Zotac GeForce GT 430 ZONE, GTS 450 AMP!, GTX 460 AMP!, GTX 580
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Performance tests
Testbed:
- Intel Core i7-975 3340 MHz CPU
- ASUS P6T Deluxe motherboard on the Intel X58 chipset
- 6GB of 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM from Corsair
- WD Caviar SE WD1600JD 160GB SATA HDD
- Tagan TG900-BZ 900W PSU
- Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit, DirectX 11
- 30" Dell 3007WFP monitor
- VSync disabled
- NVIDIA Drivers 260.99/262.09
- ATI CATALYST 10.12
Benchmarks:
- Far Cry 2 (Ubisoft) -- DirectX 10.0, Shaders 4.0 (HDR), built-in benchmarking utility (the Middle level), maximum settings.
- CRYSIS Warhead (Crytek/EA) -- Cargo, DirectX 10.0, Shaders 4.0, Very High settings, batch file, timedemo available by e-mail request.
- Colin McRae: DiRT 2 (Codemasters) -- DirectX 10.0/11.0, Ultra High settings, run the benchmark as follows: "dirt2.exe -benchmark example_benchmark.xml".
- Metro 2033 (4A Games/THQ) -- DirectX 11.0, Super High settings, PhysX disabled, benchmark is run from the game.
- Just Cause 2 (Avalanche Studios/Eidos Interactive) -- DirectX 11.0, Super High settings, run the benchmark from the in-game menu.
- Aliens vs. Predator (Rebellion/SEGA) -- DirectX 11.0, Shaders 5.0, Very High settings, run the benchmark from the in-game menu.
- Tropics Benchmark 1.3 (Unigine) -- DirectX 10.0, High settings.
- Heaven Benchmark 2.0 (Unigine) -- DirectX 10.0, High settings.
- Heaven Benchmark 2.0 (Unigine) -- DirectX 11.0, High settings.
- 3DMark Vantage 1.02 (FutureMark) -- DirectX 10.0, Shaders 4.0, multitexturing, Extreme settings.
- RightMark3D (iXBT.com) -- DirectX, a synthetic benchmark, Shaders 2.0/2.0b/3.0.
We'd like to thank Unigine for helping us set up their benchmarks.
The diagrams feature results of GeForce GTX 460 clocked at 800 MHz. Those are very close to how Zotac's GTX 460 model performs. Similarly, there are results of GeForce GTS 450 (both standard and highly overclocked), so you'll easily understand where Zotac's GTS 450 fits in.
Far Cry 2
Crysis Warhead, Cargo
Colin McRae: DiRT 2
Metro 2033
Just Cause 2
Aliens vs. Predator DirectX 11.0
Unigine Tropics Benchmark
Unigine Heaven Benchmark DirectX 10.0
Unigine Heaven Benchmark DirectX 11.0
3DMark Vantage Graphics Marks
Conclusions
Zotac AMP! GeForce GTS 450 1GB 128-bit is an excellent product in its class: highly overclocked and nicely and quietly cooled. But you should watch prices, because there are good Radeon counterparts as well.
Zotac AMP! GeForce GTX 460 1GB 256-bit is a great solution — in its class and for its price. Like we have already stated in previous reviews, such factory-overclocked GTX 460 models are noticeably faster than regular counterparts. Add to this an efficient and quiet cooler, too. But you have to watch prices, because there are strong competitors like Radeon HD 6850/6870 that may also be factory overclocked.
Zotac ZONE GeForce GT 430 1GB 128-bit is an interesting inexpensive card, offering DirectX 11 support in the low-end price range. But its performance is quite low, so you'll have to disable tesselation and other DX11 features or games will turn into a slideshow. Besides, Radeon HD 5570 is usually faster (although performance is still low). Anyway, GeForce GT 430 may be a good choice for a new, inexpensive PC.
Zotac GeForce GTX 580 1536MB 384-bit is a copy of the reference design, but it's still the absolute leader among single-GPU graphics cards. It's faster than the older counterpart by 15-20% and even outperforms the dual-GPU HD 5970 in many tests.
We express gratitude to Zotac for the provided graphics cards. The PSU is provided by TAGAN, the monitor is provided by NVIDIA.
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