Asus GTX460 1GB Overclocked Edition With DirectCU Cooler $210

I JUST bought an EVGA version yesterday for 242 shipped from newegg. Came with Just Cause 2 at least. Anyways, the EVGA versions get the lowest temps, don't they? I could just overclock it to 850 mhz without any voltage mods.
 
Crucible1001 said:
I JUST bought an EVGA version yesterday for 242 shipped from newegg. Came with Just Cause 2 at least. Anyways, the EVGA versions get the lowest temps, don't they? I could just overclock it to 850 mhz without any voltage mods.
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I wanted an evga 1gb 460 at first, till I read how everyone hates the loud external exhaust design they went with.
 
I read Asus claims like 20 degrees cooler or somethin. we're talking 3 copper pipes directly mounted on the gpu, with a bigger heatsink and fan.
 
NACZ3 said:
Did a quick search and this looks like the right Asus card in the review:

http://tbreak.com/tech/2010/08/asus-engtx-460-1gb-review

Loud cooler and outperformed by a Zotac card. But it also refers to the $277 retail price.
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Disappointing. I am on the fence on whether to do water cooling or air cooling for my next rig... Noisy video card coolers are a big reason I am interested in going for water cooling.
 
The Oatman said:
Disappointing. I am on the fence on whether to do water cooling or air cooling for my next rig... Noisy video card coolers are a big reason I am interested in going for water cooling.
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The only thing the Zotac outperformed the ASUS in was Far Cry 2. Everything else the ASUS matched or exceeded the Zotac... granted, not by the same margin as the Far Cry 2 tests, but still.

This review seems to have the same hangup as the other one posted in this thread from the UK... Both are hung up on the price point ($310 for UK, $277 for AU). Since we're talking about a $209 price point, we can ignore any talk about value or lack of in those reviews.

Also, I believe there's another link in this thread that has the 768mb version of this card ranked in terms of temps and noise levels, and it stacks up quite nicely against other cards... especially in temps.

To me this is a no doubter. $209 shipped with no tax for a card that is stock clocked at 775mhz with OC head room up to 930mhz is a solid deal, at the very least (although I will say I'm a bit disappointed the exhaust is both front and rear on the card instead of just rear).
 
After going back and looking at Old Way's link, the ASUS beats the Zotac in noise level, power consumption and (especially) temps. It averages 15-20c cooler under load. That's pretty darn good for a card that is factory OC'd 100mhz over reference speeds.
 
Old_Way said:
It's possible that the final version of the card has been overclocked even farther than just 775... If Amazon is correct, they've added another 25MHz to make it 800. ----- Or, maybe/probably Amazon has it wrong and it actually is 775. The specifications tab on this ASUS link (http://usa.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=UATIvdWePp9oPSIk&templete=2) still shows it at 775 / 4000.
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I suppose it's possible it's not the exact same card. That review makes no mention of TOP. It could be that the TOPs are OC'd an extra 25mhz. It also could be that Amazon is mistaken. The specs section of that listing sounds like it was poorly translated into english or something.
 
So let me get this straight... the 460 trumps the 465? I was under the assumption that you could unlock the 465 to a 470 pretty much unlocking the cuda cores and potentially the extra memory from 1gb to 1.2gb (depending on the card). Also it looks like the 460 is a new revision of Fermi that cuts out a lot of the gpgpu junk, which is probably why its cooler, but its number crunching is not as good.... just curious if this is actually useful in real life or a Nvidia marketing gizmo. But I do like the price :)
 
I admit, that one review gave me doubts, esp since before this card here I was going for the Sapphire Vapor 5870 for extra low temps and extra low fan noise... so I canceled the order for now. The world is made up of deals, and I hate buyer's regret too much to chance it. I guess I will buy a card with the review that says "dam, this thing is quiet, cool, and fast!".

I think will wait and see what EVGA does next, hopefully non EE GTX460 1GBs, which I hear is in the pipeline.
 
rhansen5_99 said:
So let me get this straight... the 460 trumps the 465? I was under the assumption that you could unlock the 465 to a 470 pretty much unlocking the cuda cores and potentially the extra memory from 1gb to 1.2gb (depending on the card). Also it looks like the 460 is a new revision of Fermi that cuts out a lot of the gpgpu junk, which is probably why its cooler, but its number crunching is not as good.... just curious if this is actually useful in real life or a Nvidia marketing gizmo. But I do like the price :)
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you can buy the 465 then
 
SylarPowers said:
I guess I will buy a card with the review that says "dam, this thing is quiet, cool, and fast!".
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Guru3D's really good about their noise tests and the Gigabyte's the quietest, so I'm really wondering if this single fan can keep the volume down. Would be really nice for someone to come back in here and tell us how loud it gets @ stock, oced w/ stock volts, and oced w/ upped volts. Even better would be a comparison to their previous card.

EDIT: NM, the Tbreak review lists their card @ 775Mhz and 1GB w/ the blue cooler, so it's definitely the same one as amazon. What's worse?

"And then we have the fan noise. At factory settings, the ASUS ENTGX460 1GB makes a distinctly audible noise when under pressure compared to the Zotac GTX 460 1GB card. While overclocked, the ENGTX460 was ridiculously loud, the fan overstressed and I was worried that something will blow up."

And here's what Guru3D has to say about the exact same Zotac w/ external exhaust:

"Zotac GTX 460 1024MB - Though the cooler looks nice, it was also the noisiest we have tested. Temps remained under control quite well but the card definitely can be heard when it is fully stressed for a longer timeframe. Not bothersome, but definitely not as silent as any of the other cards tested."

...and the Gigabyte.

"Gigabyte GeForce GTX 460 768MB - The cooling design is excellent. It allows the card to come pre-overclocked yet keeps the card incredibly silent yet within very lovely noise levels, as you cannot hear this card whatsoever. Even overclocked this card will amaze you in both cooling performance and noise levels (in a positive fashion of course)."

Unless the fan on Tbreak's Asus flipped out, we might have a pretty big con here. :( Neato looking coolers, high overclocks, and easy overvolting are great to have, but none are greater than silence IMO.
 
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Jodiuh said:
Guru3D's really good about their noise tests and the Gigabyte's the quietest, so I'm really wondering if this single fan can keep the volume down. Would be really nice for someone to come back in here and tell us how loud it gets @ stock, oced w/ stock volts, and oced w/ upped volts. Even better would be a comparison to their previous card.

EDIT: NM, the Tbreak review lists their card @ 775Mhz and 1GB w/ the blue cooler, so it's definitely the same one as amazon. What's worse?

"And then we have the fan noise. At factory settings, the ASUS ENTGX460 1GB makes a distinctly audible noise when under pressure compared to the Zotac GTX 460 1GB card. While overclocked, the ENGTX460 was ridiculously loud, the fan overstressed and I was worried that something will blow up."

And here's what Guru3D has to say about the exact same Zotac w/ external exhaust:

"Zotac GTX 460 1024MB - Though the cooler looks nice, it was also the noisiest we have tested. Temps remained under control quite well but the card definitely can be heard when it is fully stressed for a longer timeframe. Not bothersome, but definitely not as silent as any of the other cards tested."

...and the Gigabyte.

"Gigabyte GeForce GTX 460 768MB - The cooling design is excellent. It allows the card to come pre-overclocked yet keeps the card incredibly silent yet within very lovely noise levels, as you cannot hear this card whatsoever. Even overclocked this card will amaze you in both cooling performance and noise levels (in a positive fashion of course)."

Unless the fan on Tbreak's Asus flipped out, we might have a pretty big con here. :( Neato looking coolers, high overclocks, and easy overvolting are great to have, but none are greater than silence IMO.
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Pretty long post considering it sounds like your mind is already made up on the asus. :eek:
 
This is incredibly confusing. I thought the general consensus was that the Gigabyte cards were loud and the EVGA external exhaust. Has anyone on the forums been hands-on with an ASUS 460 yet? It's seems like the review sites are being awfully inconsistent.
 
I haven't found a review on the TOP 1GB model that talks about fan sound. The 768 mb model was reviewed and it was found to be fairly quiet. The Gigabyte cards appear to be quiet, but they're not clocked anywhere near as high as the ASUS TOP cards are either.

All this talk of 'noise' is people talking about reference cards and trying to equate overclocked cards to them. The OC cards will be louder. The question is 'how much' louder. That's an unknown until a review is found that addresses that question. The other side of 'quiet' is just how much hotter is the card in order to make it that way. If a fan is running at 40% speed to keep it quiet and the GPU is hitting 75C, because of the slow fan, is that better than a noisier fan (running faster) and the GPU only hitting 60C?

Edit to add:
This review (http://www.pureoverclock.com/review.php?id=954&page=1) is on the ASUS EAH5850 TOP Direct CU. This isn't the GTX460, but the cooler appears to be the same or similar. If you look at pages 14 and 15 of that review, they talk about fan noise with that cooler. They think it does a pretty good job of balancing noise vs overclocking (voltages / case heat / gpu and memory temperatures).
 
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They seem to really like the card, but they also quote an MSRP of $229. That doesn't quite make this [H]ot anymore, haha.
 
Sounds like we might only get an answer on the noise thing when someone gets this card in their system.

"Pushed to abnormally high levels using the FurMark torture test, the ASUS ENGTX460 DirectCU TOP operated at 61°C with a very quiet cooling fan." They also list "+ Quiet cooling fan under loaded operation" under the PROS section of their Conclusion.

It appears that the authors had some confusion as to whether the card offered on NewEgg for $230 is, indeed, the TOP version. They based their price/performance values on a $230 price, when the TOP version might actually cost more... If there's even a difference. The NewEgg card has stock speeds listed in the Tech Specs. The TOP version is supposed to run at a core speed of 775mhz, and according the the CPU-Z info in the article, that's what was reviewed. I guess that means the fan is, in fact, not loud at all?

Anyway, aside from all that, we now have 3 reviews stating the fan is relatively quiet when compared to other cards, and one saying it was extremely loud. If nothing else, this is all at least very interesting.

EDIT: Fixed some confusing questions that were answered in the comments section.
 
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Dunno why I didn't think to do this before:

http://event.asus.com/vga/2010/engtx460/

There clearly is a non-TOP version of this card, which is the one New Egg has listed for $230. The one reviewed in kidgonesmall's link is certainly the 1gb TOP version, and that review is absolutely glowing. I think I'm gonna keep my order.
 
Well I took the plunge and ordered it, my 8800 GT is getting quite long in the tooth! With the core running at 730, this card has performed well for a long time, even in a case that does not provide the best cooling for it. I can only hope my experience with the 460 GTX is as positive.
 
I feel like I'm almost talking to myself now in this thread, but whatever... good way to collect my thoughts, haha.

I left a comment to the writer of that Benchmark Reviews piece asking him specifically about fan noise. He replied that "As far as fan noise, there almost wasn't any to speak of. I tested the games in a case with an open side, and could barely hear the fan. With the case closed for temperature tests, I couldn't hear it at all." Hopefully that puts people's noise concerns to rest, or at least eases them a bit.
 
sportwarrior said:
I feel like I'm almost talking to myself now in this thread, but whatever... good way to collect my thoughts, haha.

I left a comment to the writer of that Benchmark Reviews piece asking him specifically about fan noise. He replied that "As far as fan noise, there almost wasn't any to speak of. I tested the games in a case with an open side, and could barely hear the fan. With the case closed for temperature tests, I couldn't hear it at all." Hopefully that puts people's noise concerns to rest, or at least eases them a bit.
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I checked the 2-3 random reviews across the web when i heard of this deal and found that there wern't many complaints about sound at all. I dont know why some people are giving this deal such a hard time. $210 shipped tax free is a hot deal for a 1GB 460GTX from a brand like ASUS - this card even has improved cooling and is OC'd to start with!

For those of you that get in on this deal, I hope you enjoy it when it finally ships in, I know my friend that ordered one will.
 
The review that gave people pause was the tbreak review. The guy said it was by far the loudest card he'd tested. Sometimes it takes a lot of positive words to balance or cancel out one negative one, and that was kind of the case here. Everything points to the tbreak review being either totally wrong or (more likely) dealing with a defective card. It also appears the 1gb version is a speed demon that consistently beats the 5850 and 465 for $100 less.
 
I read that comment by the reviewer also. I never thought noise would be a problem with that cooler as it's basically the same cooler used on other ASUS cards and reviews say it's quiet. People seem to think a cooler that dumps the air out of their case is best. Of course that may limit overclocking because of restricted airflow across the card or maybe it just could result in higher GPU temperatures because fan speed is purposefully kept down to keep noise down. It's all trade-offs.

One of those reviews said the ASUS HS/Fan was a good compromise between efficient cooling / low core temperatures and fan noise... That's about all you can hope for when buying an overclocked card.... or one you plan to OC.

For $210, it seems like it takes on a reference 5850 pretty good at those OC speeds.
 
Darth_Penguin said:
Pretty long post considering it sounds like your mind is already made up on the asus. :eek:
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Just wanted to summarize the info available for future readers.

Let's say the fan is loud. What's stopping anyone from going nuts w/ some zipties and 120's? :p
 
Jodiuh said:
Just wanted to summarize the info available for future readers.

Let's say the fan is loud. What's stopping anyone from going nuts w/ some zipties and 120's? :p
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lol

Fortunately it sounds like it isn't. I'm stoked about this card, although I kind of wish I hadn't missed the Twin Frozr II GE for $260 on Amazon.
 
Has anyone received this card yet? (Asking due to the 2-4 weeks delivery note on the page)
 
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