With the release of the latest innovations in the video card market, significant price changes have occurred. This primarily affected the budget class devices. Expensive video devices that few could afford were in the lower class. The focus of the article is one of the most popular video cards in the gaming market - GTX 550 Ti, the characteristics of which still allow you to play any games available on the market.
Basic device features
When evaluating any video adapter, characteristics come first. The GTX 550 Ti graphics card is built on the GF116 chip for a 40nm technical process. Accordingly, the power consumption is 116 watts in normal mode. The bus width is 192 bits and the modern type of video memory GDDR5 is used. It is these two indicators that dictate the conditions on the market for productive video adapters. In addition, the core frequency is 900 MHz, and the frequency of shaders is 1800 MHz. Naturally, all available technologies are supported, such as DirectX 11, 3D Vision Surround, PhysX, CUDA, HDMI 1.4a and others. Interestingly, in this video adapter with a bit depth of 192 bits, 1 GB of video memory is installed. After all, according to the logic, there should be either 768 Mb or 1536 Mb. As it turned out, the manufacturer made a kind of symbiosis, supplying the board with chips of different densities - 32 and 64 MB each. For better or worse, synthetic tests will show.
Substitution in the market?
There are persistent rumors that the nVidia GTX 550 Ti product , whose specifications have been slightly upgraded, is nothing but an overclocked GeForce GTS 450, although the manufacturer claims that this is a completely new product and cites the architecture of the chips as evidence. If we compare between 450 and 550 models of all existing boards from different manufacturers, the fact of modernization will be confirmed. On the GeForce GTS 450, you can find one empty slot for a chip that increases bus capacity, and the supported technologies are the same. In any case, the GTX 550 Ti performance characteristics are significantly higher than the younger class, and this is an indicator. It remains only to understand whether it makes sense to switch to a newer chip and what is its potential during overclocking. Indeed, in most cases, judging by numerous reviews, any modernization is always preceded by acceleration, which lasts until the new device is more productive with factory settings.
Focus on leading graphics card manufacturers
Such an interesting product did not go unnoticed in the market, immediately all the leaders in the production of computer components made their version of the GTX 550 Ti. The characteristics of all devices differ slightly, but each manufacturer provided the cooling system, equipment and warranty service in the best possible way. Following the trend of selling elite-class video adapters with a lifetime warranty, it is important for the buyer to know that such a gift includes all devices that were not subject to overclocking by the final manufacturer. That is, if a core frequency of 900 MHz is a lifetime guarantee. All that is higher - according to the warranty obligations existing in the market of that country in which goods are on sale.
It cannot be otherwise
Zotac GTX 550 Ti, whose characteristics were nevertheless improved to compete with competitors, has taken a leading position in the video card market, as evidenced by the numerous reviews of owners and potential buyers. Overclocking affected not only the core, which began to operate at a frequency of 1 GHz. Shaders began to operate at a frequency of 2 GHz, and the memory received 4.4 GHz. Naturally, thanks to such an acceleration in the market, it has no equal. But, having such potential, the video adapter is simply obliged to have a powerful cooling system. And the manufacturer tried. A powerful cooler is built into the radiator, which covers the entire adapter board. The black plastic exterior is decorated with a golden mesh. As a result, the card received not only good cooling, but also began to look beautiful. Options Zotac, as always, pleased. Instructions, drivers, additional cables, a sticker on the case and proprietary utility for overclocking, because the board is marketed as an overlocker.
No cyclone
It is clear that for the MSI GTX 550 Ti, cooling characteristics come first, so the leader in the IT market did not stand on ceremony with overclocking either. The graphics core operates at a frequency of 950 MHz, shaders at 1900 MHz, and memory - 4300 MHz. With a proprietary cooling system called the Cyclone, MSI underestimated its ability and could have knocked out any competitor from first place, but did not. The cooling is very efficient, all owners of video cards with old chips based on the GTS 450 or GTX 260 have seen this. The base of the radiator made of nickel-plated plates fits snugly on all the chips on the board, and a powerful cooler with its own radiator system rises above the base. Warm air is pushed out of the enclosure by a strong stream without any noise. Options MSI has instructions, proprietary disc and many adapters, which, judging by the numerous reviews, often do not get out of the box. Of course, by installing such a cooler, the manufacturer provided the graphics card with a proprietary overclocking utility that has voltage control. But here the happy owner will resort to dispersal - this is an unanswered question.
Window to the last century
The Asus GTX 550 Ti graphics card, the characteristics of which are not very different from competitors, was created for players who do not want to switch to modern monitors with a digital input for some reason. At least this manufacturer dared to leave the connector from the last century on board - the analog D-SUB. The rest of the video adapter, like other competitor models, has factory overclocking and a proprietary cooling system. Taking the video card in hand, it seems that the manufacturer did not spare the metal on the radiators. And that is a fact. By removing the protective plastic cover of the cooler, you can find a powerful radiator system that covers the entire surface of the board. Copper tubes are displayed on the graphic core for better heat transfer. The delivery set is poor, in addition to the device, instructions and the driver disk, there is a power adapter, which is not needed at all in gaming PCs, since powerful power supplies have the necessary connector. But, as they say, "a trifle, but nice."
Strange device
Judging by the numerous fans' reviews, the GTX 550 Ti Gigabyte video adapter failed them all. The characteristics, like those of competitors, are improved due to overclocking very efficiently - 970 MHz graphics core, 1940 MHz shader unit and 4200 MHz effective memory frequency. But the cooling system is a mess. Having made a beautiful heatsink on a graphics chip, the manufacturer did not bother to provide additional memory blocks with cooling. Not to mention the complete absence of any cooling tubes. When you pick up a video adapter, you may get the impression that this device is not a game class, but some budget employee with cut-off capabilities. Fortunately, even though the power subsystem was equipped with a radiator - already something. But with the complete set, everything is quite the opposite. She is very rich. Huge instructions, proprietary driver disc and many different adapters. Judging by the reviews, the Gigabyte GTX 550 Ti shows decent results in numerous synthetic tests to identify performance, but everyone recommends changing the standard cooling system to something more powerful.
Honest player with a lifetime warranty
At first it seems that the Palit GTX 550 Ti graphics card, whose characteristics have not been overclocked to the factory, is an ideal purchase. A lifetime warranty from the seller, the lowest cost among all competitors, a convenient set of video outputs, including D-SUB, decent performance in synthetic tests, excellent equipment with a bunch of all kinds of adapters. What more could you ask for? The problem lies in the cooling system. With minimal load, the cooler quickly picks up speed, and the howl of the video adapter is heard even in the next room. The howl of the cooling system is accompanied by strong vibrations. Judging by the numerous reviews of the owners of this device, the problem lies in the improper arrangement of chips and capacitors on the adapter board - with their heaps they block the removal of warm air outside the case. The solution may be to replace the cooling system, but when buying, you need to pay attention to the direction of air flow, it should go on top of the chips. The question of why the manufacturer refused to overclock the factory is haunting the new owners, because if there is a cooling problem, what prevented the plant from installing an improved cooling system, like elite class models? Something is wrong with the board ...
Finally
In any case, no matter which manufacturer is given a choice, the buyer will receive a decent product at a very good price. Indeed, in games the main thing is the result, and not the appearance and equipment of the goods. Yes, some products require improvement in the cooling system, but it will cost much cheaper than repairing a video adapter. Judging by the results of synthetic tests, improving the performance of a video adapter based on the GTX 550 Ti at home does not lead to a significant increase in the results. It turns out that the manufacturer has established the optimal frequencies at which the performance is within acceptable limits with heat. Then the question arises regarding the provision of devices with proprietary overclocking utilities. After examining the reviews of the owners of the GTX 550 Ti video cards, the characteristics of which did not change at home, they failed to find a full answer.