Best GTX 460?

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cpoullas

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I've been scouting around to find the best upgrade from my former 4850 (defective unit). The best that I have found is the nVidia GTX 460. I am almost 100% set on getting this card, but I don't know exactly which brand to get. I do definitely want to OC the core to atleast 900 MHz, and have it run stable and cool. From what I have read, the best deal around is the MSI 460GTX cyclone: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Combo...-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=3463938&SID=eg7zhvpn9v
Is this the best GTX 460 to get to OC and run at cool temps? I have also read that it runs very smoothly with the MSI Afterburner program, the program I intend to use to overclock the card. I don't want to spend the extra money to get the 1 GB version as I play on a lower resolution moniter (1280x1024), and from what I understand, more RAM is only used for the higher resolutions. I don't want to get a better monitor because I have plugged in my computer to my top-of-the-line full-HD Samsung 52 inch 120 Hz HDTV and noticed no graphical difference in the resolutions from my monitor. I think higher resolutions are overrated for gaming.

Lastly, my PSU is a Corsair TX650. This PSU will sufficiently power the GTX 460, correct?

I hope someone can give me some feedback here, thanks!
 

Helltech

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I'm just going to agree with Jyjjy here, we basically suggest the same 460s, so yes the MSI Cyclone and the ASUS DirectCU are the best, get which ever you like the most. Personally I'd get the ASUS, but thats just me both are great.

Also that PSU is fine.
 

benski

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When you've viewing on a TV you don't sit close enough to the screen to notice the difference between anything over 720p, at least I don't, even on my 8 foot wide projector screen, but it makes a big difference on a monitor that sits 24-36 inches from your face. Might be different for others though, I'm a little near sighted.

 

cpoullas

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I didn't see graphical difference when going from full HD (1920x 1024) to my regular monitor (1280 x 1024). This is while playing high graphical intense games such as Crysis and BFBC2. So what you guys are saying is that getting a GTX 460 now is a waste of money? Should I just wait till better cards come available, or until prices go down?
 

cpoullas

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I may have not seen the graphical differences because of this... I'm going to borrow my brother's full hd Asus monitor and see if there is any difference.
 
Your PSU should be fine.

Below is a nice roundup of GTX460 cards from Guru3d. It includes overclocking, and shows the MSI card going over 900 mhz with the Afterburner voltage tweak. Unfortunately, MSI is the only card they tried to tweak the voltage on.

Without tweaking the voltage, the EVGA Superclocked reached the highest overclock (~880 mhz), but most of the other cards were very similar, including the MSI (~850 mhz). Since the MSI Afterburner program should work with all of the cards, you can expect that they will all likely be able to reach your 900 mhz target.

I have also included a Guru3d article on the 1 Gb MSI Cyclone card, which compares it to the 768 Mb version, as well as other brands and GPU's. This article clearly shows the GTX460 blowing away the AMD 5770.

Overall, these reviews logically seem to favor those cards with the highest factory overclock, Palit and EVGA. When you overclock on your own, it will be important to have a good cooler on the card, which the one from MSI has. In the Tom's Hardware article, MSI has the lowest temperatues. If I were you, I would go for the EVGA, Palit, or MSI.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-460-review/
http://www.guru3d.com/article/msi-geforce-gtx-460-cyclone-oc-1024-review/
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-460-roundup-gf104,2714.html
 

yanje03

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if you dont buy sli today, I would suggest you get Gigabyte 1G OC. the advantage for this card is low noise/low heat. but if you want to go sli today or someday, you should get eVGA card or at least one from eVGA. The fan from second card has to be reference type otherwise there is a potential overheat issue on first card.

here is the review for 460 from 9 vendor.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-460-roundup-gf104,2714.html

 
Yep, that is the issue: venting hot air inside vs. outside the case. Most of the custom coolers blow the hot air around inside. I don't think I've run into any articles that have tested the overall difference it makes in case temperatures. And then does it have an effect on CPU temps and heatsink performance?
 

notty22

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I'm sure the MSI Hawk is going to be good. But I have the MSI Cyclone, I'm not sure how the Hawk can get much better :). It idles down to 27c , even o/c. It downclocks /downvolts. The fan is whisper quiet even at 100%.. My m/b, cpu temps are LOWER than with my external exhaust ati 4770. I have a H50 that draws air from the case as well. I wouldn't believe it, if I didn't see this in action.
I have it o/c to 920/1050 . Thats the max. I think there is a little o/c room left on the memory, I put a high flow spot fan over the vrm, some of the memory and was able to clock it almost a 100mhz higher, but saw no real gains. And it was the only time I saw artifacts, so I abandoned any further attempts.
The memory and VRM's are lacking heat sinks. I think it would take that and maybe a voltage system with more phases to get the #'s any higher.
 

duk3

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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127518
MSI Hawk out on newegg.
Powerful-MSI-GTX-460-HAWK-Reaches-Europe-in-September-10-2.jpg
 

yanje03

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I have read lots customer review on 460. to me seems none reference cooler fan always bring low noise but if your 2 pcie x16 are too close, you will get trouble without using reference cooling fan. at least one should go reference cooler fan
 

55Range

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Am also playing at 1280 * 1024, and got the 768 mb gtx 460 , and its just great, if u play like 1680 + then get the 1 gb !
 
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