Nine GeForce GTX 460 1 GB Boards Benchmarked

Happy with Nvidia's GeForce GTX 460, we invited a dozen of the industry's top graphics companies to show off their unique interpretations of the card. Nine responded with what they feel are exceptional products. Can they get any better than reference?
Awarded for its position as the best bang-for the buck graphics solution in both single-card and SLI configurations, the only question in the minds of hopeful buyers of Nvidia's GeForce GTX 460 1 GB card is: which particular board to buy? Over a dozen manufacturers offer a vast array of clock speeds, accessory packages, and support. So, we asked that question for you.

Nine companies responded with the product they felt offered the strongest argument for their brand, and today we’re going to compare these reference and aftermarket-altered GeForce GTX 460s. Here’s a quick overview of what your $220-$260 can buy:

General Details: GeForce GTX 460 1 GB Products 1-3

Asus ENGTX460 TOP/2DI/1GD5 ECS Black NBGTX460-1GPI-F EVGA GTX 460 01G-P3-1373-AR
GPU Clock 775 MHz 765 MHz 763 MHz
Shader Clock 1550 MHz 1530 MHz 1526 MHz
DRAM Rate GDDR5-4000 GDDR5-3700 GDDR5-3800
DVI Two Dual-Link Two Dual-Link Two Dual-Link
HDMI Mini HDMI Mini HDMI Mini HDMI
DisplayPort None None None
VGA By Adapter By Adatper By Adapter
Output
Adapters DVI to HDMI, DVI-I to VGA DVI to HDMI, DVI-I to VGA Mini to Full HDMI, DVI-I to VGA
Length 9.6" 8.5" 8.3"
Height 4.9" 5.4" 4.4"
Total
Thickness 1.6" 2.4" 1.4"
Cooler
Thickness 1.4" 2.2" 1.3"
Weight 22.0 Ounces 24.5 Ounces 20.5 Ounces
PCB Version M5Q-1041P(B) Nvidia P1041 1.0 Nvidia P1041 0B
VRM Five Phases Three Phases Three Phases
Warranty Three Years Three Years Lifetime
Added
Value 92 mm Fan
CD Wallet Arctic Cooling Accelero
Twin Turbo Pro cooler Extended Warranty
Step-Up Program
General Details: GeForce GTX 460 1 GB Products 4-6

Gigabyte GTX 460 GV-N460OC-1GI Jetway GTX 460 "Mystery Card" MSI N460GTX Cyclone 1GD5/OC
GPU Clock 715 MHz 900 MHz 725 MHz
Shader Clock 1430 MHz 1800 MHz 1451 MHz
DRAM Rate GDDR5-3600 GDDR5-3800 GDDR5-3600
DVI Two Dual-Link One Dual-Link Two Dual-Link
HDMI Mini HDMI Full HDMI Mini HDMI
DisplayPort None None None
VGA By Adapter One 15-Pin By Adapter
Output
Adapters Mini to Full HDMI, DVI-I to VGA None DVI to HDMI, DVI-I to VGA
Length 8.9" 8.3" 8.3"
Height 4.6" 4.4" 5.1"
Total
Thickness 1.4" 1.4" 1.4"
Cooler
Thickness 1.3" 1.3" 1.3"
Weight 20.0 Ounces 18.0 Ounces 18.5 Ounces
PCB Version 3rd-party Reference Nvidia P672 3rd-party Reference
VRM Three Phases Three Phases Three Phases
Warranty Three Years N/A Three Years
Added
Value 2x 92mm Fans
$20 "Starcraft 2" Rebate N/A Oversized Cooler
General Details: GeForce GTX 460 1 GB Products 7-9

Palit GTX 460 Sonic Platinum Sparkle GTX 460 1024 MB GDDR5 Zotac GTX 460 ZT-40402-10P
GPU Clock 800 MHz 700 MHz 675 MHz
Shader Clock 1600 MHz 1400 MHz 1350 MHz
DRAM Rate GDDR5-4000 GDDR5-3600 GDDR5-3600
DVI Two Dual-Link Two Dual-Link Two Dual-Link
HDMI Full HDMI Mini HDMI Full HDMI
DisplayPort None None Full-Size
VGA One 15-Pin By Adapter By Adapter
Output
Adapters None HDMI Cable
DVI-I to VGA DVI-I to VGA
Length 7.4" 8.3" 8.3"
Height 4.4" 4.4" 4.4"
Total
Thickness 1.5" 1.4" 1.5"
Cooler
Thickness 1.4" 1.3" 1.3"
Weight 16.0 Ounces 16.5 Ounces 20.0 Ounces
PCB Version Custom Nvidia P1041 Custom
VRM Four Phases Three Phases Three Phases
Warranty One Year Lifetime Lifetime
Added
Value None 6' Mini to Full
HDMI Cable,
Extended Warranty Free "Prince of Persia:
The Forgotten Sands"
Extended Warranty

With the general details for each of today’s cards covered on the first page, let’s see what specifics make each of these cards shine.

Also listed at some vendors as the ENGTX460 DirectCU/TOP/2DI/1GD5, Asus’ flagship GeForce GTX 460 solution comes with exceptional GPU and DRAM data rates on a customized PCB, its twin six-pin PCIe power connectors moved to the top edge.

Asus’ unique cooler design still fits within two case slots, allowing SLI configurations on motherboards that have only one empty slot between primary PCIe x16 slots. Its top-mounted power connectors could, on the other hand, prevent installation into some compact gaming cases.

The ENGTX460 DirectCU TOP/2DI/1GD5 includes an HDMI Mini port, in addition to two dual-link DVI-I connectors, but bundled adapters rely on a DVI output to connect full-sized HDMI cables. A CD wallet accompanies an otherwise standard installation kit.

A 775 MHz GPU clock and GDDR5-4000 make this the second-fastest card in today’s lineup, though the included overclocking software is a little less aggressive than some competing vendors.

Asus does include the rare voltage control in its Smart Doctor tuning software, but a range of 1.00-1.087V allows a maximum increase of only 7%.

Various monitoring functions can be custom-set, and the fan can also be configured in four stages.

HyperDrive mode allows the ENGTX460 DirectCU TOP/2DI/1GD5 to be overclocked while games are running.

ECS’ unique feature is its Artic Cooling Arctic Cooling Accelero Twin Turbo Pro card cooler, an add-in worth $40 separately.

The surface-mounted fans of this cooler require an additional slot of space, making this the only three-slot card in today’s roundup. That could make SLI difficult for some users, since many motherboards have their highest-bandwidth slots spread only two expansion slots apart. While the card spacing issue is especially problematic for most X58-based motherboards, ECS already has an SLI solution.

Using a reference design PCB, the Black Series GTX 460 includes a mini-HDMI link and two dual-link DVI connectors. The accessory kit relies on DVI to support full-sized HDMI cable ends.

ECS doesn’t add any tuning software or games, but the driver CD does have several free trials…

One might expect the card with the largest cooler to come with the highest clock speed. The Black Series GTX 460 is certainly fast at 765 MHz core and GDDR5-3700, but manual overclocking using someone else’s software is the only way this card will break GeForce GTX 460 performance records.

Taking a cue from the Accelero cooler used on ECS’ card, Gigabyte’s N460OC uses two fans to provide increased cooling at lower noise. Gigabyte’s cooler is custom-designed for this particular card, however, and has a far lower profile that allows it to fit within two slots of space.

Gigabyte’s circuit board exactly follows the Nvidia reference design, but Gigabyte uses its own PCB with one copper layer reportedly increased to twice the normal thickness.

Gigabyte includes a mini-HDMI to full-sized HDMI adapter and little else in its installation kit. Overclockers must find their tuning software elsewhere, as Gigabyte’s latest OC Guru wasn’t ready for this card by the time our tests had finished.

Gigabyte’s N460OC comes with a modest GPU overclock at 715 MHz, using the reference GDDR5-3600 memory data rate.

Evidence of a second Nvidia reference design comes to us from Jetway, its 1 GB GeForce GTX 460 including a reference design cooler and a circuit board labeled as Nvidia P672.

Jetway wasn’t ready with a retail version of the card, but its packaging was finished. The retail card’s installation kit is fairly sparse, consisting of little more than a manual and driver CD.

The lack of adapters is validated by three different connectors on the card's rear panel, including a single dual-link DVI port, an onboard VGA connector, and a full-sized HDMI port. Jetway is obviously going for a lower-cost market with its omission of dual DVI connections.

We're not going to be testing overclocking results in today's roundup, and Jetway's card exemplifies why. Rather than ship a retail version of its 675 MHz board for testing, the company sent a card clocked to an astounding 900 MHz. Clearly a hand-picked sample, we include this piece of hardware today as an exhibition of how fast the GeForce GTX 460 can be overclocked to extremes.

We exclude this board from our final analysis, though, because it's wholly unrepresentative of what you can actually buy off the shelf. In the same vein, there's a good chance that some of our other contenders were hand-picked for scalability. So, lining them up based on their top overclocked simply wouldn't accomplish much. We prefer to look at what you get out of the box, and base our recommendations on that.

The lack of retail BIOS prevents us from rating Jetway’s value, though the reference clock rates of the Jetway model KN460EW1GV-A (on which today’s sample is based) can just as easily be represented by the Zotac model in today’s review.

An oversized radial-fin cooler and custom slot plate make MSI’s N460GTX Cyclone 1GD5/OC stand apart from the reference design GeForce GTX 460 on which it’s based. The cooler is still slim enough to allow this card to fit within the same two-slot space as most of MSI’s competitors, but its 5.1” height could prevent placement in some compact gaming cases.

MSI uses Nvidia’s reference display output configuration, consisting of a mini-HDMI and two dual-link DVI connections, yet strangely relies on DVI to supply a full-sized HDMI output.

The 1GD5/OC doesn’t sport much of an overclock at 725.5 MHz GPU and a bone-stock GDDR5-3600. The lack of memory overclocking could be due to a lack of contact between the heat sink and RAM.

MSI has become famous for its Afterburner software, but the core voltage adjustment doesn’t work with this particular card. Clock limits still exceed the capabilities of hardware, at 1090 MHz GPU and GDDR5-4680.

Two of Afterburner’s more important “advanced” controls are the ability to start the program with Windows, and start it minimized to the tray. While overclocks “stick” without starting the program with Windows, custom fan profiles only work when the program is running.

Fan profiles help set MSI’s Afterburner software apart, with a visual curve graphic that makes setting them easy. Poking around at the curve even allows one to add more control points for finer-grained speed changes.

Several menus address the monitoring, reporting, and screen-capturing needs of MSI Afterburner users.

Up to five overclocking profiles can be saved, and users can even set them to automatically launch with 3D programs.

Another card with a logical model name (but excessively long model number), Sparkle Computer’s SXX4601024D5SNM is the only card in today’s roundup to use Nvidia’s exact reference design, right down to the GPU cooler cover.

Sparkle differentiates its product from Nvidia’s reference card only with its custom color and GPU clock speed. That means users still get the standard mini-HDMI and twin dual-link DVI outputs.

Sparkle addresses its customer’s full-sized HDMI needs in the most impressive fashion we’ve seen by including a 6’ mini-HDMI to full-sized HDMI cable. This could be a big cost-saver for buyers who didn’t receive an HDMI cable with their new monitor.

Sparkle increases its GPU clock to 700 MHz, barely a step up from the reference speed of 675 MHz. This minor improvement pairs with the extra HDMI cable for improved value, though overclockers will need to find their own tuning software to achieve their performance goals.

Available as part number ZT-40402-10P, Zotac’s 1 GB GeForce GTX 460 resembles Nvidia’s reference design mostly in its 8.3” length. Differences begin with a custom cross-flow cooler that allows this card to exhaust most of its heat outside of the case.

Partially blocking the egress of heat is a second dual-link DVI port in the middle of the card’s vent. Placing it there allows Zotac to dramatically enhance its output capabilities, as its card features a full-sized HDMI port, and even DisplayPort connectivity, without the need for adapters.

Zotac’s GeForce GTX 460 still includes a DVI-I to VGA adapter, and the firm even sweetens the pot by including “Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands.” With the second-lowest Web price of today’s contenders, the added game could make this a best-value package for at least a few of our readers.

Zotac is the only company in this roundup to use Nvidia’s reference clock speeds for both the GPU and DRAM. Overclocking is left to its users to figure out.

For this particular card, Zotac’s Firestorm software is no more powerful than Nvidia System Tools. Zotac does update its software occasionally, and interested owners should keep an eye on the Web site for updates.

Test System Configuration
CPU Intel Core i7-980X (3.33 GHz, 12 MB Shared L3 Cache), Overclocked to 4.00 GHz at +100mV, 160 MHz BCLK
Motherboard Gigabyte X58A-UD9 BIOS F3 (05/28/2010), Intel X58 Express, LGA 1366
RAM Kingston KHX16000D3ULT1K3/6GX (6 GB), DDR3-2000 at DDR3-1600 CAS 7-7-7-21
OS Hard Drive Western Digital Velociraptor WD3000HLFS, 300 GB, 10,000 RPM, SATA 3Gb/s, 16 MB cache
Sound Integrated HD Audio
Network Integrated Gigabit Networking
Power OCZ-Z1000 1000 W Modular, ATX12V v2.2, EPS12V, 80 PLUS Gold
Software
OS Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
GeForce Graphics GeForce 258.96
Chipset Intel INF 9.1.1.1020

We loved performance of our recent SLI test system so much that we retained its hardware for today’s tests. Gigabyte’s X58A-UD9 sits at the heart of this system.

Drawing about the same power as our Core i7-920 when both are overclocked 4.00 GHz, the six cores of Intel’s Core i7-980X are a little overkill for games. On the other hand, overkill doesn’t bother us when power draw isn’t a problem.

Also overkill for today’s test, OCZ’s Z1000 modular power supply runs at around 89% efficiency at the load levels required for today’s system. Once again, we’re not bothered by overkill when it’s accompanied by high efficiency.

Benchmark Configuration
3D Games
Aliens Vs. Predator Benchmark Alien vs Predator Benchmark Tool
Test Set 1: Highest Settings, No AA
Test Set 2: Highest Settings, 4x AA
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign, Act III, Second Sun (45 sec. FRAPS)
Test Set 1: Highest Settings, No AA
Test Set 2: Highest Settings, 4x AA
Crysis Patch 1.2.1, DirectX 10, 64-bit executable, benchmark tool
Test Set 1: Highest Quality, No AA
Test Set 2: Highest Quality, 4x AA
DiRT 2 Run with -benchmark example_benchmark.xml
Test Set 1: Highest Settings, No AA
Test Set 2: Highest Settings, 4x AA
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call Of Pripyat Call Of Pripyat Benchmark version
Test Set 1: Highest Settings, No AA
Test Set 2: Highest Settings, 4x MSAA
Synthetic Benchmarks and Settings
3DMark Vantage Version: 1.0.1, GPU and CPU scores
FurMark 1.6.5 Stability Test, 1920x1200, 8x AA

The S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call Of Pripyat benchmark shows us that the GeForce GTX 460 is perfectly adequate of playing at maximum settings all the way through 1920x1080, as our own examination of minimum frame rates (not shown) proves that even the slowest card stays above 20 FPS in the most difficult “SunShafts” test.

Palit’s GeForce GTX 460 beats the reference card by 16%.

Results aren’t so pretty at 2560x1600, but if you can afford the big monitor, you can probably afford a second card for SLI.

DiRT 2 features spectacular visuals by racing game standards, and is incredibly fun to play right up through 1920x1080, Ultra Quality, with 4x AA enabled.

If you have enough money for a 2560x1600 monitor, yet still want to save cash by using one mid-priced graphics card, you’ll need to disable AA to use this resolution smoothly in DiRT 2. Jetway proves that extreme overclocking is also an option, if you can manage to reach the speed of its custom card. The more effective route would undoubtedly be to invest in SLI, which we've already seen scales incredibly.

We’ll need to consider our average performance difference to calculate any efficiency differences, so we begin with a cumulative chart:

A 19% GPU overclock and 11% DRAM overclock allows Palit’s Sonic Platinum Overclocking Edition to show a 15% overall lead compared to the reference-clocked Zotac card.

MSI has the coolest-running card, likely due to its huge GPU cooler. Yet its full-fan tests weren’t as spectacular. Asus’ fan supports higher-speed operation, resulting in a relatively chilly GPU temperature that’s available to anyone who can tolerate its higher full-speed noise. ECS’ even larger cooling solution sits in the middle.

Gigabyte constantly claims that its Ultra Durable components save power, but today’s power test is one of those rare occasions where we actually see the difference.

A huge power consumption increase points towards likely voltage mods in Jetway’s non-retail card, possibly putting a wrench in the plans of overclockers who would like to repeat Jetway’s efforts.

Putting power consumption on a percent scale will allow us to gauge efficiency on the next page. The word “relative” refers to a comparison to the baseline, which in this case is Zotac’s reference-speed model.

Our previous page showed that added performance generally requires added power, though the performance differences were far greater than power differences. Let’s see how the overclocked cards compare to the reference-clocked card by way of efficiency.

Overclocking improves efficiency by allowing much more “work” to be done at similar power levels. The most likely reason for Palit’s huge lead is a reliance on GPU voltage that’s similar to Nvidia’s reference design voltage.

Jetway drops out of the retail price chart for two reasons: First, its sample is non-retail. Second, even if Jetway had sent its retail KN460EW1GV-A, a lack of availability in the U.S. market would prevent us from assigning a Web price to the chart. We hope to see Jetway graphics products reach U.S. vendors in the near future.

Ignoring added-value items like extended warranties and in-box games gives us a simplified value chart above. Of course, that chart will be meaningless to overclockers, as GPU temperature is a better metric for judging how far they might be able to push these cards.

That is to say, we’re not willing to completely dismiss added value, especially when it comes to warranties and support. So, which card would we pick?

Palit Microsystems uses the highest base clocks to top all of our performance charts, yet doesn’t appear to charge for all of that extra performance (or the risk of GPU failure accompanying it). How can a company overclock so far without increasing price? Two words that come to mind are “warranty coverage.” Palit recently extended its warranty to two years, which is two-thirds the length of most competitors. As a user who’s had several GPU cooling fans fail only months before the warranty expired, I can understand the expense Palit’s competitors must bear to provide a warranty that lasts throughout the realistic usefulness of the card. Think of this like Nissan's GT-R. Buy the souped up ride with the shorter coverage period if you can take the heartache of a failure down the road.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the warranty scale, EVGA offers something akin to BMW's factory-recommended maintenance program (only better, since EVGA extends lifetime protection). Higher-priced graphics cards like the one tested today carry this guarantee. EVGA also has a legendary support structure that makes it very easy to process any cards that have problems, and the company even gives its buyers 90-days to decide whether they want to keep the card or use its full value towards the purchase of a faster model. Of course, we've now all seen what happens to these great warranties when a company like BFG goes belly-up, so don't base your entire purchasing decision on that, either.

Sparkle and Zotac follow EVGA’s lead by offering lifetime warranties, but neither of these companies has yet earned EVGA’s reputation for responsive support (admittedly a quality that takes time to build up and spread the word about). If we were to choose between the Sparkle or Zotac cards, we’d risk being forced to jump through a few hoops, should warranty service be required. The only card in today’s comparison to offer a DisplayPort connection, Zotac makes an equally strong argument for picking its card by including a free game. Meanwhile, Sparkle adds a modest overclock and a 6’ HDMI cable to its package.

Yet, a lifetime warranty isn’t very valuable once technology improvements make an old card worthless. While cards more than three years old are often in line to be replaced, the few that remain in use add significant support cost to manufacturers who offer longer coverage periods. Asus, ECS, Gigabyte, and MSI try to balance their cost against the needs of most buyers by providing a warranty that’s exactly three years long. Among these manufacturers, Asus has the greatest peak cooling capability and clock speed, Gigabyte has the lowest price, and MSI falls in the middle with a huge cooler and moderate price.

Because every card in today’s comparison is a compromise of features, performance, warranty, and price, individual buyers must carefully consider their specific needs before choosing a favorite.

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