GeForce GT 220 And 210: DirectX 10.1 And 40nm Under $80

Power And Temperature

Let's have a look at the power-usage benchmarks first.

The first thing we notice is that the new GeForce 210 and GT 220 use the least amount of power in each of their respective market segments. Even though the differences are not huge, the advantage of 40nm manufacturing is there.

The Radeon HD 4670 isn't quite as frugal as the new GeForce GT 220 when it comes to power consumption. But as we can see from the benchmarks, it does offer a lot more performance in most instances, so it's likely to be at least as efficient.

We also see that the GeForce 9600 GSO betrays its roots as a high-end GPU forced into a low-end space. It becomes obvious why this is the only card in this segment that requires a dedicated PCIe power connector. Compared to the rest of the cards in this price range, the 9600 GSO might be the fastest, but it is also far less efficient from a power-usage standpoint.

Now let's have a look at the GPU-temperature benchmarks:

This chart is incredibly inconsistent, and the culprit here is the fact that all of the Gigabyte GeForce models have unique aftermarket coolers. While we won't get a clear idea of how hot these GPUs run relative to one another, we can see that the cooler on Gigabyte's new GeForce GT 220 does a fantastic job.

  • kalliman
    Too late for nVidia. They should release these cards 1 year ago...
    Reply
  • ColMirage
    Soooo tiny itsy bitsy!
    Reply
  • lemonade4
    This is a nice article that points out nVidia's step into the development of 40nm chips for the market even though they didn't really cause any changes in the sub-$100 video card market. They just seemed to make it even more crowded. I can't wait for the GT300 reviews though. :)
    Reply
  • Proximon
    They have a lot of loyal folks looking to save money these days, so they'll move some 220's. So fans will appreciate the cards.
    Reply
  • apache_lives
    hmmm i can see amd stomping this thing shortly with a DX11 part - kalliman is right, this is way too late in the market

    as for the gt300 - also bad news if the info i have heard is correct - 6 months away is not good for nvidia
    Reply
  • lashabane
    And to answer your question - No, it cannot play Crysis.
    Reply
  • why do i feel like mac?
    Reply
  • IzzyCraft
    apache_liveshmmm i can see amd stomping this thing shortly with a DX11 part - kalliman is right, this is way too late in the marketas for the gt300 - also bad news if the info i have heard is correct - 6 months away is not good for nvidiaThe 210 220 i'm pretty sure are OEM parts this is more like a proof/test of what nvidia can do, then a market move. They are nothing more then media cards meant for random dell's/gateway random desktops for people who don't really know what's in their computers.
    Reply
  • apache_lives
    idkwhy do i feel like mac?
    because they cant play crysis either?
    Reply
  • apache_lives
    IzzyCraftThe 210 220 i'm pretty sure are OEM parts this is more like a proof/test of what nvidia can do, then a market move. They are nothing more then media cards meant for random dell's/gateway random desktops for people who don't really know what's in their computers.
    like nvidia 8300's and 9300's - never heard of them till i worked on a few HP's
    Reply