Fortunately, the days when a three-dimensional video accelerator was an object of luxury in a computer have long sunk into oblivion. Of course, video adapters also existed then, otherwise the image would simply not be displayed on the monitor screen. However, there was no talk of any proprietary graphics processor, RAM, or other attributes. However, times have changed and the situation has also changed radically. There was a high-quality video card Nvidia GT 640.
Intended use Nvidia GT 640
Like all other video cards, the Nvidia Geforce GT 640 has a very important responsibility - to process all processes that relate to working with video on a computer. This is not only the direct output of the image to the screen, but also the processing of textures, work with three-dimensional graphics (thanks to the presence of its own graphic processor), with particulars (particles - snow, drops, sparks, etc.) and even game physics.
First of all, the central processor of the computer was doing this, which had to be responsible for many more of these things. Now, the Nvidia GT 640 takes on such tasks, freeing up valuable computing resources for the CPU.
This video card belongs to entry-level devices, but it can also successfully cope with a wide range of tasks assigned to it, starting from computer games, ending with three-dimensional rendering and showing films in high resolution. Yes, and the Nvidia GT 640 price today is more than affordable. So as a budget option, the product from Nvidia can be considered quite worthy.
Technical specifications
The decision to purchase any video card is made on the basis of knowledge of its main technical characteristics. And in the latest modifications we are considering, they are as follows:
- GPU: NVIDIA GK208;
- clock frequency: 1046 MHz;
- memory type: GDDR5;
- video memory capacity: 1 GB;
- bit capacity: 64 bits;
- supported interfaces for connection: DVI-D, HDMI, D-Sub (there is also an option with mini HDMI), so that the user can connect the card to monitors and TVs of various models without the need to use all kinds of adapters and adapters;
- DirectX version 11.1;
- Recommended power supply 300 watts.
128-bit version
The Nvidia Gforce GT 640 video card also has an earlier release option - with a 128-bit bus, however, most of the characteristics presented here are somewhat weaker. In particular, NVIDIA GK107 is used as a GPU, and the memory type is GDDR3. The clock speed is also smaller - it is only 900 MHz. But the amount of operative video memory is more than exactly twice as much, but she needed a power supply more powerful - by 350 watts.
For the video card to work successfully, it is required that the computer on which it is supposed to be installed must contain at least 2 GB of RAM and an operating system of at least Windows XP, which today looks like a bit of an anachronism.
Equipment
As standard, the Nvidia GT 640 comes in a pretty attractive cardboard box with Nvidia signature colors.
In addition to the device itself, the kit also includes a user manual and a disk with drivers and related software.
Cooling system
In addition to the general technical characteristics, when purchasing any video card, you must pay attention to such an important detail as the cooling system. Productivity, dimensions, and power consumption of the product depend on it.
The Nvidia GT 640 has an active air-type cooling system. A fan with a diameter of 55 mm, painted in bright colors, is immediately evident. It is mounted on an aluminum radiator. In this case, heat is removed only directly from the graphics chip. On the one hand, this is not entirely good, but on the other hand, it allows not to increase the power consumption and dimensions of the card.
Judging by the tests, during intensive work, the accelerator core warms up to 62 degrees. At the same time, the cooler operates at approximately 56% of its maximum power. Noisiness lies in the framework of comfortable use for a long time.
In idle mode, the cooler rotates at a speed of up to 30% of its maximum power, the core temperature drops to 31 degrees.
In addition, the cooler can be forced to disperse using built-in or third-party software. However, even with one hundred percent of the work, the temperature drops slightly - only to 60 degrees. At the same time, the noise level increases, but still keeps within the framework of a comfortable one.
In a word, the cooling system clearly copes with its task.
Testing
Of course, the behavior of any card in the field will depend on many factors that cannot be reproduced in the poster. However, no one has yet refused synthetic benchmarks. And here are the results that the Nvidia GT 640 showed. The test was conducted at the stand: Intel Core i7-3770K, GIGABYTE G1.Sniper 3, 2 x DDR3-2400 8 GB, Microsoft Windows 7 64-bit SP1:
- Futuremark 3D Mark Vantage - 10183 points for overall performance and 7960 - GPU performance.
- Futuremark 3D Mark 11 - 2640 points.
- The test in the game Metro 2033 gave the card 12 points.
- Futuremark 3D 2013 1.0 Basic, test Fire Strike - 2088 overall performance points, 2170 - graphics chip performance, 12078 physics processing points.
As for the energy test, here the card showed not the worst, although not outstanding results. Compared with the older model - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650, it lags by an average of 40-45%. The Nvidia GT 640 2Gb video card showed better results than a 1-gigabyte "colleague", but, of course, not by 2 times.
Summing up, we can say that the brainchild of NVIDIA will still allow gamers to get acquainted and enjoy a large number of modern games, but not at the best settings.
Overclocking
For NVIDIA GT 640, overclocking was carried out using the MSI Afterburner 3.0.0 Beta 18. The frequency of the graphics chip was increased from 1046 to 1226 MHz, and this is an excellent indicator. Therefore, the video card is very readily overclocked. The performance increase in this case was 17.2%, and this is also impressive.
The memory frequency was overclocked from 1253 to 1423 MHz. Its growth amounted to 13.6%. With manual overclocking of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 640, the FPS grew by 16.1%. In this case, the cooler worked at one hundred percent power, the temperature did not rise above 63 degrees.
BY
In addition to the driver disk, a very functional software called Thunder Master is supplied with the card itself.
Key features of the program:
- monitor the heating temperature of the video card;
- artificially increase the speed of rotation of the cooler;
- there is the possibility of recording special scenarios of the video card - depending on the work performed;
- BIOS backup configurations can be saved;
- you can overclock the video card in such parameters as increasing the frequency of the graphic chip, memory growth, as well as the minimum voltage.
In addition, the user can specify how many frames he wants to see in the game, and the video card itself will select the parameters necessary for this.
Pros of NVIDIA GeForce GT 640
So, having analyzed a device such as the NVIDIA GT 640, specifications, we can conclude that this budget video card has many advantages:
- minimum power consumption;
- low profile fit into the motherboard;
- Support for DirectX 11.1, Open GL 4.3;
- excellent cooling system;
- good overclocking potential;
- there is the ability to use advanced fast FDDR5 memory;
- support for PCI Express 2.0 x16 in x8 mode;
- large set of video outputs;
- good firmware.
Video card reviews
Of course, not a single synthetic test or review will give such a complete picture of the Nvidia GT 640 device as reviews of real users. And here are just some of them.
Many users say that for their money the card is not bad. There is enough video memory, especially if you purchase a 2-gigabyte version with GDDR 5. The low price and the fact that the card does not require additional power can also be attributed to certain advantages. Yes, it also heats up slightly. You can overclock, but it is not recommended to get involved, especially for those who are not familiar with the process of overclocking such devices thoroughly. If there is not enough money for more expensive models, this option is most optimal. Deficiencies during operation were not identified.
Some note that the main plus is, of course, a low price. This is a great option to replace video cards in old computers, which everyone gathers dust at home due to lack of power. This component, definitely, will cheer him up and give a second life.
Many do not even realize that the video card has an excellent internal program that can optimally and qualitatively adjust the settings for the game. You will not have to endlessly change and restart the game in order to select the parameters for high-quality gameplay. For example, the Nvidia GT 640 in GTA4 advises you to unscrew all the settings to the maximum, but turn off the shadows. Users claim that after installing such settings, everything does not just go, but flies. In this case, nothing heats up, the cooler practically does not make noise. In principle, if you overclock the card, you can fully play at maximum settings and with shadows.
It so happens that in the "Eight" after the update, the drivers fly off. Relatives who were on the disk categorically do not want to install. The problem is solved by simply downloading drivers from the Internet. At the same time, the card hardly warms up and it plays remarkably well on large monitors. When running a game on the Nvidia GT 640 that requires sufficiently large resources, problems with FPS subsidence may occur at maximum resolution. There is only one way out in this situation - to lower the settings, but for such a price it is excusable. In any case, the price fully justifies the purchase.
Summarizing
Nvidia GT 640, first of all, should be used as part of home multimedia tests. This is where this video card shows the best results.
Unfortunately, she simply will not pull many modern games because of her not too big power. However, as a good workhorse for every day, it will work. For most everyday tasks, its resources are quite enough, and this is confirmed by the reviews of numerous real users about the Nvidia GT 640.
Of course, Nvidia takes into account all the shortcomings of previous models and tries not to repeat them in its new products, although it can not do without it. On the example of this video card, you can see that since the device was in great demand, the company decided to repeat the success by improving the video card in some respects. It must have been taken into account user feedback. For example, regarding the types of video outputs: in the 1 GB and 2 GB versions, they are different. However, the ability to connect some analog devices to the computer’s video output will surely appeal to many users.
Given the diversity of modern gaming libraries, users want to try out new games that have, it must be said, not the weakest technical requirements. In order for the graphics to please you and at the same time the game is well loaded, without brakes and freezes, you need to purchase a good video card. However, few people want to overpay for such pleasure. As a rule, all buyers seek to find the best value for money. In this case, the video card that was reviewed in this article is an acceptable solution, since it alone shows good results. At the same time, it can also be subject to acceleration, and its price should pleasantly surprise even the most demanding buyer.