The core of the nVidia GeForce GT 430 is the GF108 GPU. The nominal frequency of the shader domain is 1400 MHz, and the rasterizer is 700 MHz. The GPU has 96 CUDA cores and 16 ROPs. While AMD has almost completely switched to high-speed GDDR5 memory in its 5000 series of motherboards, NVIDIA is in no hurry to implement it in video cards, the retail price of which does not exceed $ 100. Therefore, the GT 430 uses GDDR3 memory, connected to the GPU at 128- bit bus.
If we compare the GT 430 with the previous generation nVidia video cards, then the GeForce GT240 seems to be its closest analogue. By the way, the GT215 processor used in the GeForce GT240 has fewer ROP units than the GF108, and also loses a little in frequencies. However, GeForce GT240 boards were shipped with memory as GDDR3 type. and with high-speed GDDR5. The bandwidth of DDR5 memory with a 128-bit bus with an effective frequency of 3600 MHz (the reference value is 3400 MHz: we tested an overclocked version of a video card from Palit) is 115 GB / s, and DDR3, operating at a frequency of 1600 MHz. - only 26 GB / s. This is the reason for the superiority of the GDDRS version of the GeForce GT 240.
Based on the above, we can conclude that nVidia has chosen the right name for its new budget graphics card. Although the GeForce GT 430 has been classified as a new series, it sits somewhere between the GT 240 and GT 220 in terms of performance.
Gigabyte GeForce GT 430 (GV-N430OC-1GL)
The video card from Gigabyte is made in a narrow form factor designed for installation in compact computers, also known as HTPCs. It is limited in length by the PCI Express slot. Despite this compactness, it has an active cooling system that covers the expansion slot below the video card. By the way, the power consumption of the GT430. according to the nVidia specification, it is 49 watts. The rear panel contains DVI, HDMI and D-Sub outputs. When installing a narrow panel for HTPC, the D-Sub connector will have to be abandoned. The GPU frequency is raised by 30 and 60 MHz higher than the reference for the GPU raster and shader domains, respectively. The two 45mm fans run fairly quiet. Zotac GeForce GT 430 ZONE (ZT-40601-20L) This radiator is also used on other Zotac video cards of the ZONE series. It copes quite satisfactorily with heat removal from video cards with a power consumption of about 50 watts. Just like the video card from Gigabyte, the Zotac device has a minimum length, that is, it ends in the same place as the PCI Express slot, and surpasses it in width due to the use of a large radiator. So it is not suitable for installation in an NTRS, but it will fit perfectly into any ATX case. On the rear panel, in addition to DVI and HDMI outputs. there is also a DisplayPort connector. Recently, this interface has become more and more popular, so for those who rarely update the video subsystem, it is reasonable to purchase a board with this output. In terms of GPU and memory frequencies, the Zotac device is fully consistent with the standard. True, according to the nVidia reference, the GeForce GT430 can use DDR3 memory with an effective frequency in the range from 1600 to 1800 MHz. The memory in the Zotac graphics card runs at 1600 MHz, which gives Gigabyte a slight performance advantage. Testing methodology When testing the nVidia GeForce GT 430, we used the same test bench and the same games and benchmarks as when testing more expensive boards. In Mafia 2 and Metro 2033, the detail setting has been lowered to Low. From the test results it is clear that if you want, even on an inexpensive motherboard, you can play resource-intensive modern games based on DirectX 11. The difference in performance between Zotac and Gigabyte motherboards is noticeable, but since we are talking about a budget solution, it can be sacrificed for the sake of silence and reliability ... If your goal is to get maximum performance, you should look in stores for the GeForce GT 240 video card with GDDR5 memory. It can now be bought for almost the same price as the GT 430.
The Zotac device differs from the competitor primarily by the passive cooling system.
