Nvidia GeForce GT 1030 2GB Review

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Doom (Vulkan)

Our Radeon RX 550 review included numbers from Civilization VI. But we’ve been having trouble getting consistent results from that game, particularly when we try to add integrated graphics to the test field. It’s on the sideline for now, as we move straight to Doom.

Doom is graphics-bound, similar to Battlefield 1. But instead of running under DirectX 12, like Battlefield, we test using the Vulkan API.

AMD typically fares very well in Doom, and that dominance is apparent at 1280x720 using the Medium quality preset: Radeon RX 550 4GB is a full 84% faster than GeForce GT 1030. Even the old GeForce GTX 750 Ti enjoys a 32% advantage in our average frame rate measurement.

Really, you’d only be looking to GT 1030 for an escape from the dismal experience offered by Core i3-6320’s HD Graphics 530 engine.

The performance of AMD’s cards is up just slightly since we reviewed the RX 550. Folding in comparison data from a handful of Nvidia GPUs shows that GeForce GTX 1050 gains ground at 1920x1080, allowing it to pass the Radeon RX 460. The older GeForce GTX 950, which was roughly tied with AMD’s RX 460 at 1280x720, remains so at this higher resolution.

GeForce GT 1030 moves up in the world, edging out GTX 750 Ti by the slimmest of margins. It still loses to Radeon RX 550, though. AMD’s mainstream contender maintains largely playable performance at these settings, while Nvidia’s entry-level Pascal-based board just isn’t as smooth, according to our unevenness index.


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Chris Angelini
Chris Angelini is an Editor Emeritus at Tom's Hardware US. He edits hardware reviews and covers high-profile CPU and GPU launches.
  • turkey3_scratch
    This is a fantastic chip! Seeing as it performs nearly on-par with the 750Ti, it has approximately double the performance/power ratio. It is also perfect for a noiseless PC, the passively cooled one is.
    Reply
  • takeshi7
    Does this card work with 4K Netflix? From what I've read Nvidia requires 3GB VRAM for it which seems stupid and arbitrary. 2GB is enough to buffer several seconds of 4K movie frames.
    Reply
  • King_V
    Definitely interesting. Going through the initial tests, I actually started wondering why the RX550 was lower in the hierarchy charts than the 750Ti.

    Then, when they switched positions in some other tests, it became more clear. And, I concluded that even putting certain cards in tiers relative to each other is not that easy.

    I was very glad to see this test, though, as I'd previously considered getting the GT1030. My need for it is no longer there.

    Overall, I think the 750Ti, RX 550, and RX 460 are closer to each other than I anticipated. It does seem the 1030 is behind them all, but not too far behind.

    Thanks for this review. I can't wait to see where it ultimately falls in the hierarchy chart(which, oddly, is missing the RX 560 but I suspect that is in the same tier as the RX 460)
    Reply
  • Boom_4
    TAKESHI7
    yes it's enough, IDK where you heard that you need 3gb or VRAM.
    Reply
  • hendriksnyder
    Will this work with a core I7 7700k? And would it be able to run games like FO4 and TitanFall 2 on ultra settings?
    Reply
  • takeshi7
    19934708 said:
    TAKESHI7
    yes it's enough, IDK where you heard that you need 3gb or VRAM.

    Multiple sources say you need 3GB VRAM
    http://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4457/~/preview-of-4k-uhd-netflix-content-on-nvidia-gpus
    http://www.pcworld.com/article/3193566/components-graphics/nvidia-quietly-opens-4k-netflix-streaming-on-geforce-gtx-10-series-graphics-cards.html

    It's pretty stupid because that means you have to spend twice as much to get a 1050 Ti minimum.

    Reply
  • zcat
    Can't wait to swap out my miniITX's old 750Ti with a true successor that's twice as powerful at the same bus-powered max of 60W.
    Reply
  • mikegrok
    I am going to be installing a bunch of these into a dental office as soon as stocks get better. Dental offices have 2 monitors per computer (usually using the gti 720). One for work, and one to show Netflix, and distract the patients. The computers have CPUs that don't accelerate h265, and the 1000 series nvidia GPUs accelerate the current video codecs.
    Reply
  • Kuo Ping
    got this card for months and really love it for LOL.
    Reply
  • caamsa
    Wow things must be slow in the world of computer hardware.
    Reply