NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 Affordable DX11 GPU

 

Performance Summary: NVIDIA’s new GeForce GTS 450 is decent performer overall. In our testing, the reference GeForce GTS 450 typically performed about on-par with or somewhat lower than the stock Radeon HD 5770, but the factory overclocked GeForce GTS 450’s from Asus and EVGA were faster than the Radeon HD 5770 more often than not.

We like the new GeForce GTS 450. For approximately $129, which about $10 - $30 cheaper than the average Radeon HD 5770, the GTS 450 offers good performance that should work well for owners of 22” (or smaller) monitors. In terms of its features and performance, the GeForce GTS 450 looks to be a strong contender in the mainstream graphics card market and is a strong competitor to the Radeon HD 5770 in the segment. In fact, we’d have no problem recommending either card if you’ve got $130 or so to spend on a graphics card.


Reference NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450

The problem for NVIDIA is the Radeon H D 5770 has been available for almost a year. As of this moment, we like the GeForce GTS 450, but a year is an eternity in the graphics card space, so you have to wonder what AMD has up its virtual sleeve in the coming weeks and months leading up to the important holiday buying season.

Regardless, the new GeForce GTS 450 is a solid offering and users in need of a graphics card in its price range should give it some serious consideration. With the similarly, albeit somewhat higher, priced Radeon HD 5770, users can take advantage of Eyefinity, but the GeForce offers support for PhysX and CUDA. If you’ve got a single monitor, it may even come down to brand preference. The bottom line is, there is now some competition in the mainstream DX11 GPU arena, which is always a good thing for consumers.

 

  • Good Performance
  • PysX and CUDA Support
  • Cool and Quiet
  • Affordable Price Point

 

  • Performs about on par with the year old 5770

Marco Chiappetta

Marco Chiappetta

Marco's interest in computing and technology dates all the way back to his early childhood. Even before being exposed to the Commodore P.E.T. and later the Commodore 64 in the early ‘80s, he was interested in electricity and electronics, and he still has the modded AFX cars and shop-worn soldering irons to prove it. Once he got his hands on his own Commodore 64, however, computing became Marco's passion. Throughout his academic and professional lives, Marco has worked with virtually every major platform from the TRS-80 and Amiga, to today's high end, multi-core servers. Over the years, he has worked in many fields related to technology and computing, including system design, assembly and sales, professional quality assurance testing, and technical writing. In addition to being the Managing Editor here at HotHardware for close to 15 years, Marco is also a freelance writer whose work has been published in a number of PC and technology related print publications and he is a regular fixture on HotHardware’s own Two and a Half Geeks webcast. - Contact: marco(at)hothardware(dot)com

Related content