NVIDIA’s GeForce GTS 450: Pushing Fermi In To The Mainstream
by Ryan Smith on September 13, 2010 12:02 AM EST- Posted in
- NVIDIA
- Fermi
- GeForce GTS 450
- GF106
- GPUs
Left 4 Dead
Introduced in 2004, Valve’s Source engine continues to live on in new Valve games. At this point even newer Source games like Left 4 Dead are rarely GPU limited to a significant degree, but we keep it on here due to the fact that we’re expecting at least one more souped-up Source game next year’s in Portal 2.
Left 4 Dead is an interesting title as when we throw a slow enough card at it, the CPU limitations give way for a new set of limitations: texturing. The GTX 460 could barely break away from the 5770 here, putting the GTS 450 in a particularly precarious position. Unfortunately for the GTS 450, it falls well below the 5770 and is even outdone by the 5750 by a few frames per second. At 87fps at 1680 this is largely academic, but it showcases where a worst-case scenario might lie.
On the plus side, even at 1920x1200 with 8x anti-aliasing, the GTS 450 still delivers better than 60fps, offering a solid example of why just about anything can play Source engine games at this point.
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FragKrag - Monday, September 13, 2010 - link
Why isn't there a SC2 bench? :(I saw them on the laptop reviews and expected them here :(((((
Ryan Smith - Monday, September 13, 2010 - link
Because of the vast number of cards in our library, we only refresh the GPU test suite twice a year. It will get refreshed later this fall, and SC2 is a very likely candidate.Gomez Addams - Sunday, September 19, 2010 - link
When you do your refresh please include older cards like the GTX285 and those of its era. I find it helpful to be able to evaluate whether a video card update will be of any value. So far, it would be of very little value.ronnybrendel - Monday, September 13, 2010 - link
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1408/11/eanazag - Monday, September 13, 2010 - link
Regretfully, I am patiently waiting for the test suite refresh.Leyawiin - Monday, September 13, 2010 - link
Prior to Newegg pulling them there were lower priced ones at $130 going up to $140. Its true if you play the rebate game you can get an HD 5770 at that price, but what's coming out of your pocket on the day you buy is generally $140-150. HD 5750s are sitting at $120-140. GTX 460 768MBs are down to $170 (no rebate) so the pressure seems to be on the Radeons as much as the GTS 450. The HD 5750 is almost a useless purchase when the others are clustered so closely to its price point.iwodo - Monday, September 13, 2010 - link
It is too bad that we wont get a 28nm die shrink of the Fermi soon. But it seems the logical plan for Nvidia is to work on Frequency and Bandwidth.You mention Nvidia has a relatively poor Memory Controller for GDDR5 and that is why it had to use 384bit MC where 256 from a ATI design would be enough.
It we get a MC upgrade, + some better Frequency Headroom, and unlock the last bit of the SP, Nvidia should be able to counter the Northen Island coming in 2 - 3 months time.
As that would be the best we can get with 40nm limit and respin of Fermi.
DMisner - Monday, September 13, 2010 - link
How does the 450 stand up to the 250 in power consumption and general gaming performance.Also, any word on how many PPD the GTS 450 will get in Folding@Home?
lecaf - Monday, September 13, 2010 - link
heyin all these benchmarks the 450 beats the 460 is that right ?
I've took a look at tomshardware review and there the 460 wins.
Did I miss-look at something or the figures are wrong?
Ryan Smith - Monday, September 13, 2010 - link
Where are you seeing the GTS 450 beating the GTX 460?