SNM is the only card in today’s roundup to use Nvidia’s exact reference design, right down to the GPU cooler cover.

Sparkle differentiates its product from Nvidia’s reference card only with its custom color and GPU clock speed. That means users still get the standard mini-HDMI and twin dual-link DVI outputs.

Sparkle addresses its customer’s full-sized HDMI needs in the most impressive fashion we’ve seen by including a 6’ mini-HDMI to full-sized HDMI cable. This could be a big cost-saver for buyers who didn’t receive an HDMI cable with their new monitor.

Sparkle increases its GPU clock to 700 MHz, barely a step up from the reference speed of 675 MHz. This minor improvement pairs with the extra HDMI cable for improved value, though overclockers will need to find their own tuning software to achieve their performance goals.

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