The computer market for graphic video adapters is full of all kinds of devices, the price of which is in the range of 3000-50000 rubles. Naturally, such an acceleration is associated with gaming performance and the potential for overclocking. However, many users are interested in a regular graphics card from the budget segment, which will allow you to run an interesting game and enjoy the dynamic process, albeit not at maximum settings.
The focus of this article is the entry-level video card NVIDIA GeForce GT 220. The review, description, specifications and reviews will help the reader find out a lot of useful information that will be useful in the future when buying this wonderful and very affordable device.
Basic chipset specifications
You should not expect something supernatural from the budget video adapter NVIDIA GeForce GT 220. The specifications declared by the manufacturer are not comparable with the devices of the middle and upper class, therefore it is recommended to perceive them without a negative.
- The GT 216 graphics chipset is built using 40 nanometer technology.
- The frequency of the graphics core is 625 MHz, and the memory runs at 1600 MHz.
- The memory is built on GDDR3 technology and has a 128-bit bus.
- The amount of RAM is 1024 MB.
- The number of stream processors is 48, and the bus throughput is 25.6 gigabytes per second.
- DirectX 10.1 is responsible for the transmission of high-quality images, the number of blocks, texture filtering is 16 pieces, and the number of ROP blocks is 8 pieces.
Appearance and equipment
The box from the manufacturer, in which the NVIDIA GeForce GT 220 graphics card is supplied, looks quite interesting. The device features adorn the packaging in the form of small labels that are located at the edges of the box display. There are no hints, except inscriptions, on the contents of the package.
The NVIDIA circuit board is made in a simple style: capacitors and power elements are installed in even rows and even the radiator with a cooler looks somehow conservative. The length of the video adapter is 17 centimeters, which allows it to be installed in any existing enclosure, including the Barabone system for home multimedia centers. It is worth noting that the cooling system covers only the graphics core and memory chips, which are neatly placed side by side. In addition to the video card, the box contains driver discs and a small instruction.
Unlocking potential
Do not forget that all existing video cards in the computer market are designed for games. Not an exception is the NVIDIA GeForce GT 220 device, whose characteristics are significantly different from High-End video adapters. To reveal the full potential of the video card, it is recommended to use the following computer configuration:
- a dual-core processor operating at a frequency of at least 2 GHz;
- two gigabytes of RAM in Dual mode;
- a hard disk with a spindle speed of 7200 rpm (or SSD drive);
- Windows 7 Professional or higher.
If for some reason non-recommended components are installed in the system unit that have a performance less than the specified requirements, then the owner is unlikely to achieve the maximum number of frames per second (FPS).
Gaming features
Having found out that for the decent performance of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 220 video card, the characteristics of the processor and other components play a significant role, we can proceed to testing the device. It is worth noting that the maximum screen resolution that the video adapter can handle is 1280x1024 dpi, however, it is recommended to use a lower resolution (1024x768) to improve image quality and speed characteristics.
Lovers of the game Crysis and the world of tanks budget device is able to demonstrate 25 frames per second. Toys Farcry 2, Resident Evel 5 and Bioshock will be able to play at 60 FPS. All of these games started in the automatic detection mode of the video adapter. If you delve into the detailed settings, it turns out that all applications have chosen to use the minimum settings.
Consumer goods
Video card ASUS NVIDIA GeForce GT 220 is considered the most affordable device among analogues of other manufacturers. The thing is that in the laboratory, the companies decided to install their own cooling system on the adapter and provide the products on the market as the cheapest video card. As the owners note in their reviews, a cheap radiator and a small cooler only blow dust off the video card, in fact, the graphics core does not warm up above 60 degrees Celsius even with the cooling turned off.
However, the manufacturer on one of the driver disks provided a proprietary utility for overclocking the video card called “SmartDoctor”, naturally, all owners had a desire to test the program. The ASUS graphics card demonstrates stable performance at a frequency of 705 MHz (base 625 MHz), respectively, an increase of 13%. An excellent indicator for a budget class device.
Serious player
Presented by Zotac, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 220 graphics card will delight all gamers with its performance. It's all about the proprietary cooling system - the manufacturer did not save on metal by installing an aluminum radiator over almost the entire surface of the printed circuit board. As expected, a cooler created in Zotac laboratories takes part in cooling. He is known to all fans for his noiselessness and very efficient work. True, the air flow is not directed, there is no casing on top, respectively, the cooling efficiency of the entire radiator is reduced.
Performance in games with this video adapter increases significantly if you overclock the graphics core to 750 MHz, while there is a slight heating of the circuit board, but this does not affect the stability of the work. Things are very strange with the increase in the frequency of memory, even a small overclock destabilizes performance.
New Product
The Chaintech company, known to users for the production of high-quality and affordable cases, power supplies and cooling systems, also presented to the market its vision of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 220 video adapter. The price of the device, in comparison with its competitors, is quite attractive (3000 rubles). However, as it turned out, a branded copper base cooler is not enough for decent cooling. The problem is that the radiator only touches the graphics core, and the memory chips and power elements that also heat up were left without a heat sink. Yes, the air flow created by the fan hits the printed circuit board, but the efficiency is still lower than when it is in full contact with the heat conductor.
As a result of overclocking, the user will be able to increase the frequency of the graphics core to 710 MHz. Further, it all depends on the cooling inside the case, if the hood works properly, you can carry out experiments with acceleration further, but, as practice shows, the video adapter in operation starts to display artifacts (multi-colored cubes) on the monitor screen.
Best buy
An interesting product was released by Gainward on the NVIDIA GeForce GT 220 chipset. The media reviews about this video card are quite interesting. Firstly, the manufacturer halved the amount of video memory (512 MB installed) and this significantly affected the price of the device (up to 3,000 rubles). The manufacturer installed a proprietary cooling system with a protective casing, as it is implemented in top-end video cards. Due to this, the air flow from the fan has a directed action, and does not scatter to the sides, as it happens with all other video cards. It only bothers the area that is in contact with the graphics core, it is aluminum, not copper.
A decent cooling system copes with heat dissipation, allowing the graphics core to accelerate to 750 MHz. Great result for the cheapest device in the review. There are complaints from users about the fan noise, but high performance eventually prevails, so many do not pay attention to the hum.
Strange approach
A well-known motherboard manufacturer, Elitegroup introduced its vision of the NVIDIA GeForce GT 220 graphics card to the market. However, most users immediately rejected the product after learning that it uses the old type of GDDR2 memory. Unlike all competitors, the video card will also show low results in games without tests. And if the buyer thinks that the situation can be corrected by dispersal, then here he is mistaken. The manufacturer installed Qimonda memory modules that can operate at a frequency of 1000 MHz.
There are questions about the cooling system, experts had the opinion that the manufacturer installed an ordinary rounded cooler, which is known to all owners of ECS motherboards (the north bridge is cooled by a similar device). You should not expect decent cooling from it, even at high speeds the air flow is very low.
Beauty requires sacrifice
Another Taiwanese manufacturer, Gigabyte, decided that the NVIDIA GeForce GT 220 chip can do the job using the GDDR2 bus. Unlike competitors, the video card has a huge heatsink, covering almost the entire surface of the printed circuit board, and a fan of the same size. The entire cooling system is covered with a protective cover that prevents cold air from dispersing.
But the performance of the video card in games is very low, even a decent overclocking of the graphics core will not bring the owner the desired result. However, everyone will like the quiet operation, sometimes it seems that the cooler is completely turned off. The novelty is more suitable for office employees and for undemanding home users, because the toys still run and at low settings allow you to enjoy a dynamic plot.
Finally
Expect something grandiose from entry-level video cards. NVIDIA GeForce GT 220 is designed for non-demanding games and will be interesting to fans of old games (released 2-4 years ago), where there are no special requirements for technology and high bandwidth. And if the computer is going to relax and multimedia, then the device will please the presence of all popular interfaces that allow you to connect the system unit to any video playback device.