Worst Graphics Card Ever? GT 1030 DDR4 Benchmarked

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rgMekanic

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Hardware Unboxed has benchmarked what they are calling the "Scam" NVIDIA GT 1030. For those who don't know, NVIDIA quietly released a variant of the GT 1030 graphics card that has 2GB DDR4 memory instead of GDDR5, both off which have the same name. How bad is it? Check out the video to find out.

Spoiler: It's really... REALLY bad.
 
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TFW your discrete card gets its ass kicked by integrated graphics on a CPU that costs nearly the same..

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With the comparative performance being so incredibly lower than the original performance, I don't know that it could even be legal for Nvidia to do this. I certainly hope that it isn't.
 
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I don't get it. Nvidia CAN make great products when they choose to, yet they keep shooting themselves in the foot with dishonest business practices every few months. :bored:

Why can't they just run an HONEST business and still continue to make money? Come on Nvidia....you're better than this.
 
rgMekanic said:
Hardware Unboxed has benchmarked what they are calling the "Scam" NVIDIA GT 1030. For those who don't know, NVIDIA quietly released a variant of the GT 1030 graphics card that has 2GB DDR4 memory instead of GDDR5, both off which have the same name. How bad is it? Check out the video to find out.

Spoiler: It's really... REALLY bad.
Click to expand...

They have the same name, sure, but the box says its has SDDR4 memory. So where is the issue? Its right on the box in plain sight, you can see it in the video. Right on the front.
 
auntjemima said:
They have the same name, sure, but the box says its has SDDR4 memory. So where is the issue? Its right on the box in plain sight, you can see it in the video. Right on the front.
Click to expand...

It's a significantly lower performing card with no branding difference. This practice has been universally condemned over the years as it's just plain confusing for consumers when all that's required is a different brand name. It's the exact opposite of the supposed transparency that GPP was to bring to the consumer. The only purpose for stuff like this is to increase margins.
 
heatlesssun said:
It's a significantly lower performing card with no branding difference. This practice has been universally condemned over the years as it's just plain confusing for consumers when all that's required is a different brand name. It's the exact opposite of the supposed transparency that GPP was to bring to the consumer. The only purpose for stuff like this is to increase margins.
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Do we not regularly chastise people for not looking at what they are buying? Not here, though. The box specifies it uses SDDR4 instead of GDDR5. It is literally listed in the specs and on the box. They aren't hiding it..
 
Sigh. I was all prepared to go off on people for whining because the thing was as slow/slwoer than an iGPU and point out cases where you'd want a cheap dGPU but don't care much about the power... But then I watched the video and this is just shitty. What the hell is this crap? I can think of no legitimate reason to do something like this, is really does seem like a scam.
 
auntjemima said:
Do we not regularly chastise people for not looking at what they are buying? Not here, though. The box specifies it uses SDDR4 instead of GDDR5. It is literally listed in the specs and on the box. They aren't hiding it..
Click to expand...

Of course a more informed consumer generally makes better choices when it comes to any purchase. That in no way excuses using the same brand name on two parts that aren't on the performance level. There's no reason to do this other than to increase margins betting that lesser informed consumers while buy this crap.
 
Wow, I thought the normal GDDR5-based GT 1030 was low-end enough - couldn't even imagine running this DDR4-based "discrete" card.
I've seen how much better the Quadro P1000 for SFF (albeit at a much higher price) is and will be moving to it very soon.

If there were a way I could move to AMD GPUs for what I do, I would say goodbye to NVIDIA forever and would never look back.
Seriously, the rebranding garbage throughout the late 2000s, then the GTX970 3.5GB+512MB nonsense, GPP, and now this bullshit?

I agree with the OP, considering NVIDIA is on top and have been for a while now, are heavily anti-consumer and anti-competitive.
So this is what happens when a mega-corp gets to the top - so much for great leadership and setting open industry standards... nope, just proprietary, licensed, rebranded, and hidden-branded garbage - great job there, NVIDIA. :whistle:
 
auntjemima said:
Do we not regularly chastise people for not looking at what they are buying? Not here, though. The box specifies it uses SDDR4 instead of GDDR5. It is literally listed in the specs and on the box. They aren't hiding it..
Click to expand...

The average buyer or even the slightly above-average buyer probably doesn't even know what GDDR is. But they know what a product model name is, and expect it to be like it is most everywhere else. Even we who know of these fine differences with computer hardware generally expect a brand model name to represent a basic template that includes base performance with only subtle performance-increasing variations.
 
auntjemima said:
Do we not regularly chastise people for not looking at what they are buying? Not here, though. The box specifies it uses SDDR4 instead of GDDR5. It is literally listed in the specs and on the box. They aren't hiding it..
Click to expand...

Keep in mind there are probably dozens of GT 1030 reviews from when the card first launched. No tech reviewer could have foreseen that a cut-down DDR4 variant was on the horizon, so guess what's not in the title of their reviews? GDDR5.

So what happens when a layman goes to check reviews on the GT 1030? They encounter a bunch of reviews on the GDDR5 variant, unless they're vigilant enough to stumble upon folks like us, like GN, and like HU shouting down the DDR4 variant.
 
auntjemima said:
Do we not regularly chastise people for not looking at what they are buying? Not here, though. The box specifies it uses SDDR4 instead of GDDR5. It is literally listed in the specs and on the box. They aren't hiding it..
Click to expand...
You are being fucking ridiculous. The card has no goddamn business being called a 1030 when the gddr5 version of it is literally twice as fast. There has never ever been that big of a performance gap even between completely different tiers of cards. For instance a 1070 is not 100% faster than 1060, not even close. Hell the gap between the ddr4 version and gddr5 version here is bigger than usually going two tiers of video cards. And then the other issue is that it's almost the same damn price so people would not be expecting anything like they're seeing here. If you can't comprehend that then you have the problem here.
 
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Delicieuxz said:
The average buyer or even the slightly above-average buyer probably doesn't even know what GDDR is.
Click to expand...
100% this. This is a basement-entry-level card so it's going to sell to newer buyers on a shoestring budget, and this seems to purely be meant to deceive those who don't know better. It'd be like Totoya selling the Camry, but then putting out a new version in the middle of a model year that's had the engine replaced with a weed-whacker motor, and not indicating it's any different from the regular version unless you read through the owner's manual.
 
I remember NVIDIA did this with GPUs years ago.
Back in 2007, when the NVIDIA Series 8 8500GT was brand new, there was the 'normal' 256MB GDDR3 version, and then there was a 'high-memory' 512MB GDDR2 version.

Both GPUs were labeled as being an 8500GT, but the memory specifications, and performance differences, even back then, were very apparent.
This isn't a new tactic by NVIDIA at all, but I am glad that they are finally being called on this bullshit.

I agree with the guy in the video, they should have called it the GT 1020, or GT 1030 SE, or something to signify the difference - not just call it the *exact* same thing.
Transparent, ha! What a laugh, NVIDIA.
 
I just checked the 1030 card. It doesn't have a Displayport either, thus it's CRRRAAAAPPPP.

Also, why doesn't the reviewer include the test results of the internal graphics of the processor chip used as part of the test system and include it as a comparison to these low end cards?
 
ZLoth said:
I just checked the 1030 card. It doesn't have a Displayport either, thus it's CRRRAAAAPPPP.

Also, why doesn't the reviewer include the test results of the internal graphics of the processor chip and include it as a comparison to these low end cards?
Click to expand...

because the vega 11 is quite capable despite being an "onboard" solution.
 
auntjemima said:
Do we not regularly chastise people for not looking at what they are buying? Not here, though. The box specifies it uses SDDR4 instead of GDDR5. It is literally listed in the specs and on the box. They aren't hiding it..
Click to expand...
It does clearly list it, and if one of us were to buy this and did not know the difference, well, that's on us for sure. :D
But to the average consumer, especially with the example above, most people would not know the difference and would buy the new "GT 1030" SDDR4 version, not knowing it is basically on par with their current Intel iGPU, and would be a side-grade at absolute best.

These cut-throat tactics are a very common practice for smaller or upstart corporation to use, let alone one who is on top of a market like NVIDIA.
Saving a few million on using SDDR4 (whatever the hell that is - renamed DDR4???) might end up costing them even more in bad PR.

NVIDIA is making a lot of gambles lately, and none of them have been paying off.
The final nail in the coffin, which I don't see happening any time soon, sadly, will be when another company (hopefully AMD) will have a competitive and/or killer GPU that will crush what NVIDIA has - being second place plus all of this horrid (and true) PR coming to light will set them back massively.

But again, I don't see that happening, so all we can do as consumers is chip away at their lies and deceit until, hopefully, they get their heads out of their asses and start acting like a proper corporation instead of some wannabe cyberpunk-style mega-corp.
 
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auntjemima said:
They have the same name, sure, but the box says its has SDDR4 memory. So where is the issue? Its right on the box in plain sight, you can see it in the video. Right on the front.
Click to expand...

Because it is misleading as hell. Even I would have missed that. It's like ordering a $50,000 Corvette to discover it's a turbo 4 hidden inside a larger v8 package with no announcement from Chevy about a spec change.
 
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lostin3d said:
Like I've said before, NV seems to using whatever scrap they have lying around to mash up into a card anymore.

Even this is too good for NV but somehow feel's appropriate:
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Strange sensation, you know, quoting yourself. I originally posted this a few months back, here: https://hardforum.com/threads/nvidia-puts-the-geforce-gtx-1060-under-the-knife-once-again.1960370/

Just as relevant now.

edit: I also remember posting in some other thread about how I actually feel sorry for anyone just getting into the game now. NV has made such a mess of the Pascal line you practically need a degree to navigate it.
 
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