NVIDIA is known as a provider of functional and productive graphics cards. These include devices of the GeForce line, belonging to the category of the most popular in Russia and in the world. The manufacturer makes video cards under the brand name GeForce in a variety of price categories. Among the budget samples - the device GT 430. It is positioned as inexpensive, but at the same time very high-performance. This is a video card with support for the latest graphics processing technologies - such as, for example, DirectX 11. What are the other features of this device? How does it outperform competitive solutions?
Graphics Card Components
The first aspect in which we can examine the NVIDIA GeForce GT 430 graphics card is the characteristics of the components that make up its structure. So, first of all, it should be noted that the device operates on the basis of a processor such as GF108, operating on the Fermi architecture.
In the structure of this component there is a GPC module responsible for graphics processing. Inside it, in turn, there are two additional processors responsible for working with threads. They also include special components - dispatch blocks. In their structure there are nuclei of the CUDA type, texture blocks and a polymorphic engine. The video card also has two 64-bit memory controllers.
Competitive solutions
It will be useful to investigate the position of the video card in the market relative to competitive solutions. So, one of the analogs of the device is the GT 240 device, which was launched by the manufacturer brand on the market earlier. According to experts, the functions and characteristics of the GT 430 give reason to say that this device is superior to its predecessor. In particular, it has support for the DirectX 11 standard and other technologies that are in demand on the market, primarily in the gaming segment. Such as, for example, the output of high-quality HD audio that conforms to the Dolby TrueHD standard. Another significant feature in terms of competitiveness, which includes the video card in question, is to ensure compatibility with DTS-HD Master Audio. The most important option that characterizes the device is support for playing video in the Blu-Ray 3D standard. Of course, branded technologies from the brand manufacturer NVIDIA are also supported.
If you look at competitors outside the brand line, the nearest device will probably be AMD Radeon HD 5570. Despite the fact that it was introduced to the market earlier than the GT 430, it cannot be considered obsolete and noticeably inferior to the product from NVIDIA.
Use in games
A significant aspect of studying the GT 430 is the characteristics that make it possible to evaluate the device in terms of adaptability to modern games. The opinions of experts regarding them vary markedly. So, there are experts who believe that the card in question is not quite optimal for modern 3D games. Experts argue this point of view by the fact that there are not many functional blocks in the video card. In addition, experts believe, the video memory modules of the CDDR-3 type present in the device are characterized by a fairly low bandwidth.
At the same time, there is another point of view regarding fitness for GT 430 games. The characteristics of the frequency of the graphic core are, first of all, that they give experts a reason to say that the device, in general, is able to provide the basic needs of gamers. In addition, the device, experts believe, has good characteristics of a shader domain.
Equipment
Let's start researching the GT 430 graphics card in more detail. An important consumer aspect of any electronic device is its configuration and appearance. It can be noted that the GT 430 graphics card can be produced not only by NVIDIA, but also by other brands under license. So, among the most famous vendors is the Chinese company ZOTAC, one of the key contractors for NDIVIA in the production of electronic components.
If, for example, we study the configuration of the GT 430 video card released by this brand from China, then its structure will include: the device itself, instructions, a driver disk, an adapter. Also in the box, the user will find an information brochure and a company sticker of the manufacturer.
Main characteristics
Now we’ll examine the key information itself, reflecting the functionality and performance of the GT 430 graphics card. The characteristics that will be of interest to us can be presented in a fairly wide range. So, we can note the communication capabilities of the device: it has three connectors for connecting to other devices - DVI, DisplayPort, and HDMI in version 1.4. Thus, the video card is compatible with the main modern types of monitors and can display an image on them without problems.
Now about the performance of the GT 430. The characteristics of the video card in the aspect that interest us are, first of all, the indicators of the sample memory of the device. So, in the modification from ZOTAC, the corresponding indicator is 1.1 ns. RAM installed in the device operates at a frequency of 1800 MHz.
The most important characteristic that affects the performance of a video card is the amount of RAM that it is equipped with. For the GT 430, the corresponding figure is 2 GB. It is more than competitive for the modern market.
Optimal PC configuration
The most important nuance of the practical use of the video card is the capabilities of the computer on which the GeForce GT 430 device is installed. PC specifications - what should they be in terms of using the video card resources? Experts recommend installing it on a computer in which:
- a processor with a frequency of at least 4 GHz (a sample from the Intel Core i7 line is suitable);
- RAM at least 4 GB and a frequency of 1890 MHz, type DDR3;
- Windows 7 operating system, adapted for 64-bit PCs;
- Current drivers from NVIDIA.
Another important aspect of a video card in which exploring its capabilities will be especially interesting for gamers is overclocking. We will study it in more detail.
Overclocking capabilities
The optimal type of software suitable for solving the corresponding task - MSI Afterburner, you can use version 2.0. As the experts managed to find out, the greatest stability in the video card in overclocking mode is used when selecting frequencies of 840 MHz for the core, 1680 MHz for the shader domain, and 2000 MHz for the RAM module installed in the device. It is recommended to install a high-quality cooling system on the device.
Temperature indicators
If we talk about overclocking, it is important that there is no overheating of the video card. Therefore, another important aspect of the NVIDIA GT 430 study is the heat release characteristics. During testing, specialists were able to find out that the video card in question has an acceptable level of heating. This is due to the fact that, as we have already noted, it does not have many functional units. The temperature of the card, in particular, is lower than that of its competitor from AMD, which we mentioned above.
Benchmark performance
What are the performance indicators that experts achieved when testing the NVIDIA GeForce GT 430? The technical characteristics of the device, as we noted above, make it possible to say that the device is not inferior, but in some ways even superior to competitors. How is this thesis confirmed in tests?
If we talk about the indicators that experts recorded in the popular 3DMark Vantage program, then the video card in question was more productive than, in particular, the device from AMD. At the same time, the device gave way to a competitor from its own brand - GT 240. The reason, experts believe, is again the small number of functional blocks.
At the same time, tests belonging to the category of synthetic are far from always capable of giving an objective idea of the performance of video cards. In particular, they may not at all correlate with the real capabilities of the devices that they are capable of showing in games. This may be due to a variety of factors - for example, the compatibility of the video card with the specific technologies involved in the game manufacturer. So, the experts who conducted the relevant tests came to the conclusion that when processing graphic elements in 3D games, the video card in question does not exceed, but in some ways even inferior to, the competitive solution from AMD.
However, do not forget that the GT 430 has a resource in the form of acceleration. If necessary, it can be activated. And then the GeForce GT 430 may again turn out to be the leader - both in synthetic tests and in games. The characteristics of the device are of great importance, they objectively determine the superiority of the device relative to competitive solutions in many operating modes.
Performance with DirectX 11
An interesting aspect in which you can consider the GT 430 graphics card is its performance in DirectX 11. What are the results obtained by experts who tested the NVIDIA GeForce GT 430? Its technical specifications fully comply with the compatibility criteria with the relevant standard. However, if we talk about the closest competitor in the branded lineup, the GT 240, DirectX 11 is not supported by this device. Therefore, experts compared the video card with a product from AMD.
What results in terms of working with DirectX 11 were achieved by specialists when testing the GT 430? The technical specifications of the device and the product from AMD are generally comparable - but what is the ratio of device performance in this mode?
It all depends, as the experts managed to find out, on the intensity of the use of video card resources. If we talk about the so-called heavy modes, the leaders are NVIDIA GeForce GT 430. Its characteristics, nominally comparable with those of the product from AMD, nevertheless predetermined superiority.
Another thing is “light” modes. So, for example, when working in a resolution of 1920 by 1200 pixels, the device from NVIDIA is noticeably inferior to devices from AMD. Experts explain it this way - the video card lacks ROP blocks. They are present in only 4 pieces on the device GeForce GT 430. Technical specifications, in order to achieve better results in the "lightweight" DirectX modes, should be different.
Summary
What conclusions can we draw by exploring the main features of the NVIDIA GT 430? First of all, we can note the support of modern graphics standards, such as DirectX 11, which is provided by the GT 430 graphics card. The characteristics of the device in terms of RAM performance are also generally competitive. Acceptable heat dissipation device. At the same time, the NVIDIA GeForce GT 430 graphics card is inferior to many competitors in terms of the number of functional blocks. There are not enough of them to ensure high performance of the device in a number of modes. The same can be said for components like ROP.
The video card we are studying has few direct competitors. This device belongs to the number of budget decisions. Due to its good functionality and reasonable price, it has acquired the status of one of the most popular in Russia. As, however, many other products from NVIDIA - one of the largest corporations for the production of video cards.