Any new GTX 460 owners want to share their experiences and impressions?

I'll tell you when I decide to buy. I'm getting annoyed trying to haggle TD to honor their own sale but I'll buy once the details get worked out.
 
Well got just got the Palit 1Gb non-platinum today. Haven't installed it but, first visual impressions are the heatsink seems ok, not great but ok. However the fan and shroud is the cheesiest piece of dog-do I've ever witness on a video card.
 
Alright so I got really excited for this card after reading the [H] review. When i say excited i mean i RMA'd my 5870 and bought the MSI GTX 460 Cyclone 768. Yea yea, its not the 1GB but meh, I'm only running 1920 by 1200 and if I am going to need more mem for a surround setup then i have to SLI anyway. Anyways, this card is awesome. The look of the cyclone cooler is pretty stellar and it is very, very functional. I took my card from its stock frequencies all the way up to what Guru3D did in their review of the same card. 927 core, 1854 shader, 2106 mem (4.2) and 1.087 Volts.

After benching in Furmark to ensure stability, I was curious to see how it compared to some of the 5850 scores with similar setups. Here is the 5850 Score:

* Score: 2793 points


* Submitted by hoschy on July 20 2010, 1:07 pm


* App Version: Geeks3D_FurMark_v1.8.2_Build_Apr 16 2010_at_10:36:37


* Main graphics card: ATI Radeon HD 5850
* Number of Active GPUs: 1
* GPU Clock: 750 MHz
* Memory Clock: 1050 MHz
* Shader Clock: 0 MHz
* Graphics Drivers: Catalyst 10.5 - 8.732-100504a-099996C-ATI 5-4-2010
* GPU Temperatures (start/end):55°C / 74°C


* Bench Duration: 60 ms
* Resolution: 1280 x 1024
* MSAA samples: 4
* Window Mode: fullscreen


* CPU: IntelR CoreTM i5 CPU 750 @ 2.67GHz
* CPU Speed: 2660 MHz
* Operating System: Windows 7 64-bit build 7600 No Service Pack

And here is mine:

# Score: 3859 points


# Submitted by lol on July 20 2010, 2:09 pm


# App Version: Geeks3D_FurMark_v1.8.2_Build_Apr 16 2010_at_10:36:37


# Main graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460
# Number of Active GPUs: 1
# GPU Clock: 927 MHz
# Memory Clock: 2106 MHz
# Shader Clock: 1854 MHz
# Graphics Drivers: 8.17.12.5896 7-9-2010 - nvoglv64
# GPU Temperatures (start/end):35°C / 60°C


# Bench Duration: 60 ms
# Resolution: 1280 x 1024
# MSAA samples: 4
# Window Mode: fullscreen

While i understand that my CPU is OC'ed and his isn't, this is still a frickin huge margin of FPS for a GPU bench.

Overall I am just really stoked on this card. By summer's end i think i may have an SLI setup of 460's and a nice Surround 3 monitor setup to accompany them. hopefully all goes as planned :D.
 
I'm glad to see you enjoyed your Furmark 'gaming experience'. *g* Just saying artificial benches only tell you so much. Try it out in some games and let us know how it goes.
 
"Bigballinggpr", you do know in SLI that the videoram does not "combine", right?

A GTX 460 768 in NV Surround (5760x1200) would more than likely not do to well I am guessing (and if it did I imagine you would have to basically shut off FSAA and turn most game settings to medium depending on game).
 
vjcsmoke said:
I'm glad to see you enjoyed your Furmark 'gaming experience'. *g* Just saying artificial benches only tell you so much. Try it out in some games and let us know how it goes.
Click to expand...

I don't see anywhere in the main title of the thread that says "Gaming" experiences. Just see experiences and impressions and thats what i gave, haha sorry for puttin out some personal experience information that is not ungodly and to your standards.

But, to answer your question, the card runs a lot smoother than the 5870 did for me. In games such as Borderlands, Dirt2, Just Cause 2 and while not exactly graphically demanding but awesomely fun Alien Swarm, I just get an overall better experience. Note that the first 3 games all incorporate Nvidia PhysX so this may have something to do with it.

As for the stacking of Memory point. I know that it just doesn't "stack", but you say it like the second card's memory doesn't matter at all. I would imagine that you are a little off on your assumption, i could be wrong though.

UPDATE: Constant 61-62 FPS in Borderlands at Max settings. Really smooth and the temp hovers right around 53-54 C at 100% fan speed at my overclocked settings.
 
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Experiences: Tigerdirect is somewhat annoying to work with but quick to update their web page after you've called a dozen times to tell them they're bordering on fraud by not giving out JC2 coupons for the models they say they are. They still aren't.. but dig enough and you'll find the SKU you need to order to get the coupon. Of course they still charge shipping but.. meh.

Impressions: I'll update this when I actually get the card (EVGA 460 GTX Superclocked 768 MB). I've been waiting for a quieter and cooler DX 11 card from Nvidia for a while and this fits exactly what I want and it's more affordable and powerful than I thought.
 
Borderlands is not a good indicator, I can get 30-50 fps constant while maxed out in DX10 mode on my backup GTS 250 (9800GTX+).
 
Haha again just giving feedback with the games i play. Dirt 2 i get 60 FPS avg at 1920x1200 @ everything maxed and 8xQCSAA, the highest sampling setting. Will continue with a Metro 2033 update after work, i imagine that it will be the best judge of performance as it is very taxing.
 
Been wanting to upgrade from a 9600gt that I've had for a while now and this card seemed to a great choice. Ended up picking up a normal clocked EVGA 768gb version but was able to easily push it from 675MHz to 855. Doing a few quick benchs, that OC alone gave a nice ~20% fps increase and that's one thing that really makes me happy with this card.

Is there a better value out there now than this card at $170 from TD which seems to OC so well? Either way, great choice if anyone is on a budget and looking to upgrade.
 
requiem99 said:
For around 200 dollars there is nothing better out there right now.
Click to expand...

His question was rhetorical, but I agree:

http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/3..._overclocked_w_voltage_adjustment/index2.html

Nice review of a GTX 460 1GB @ 925core/4200mem with Afterburner voltage adjustment, compared to Gainward Golden Sample GTX 470 1280MB oc'd @ 650core/3400mem (and other cards). These things are nuts! Power consumption at those speeds ends up favoring the 460 still, temps are significantly lower... and the performance is neck-in-neck even at 2560x1600 :eek:. I've been seeing a lot of people on forums achieving those speeds with Afterburner as well.
 
http://forums.vr-zone.com/8325089-post24.html

Those pictures gave me a bit better idea but i am trying to find out which card has the lowest profile. I am thinking the gigabyte.

Until i upgrade my mobo/cpu my sound card will be sitting in the PCIe slot directly below (one of the small slots is covered, going to try to fit in in the second) the graphics card(DFI LanParty DK P35). Could anyone with the Gigabyte or MSI graphics card installed give some feedback ?
 
Just got my EVGA 768MB today. On stock voltages, can overclock to 845/1690/4260.

I can run Shattered Horizon @1680x1050 with x4AA and everything else full with lowest FPS ~30.
The FFXIV benchmark gives me ~2700 for high and ~3000 for low (mainly limited by my [email protected], what the hell is that game doing with the CPU anyway?)

The main thing I noticed is that this card is cool and quiet as hell (it's also quite small too).

I want to try adjusting voltages to see how far this thing can go. What's a safe voltage adjustment for this card?
 
seras said:
I want to try adjusting voltages to see how far this thing can go. What's a safe voltage adjustment for this card?
Click to expand...

The max that MSI Afterburner allows is 1.1 Volts. As of now, this is the only software that i know of that allows voltage tweaking.
 
Just installed the MSI. So far so good. Fan is dead quite, and the card wasn't much bigger then my 7800gt, which was a concern of mine. I have a Phenom II X3 720 (fourth core unlocked, OC to 3.2), and only 2GB of memory. Ran some test games and everything is as smooth as silk. I could barely run Borderlands with my old card but with this its like playing Doom. No itch whatsoever. The only game where it seemed the framerate was being affected is R.U.S.E. (when set at the highest setting), but it might just have been an impression of mine, not sure. I didn't try any OC yet since i'm not sure whether my CPU is going to act as a bottleneck or not.

Just out of curiosity, what is the heaviest game out right now? People say Crysis, but that game is already three years old. Surely there must be something even worst to test my rig on. I haven't been keeping up with modern gaming too much, for obvious reasons.
 
Probably Metro 2033, it is at least near the top of the list.

My Gigabyte 1gb got pushed up for delivery today instead of tomorrow so I'm very excited and watching for UPS.
 
seras said:
I want to try adjusting voltages to see how far this thing can go. What's a safe voltage adjustment for this card?
Click to expand...

Grab MSI Afterburner :)... you can go up to 1.087v with it, which is safe on the stock cooling even.

requiem99 said:
Probably Metro 2033, it is at least near the top of the list.

My Gigabyte 1gb got pushed up for delivery today instead of tomorrow so I'm very excited and watching for UPS.
Click to expand...

Grats, let us know what you think once you get it! My pair is "Out for delivery" per the UPS tracking too :D!
 
Just wondering if there is any worthwhile gains moving from an 8800 GTX to one of the GTX 460 cards. I am starting to notice some real slow downs in newer games with my 8800, and am looking with something with a bit more oomph. Would the 460 be any improvement?
 
loafer87gt said:
Just wondering if there is any worthwhile gains moving from an 8800 GTX to one of the GTX 460 cards. I am starting to notice some real slow downs in newer games with my 8800, and am looking with something with a bit more oomph. Would the 460 be any improvement?
Click to expand...

It will be an enormous improvement... 8800 GTX vs. GTX 280 saw over double the performance with 2x or so AA applied at 1680x1050-1920x1200 resolutions. An oc'd GTX 460 (heck, even a stock one...) trounces a GTX 280. Thus, yes, a GTX 460 will be a huge boost for you, not to mention DX11 goodies and other new features. Go for the 1GB model for extra speed and the longevity (since it sounds like you keep your hardware awhile :) ). It'll be worth the extra $20-30.
 
1v7eK.png


Final stable overclock. I was able to get in 915 with Unigine, but it wouldn't work with Shattered Horizon.
 
Has anyone use the GTX 460 and hooked up the mini-HDMI or HDMI depending on your card design to a receiver? And if you are, are you getting HD sound i.e. Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD. And if you are getting HD sound, which blu-ray player are you getting it from?

I know this is mostly for gaming, but I use my computer for all things. :D
 
Well, I got my 1gb pair in but only had 20 mins for now. Unreal overclocking and performance. Will update later.
 
With NV surround, is there any easy way to make the windows task bar stay on the center screen instead of all 3?
 
GoldenTiger said:
Grab MSI Afterburner :)... you can go up to 1.087v with it, which is safe on the stock cooling even.
Click to expand...

Yes it is safe, but just to be sure that it stays that way I put my zalman memory heatsinks on the voltage regulators as there is no stock heatsink on them and o my, those puppies heat up quick. If any of you are set on overvolting, please go out and get something that will work as a VRM heatsink, I would hate to see a fellow [H] member blow out one of these bad boys.
 
I just got my Sparkle 1GB 460 in this afternoon, and I'm just curious about one thing:

Is there an equivalent to the ATI Overdrive tab in the Nvidia Control Panel? I'd like to have access to things like clock and fan speed monitors, plus be able to mess with the fan speed and overclock. I haven't had an Nvidia card for a couple years, and Coolbits doesn't seem to work anymore.

Thanks
 
defaultluser said:
I just got my Sparkle 1GB 460 in this afternoon, and I'm just curious about one thing:

Is there an equivalent to the ATI Overdrive tab in the Nvidia Control Panel? I'd like to have access to things like clock and fan speed monitors, plus be able to mess with the fan speed and overclock. I haven't had an Nvidia card for a couple years, and Coolbits doesn't seem to work anymore.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Use MSI Afterburner. It's everything you're looking for.
 
seras said:
Use MSI Afterburner. It's everything you're looking for.
Click to expand...

Thanks, that's just what I was looking for. It's nice to see this thing idling so cool (30C at 40% fan on stock cooler). That's quite a change from my stock 4850.

But one thing I find curious: if I set the fan speed higher, it will go higher, so I know fan control is working. However, the min range for the fan in the Afterburner is 25%, but if I try to go below 40% nothing happens (it stays at 40%).

I'd like to be able to turn the fan speed down below 40%, if only to see how quiet it is. The 40% noise level is livable, but I'd like to try 25% just to check it out.
 
defaultluser said:
The 40% noise level is livable, but I'd like to try 25% just to check it out.
Click to expand...
40 seems to be as low as it goes.

I have a problem. One of the screws on the back of my card is broken (the slots are worn out). WTF? Any ideas as to how to get it out?
Edit: Nevermind. I managed to get it out... somehow.
 
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BigBallinGPR said:
Yes it is safe, but just to be sure that it stays that way I put my zalman memory heatsinks on the voltage regulators as there is no stock heatsink on them and o my, those puppies heat up quick. If any of you are set on overvolting, please go out and get something that will work as a VRM heatsink, I would hate to see a fellow [H] member blow out one of these bad boys.
Click to expand...

How are you monitoring VRM temps? I can't seem to find anything.
 
seras said:
How are you monitoring VRM temps? I can't seem to find anything.
Click to expand...

The old school way with my hand. Its more of a precaution than a necessity at this point but at 1.087 volts i want to make sure that they stay well within their rated temperature constraints. With my zalman heatsinks on with thermal past, they heat up to roughly "holding a hot coffee without the cardboard circle thingy" hotness. So to me, they're doing their job as i have a well ventilated case and the air will take care of the heat dispersion.
 
loafer87gt said:
Just wondering if there is any worthwhile gains moving from an 8800 GTX to one of the GTX 460 cards. I am starting to notice some real slow downs in newer games with my 8800, and am looking with something with a bit more oomph. Would the 460 be any improvement?
Click to expand...

Yes, absolutely, especially in games that use heavy shading (these days thats an awful lot of them) or need just a lot more overall horsepower. The 460 would give you an improvement of over 100% in some games, less in others, but significant in almost all.

This is, of course, assuming you are gaming at 1680x1050 or higher. At lower resolutions the improvement level diminishes.
 
wow... amazing results with these cards.. and on air! very nice.
 
So, here are my impressions after the first day: I have a slightly overclocked GTX 460 (700 core) paired with a Core 2 Duo at 3.2 GHz, 4GB, W764.

3dmark06: Score over 15000,. This is within acceptable because the same rig with a 4850 scores about 10k.

Borderlands: I play this game on-and-off because it's still good fun. Settings that were only moderately smooth on the 4850 were smooth-as-silk on the GTX 460. I can't push them any higher because AA doesn't work well in Borderlands, so there's no point.

Then I tried BFBC2, and was not so impressed. On my 4850, I could run the following:

1280x960, DX10, All high, HBAO on, 2xMSAA.

So I went for broke with the GTX 460 and enabled DX11 (automatically enables soft shadows) plus 16xCSAA plus 4xTRSSAA, and the performance was terrible, especially in wooded areas where the Transparency SS had to work overtime. I kept backing-off settings until I was down to 4xMSAA plus TRMSAA, and the performance was still dodgy (but playable).

I'm going to try reducing MSAA to 2x tonight, and see if I can get smooth gameplay. But I have to say I'm disappointed in BFBC2 on the GTX 460 - I was expecting more than just soft shadows and TRMSAA for $230.

Am I doing something wrong here? My install process:

1. Uninstall ATI drivers using control panel.
2. Run Driver Sweeper in Safe Mode
3. Install latest WHQL drivers from Nvidia site
4. Reinstall Direct X.
 
^According to all the benches I've seen, BC2 should be completely playable with everything turned up.
Try to match the settings reviews are using and see if you're getting something similar.
 
defaultluser said:
...Then I tried BFBC2, and was not so impressed. On my 4850, I could run the following:

1280x960, DX10, All high, HBAO on, 2xMSAA.

So I went for broke with the GTX 460 and enabled DX11 (automatically enables soft shadows) plus 16xCSAA plus 4xTRSSAA, and the performance was terrible, especially in wooded areas where the Transparency SS had to work overtime. I kept backing-off settings until I was down to 4xMSAA plus TRMSAA, and the performance was still dodgy (but playable).

I'm going to try reducing MSAA to 2x tonight, and see if I can get smooth gameplay. But I have to say I'm disappointed in BFBC2 on the GTX 460 - I was expecting more than just soft shadows and TRMSAA for $230.

Am I doing something wrong here? ...
Click to expand...

BFBC2 @1600x1200 all high settings, DX11, 8xCSAA, HBAO off, VSync off, Undergrowth Medium. GTX460 768MB running 40-50fps with some dips to mid 30's. If I go DX9 for apples-to-apples against the GTX260 it will run twice as fast at 90-100 fps. This game's performance on Fermi GPU has been improving with driver updates. There is obviously something up with DX11, our architecture and this game.
 
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