Tom's Hardware > All Reviews > Components > Graphics Cards > GeForce GTS 450 O/C Roundup: Six Custom-Tuned Cards

GeForce GTS 450 O/C Roundup: Six Custom-Tuned Cards

05:10 - Tuesday 19 October 2010 by Thomas Soderstrom

11. Test Settings
12. Benchmark Results: 3DMark Vantage
13. Benchmark Results: Alien Vs. Predator
14. Benchmark Results: Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
15. Benchmark Results: Crysis
16. Benchmark Results: DiRT 2
17. Benchmark Results: S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call Of Pripyat
18. Relative Performance, Heat, And Power
19. Efficiency, Price, And Performance Value
20. Conclusion

Anyone interested in Nvidia's GeForce GTS 450 has a keen eye for value. But many enthusiasts still want the best performance they can afford. In today’s test, six factory-overclocked models challenge a standard-speed card in performance and 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.

	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

	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