A good entry-level graphics accelerator of the GeForce line from the manufacturer of video adapters NVidia with typical parameters for this class of devices is the GT 440. The characteristics of this accelerator can significantly increase the speed of a personal computer compared to the case when the system unit uses an integrated graphics subsystem for video processing . It is his technical parameters, features and user reviews that will be considered in this material.
Graphics Settings
96 processor units are implemented in the GT 440. The characteristics of this accelerator indicate their operating frequency of 1620 MHz. The chip itself operates at a frequency of 810 MHz. The accelerator is equipped with three types of ports: VGA, HDMI and DVI. In the latter case, it is possible to display pictures directly on 2 displays. The first port is analog and allows you to display an image in a resolution of 2048 x 1536, and the last two digital and can display a picture in the format of 2560 x 1600.
Semiconductor chip cooling system. Maximum temperature and heat pack
As soon as active cooling systems were equipped with all products based on the GT 440. The characteristics of its graphics processor indicated that the thermal package in this case was 65 watts. This is enough to do without additional power (the PCI-E 16X port, for which this accelerator is designed, can produce a maximum of 75 W), but a lot for a passive heat sink system. As a result, such adapters cannot be silent by default. The highest temperature value for the graphics chip of this model is 98 degrees.
RAM subsystem
Two types of RAM could be used in combination with this accelerator - these are DDR3 and GDDR5. The maximum amount of RAM for the GT 440 is 2Gb. The characteristics of such accelerator models indicated that they were equipped only with DDR3 and had an operating frequency of 900 MHz. The same can be said about the most common modifications of this graphics accelerator with 1 GB of RAM. And only the GT 440 versions with 512 MB of RAM were equipped with GDDR5 operating frequency of 1600 MHz. But the bit width of the RAM bus in all GT 440 video adapters was identical and amounted to 128 bits.
Competing Products
Direct competitors of the GT 440 were integrated graphics accelerators. At the same time, the performance level of the latter was very modest due to the fact that a system RAM with lower frequencies and low bandwidth was used. In turn, installing discrete graphics of this class made it possible to significantly increase PC performance due to the fact that there was no need to use system RAM to store video information. Since the release of this graphic chip, the range of graphic accelerators has been repeatedly updated. Therefore, the purchase of the GT 440 at the moment is no longer so relevant and it is not entirely correct to compare it with modern integrated graphics accelerators. But at the time of release, this accelerator was one of the best purchase options in the segment of entry-level video cards.
The cost of a graphics card today. Owner opinions about her
The graphics card GT 440 certainly can’t boast of phenomenal speed and performance. Its characteristics against the background of current graphics cards look really very modest. But at the same time, you can buy such an accelerator at a very, very modest price - 3000-4500 rubles. It is precisely this feature of the accelerator that is often indicated by the reviews of owners and potential buyers.
Summary
For its time, a good entry-level graphics card was the GT 440. Its performance was indeed one of the best in this part of the market. But since then the product range of this manufacturer has been repeatedly updated. As a result, this graphics accelerator is outdated and is no longer relevant.