An excellent basis for organizing the graphics subsystem of the entry-level gaming system unit is the NVidia GeForce GT 440 video adapter. The characteristics of this accelerator are very modest against the background of flagship graphics solutions, but its mere presence is enough to launch most existing gaming applications.
Accelerator Niche
The hero of this material is aimed at the segment of entry-level graphics accelerators. Confirmation of this is each of its technical characteristics. NVidia GeForce GT 440 graphics cards have a performance level that is higher than integrated graphics adapters, but less than the GTX series. As a result, the presence of such a video accelerator is quite enough to run most toys, but not at the maximum possible settings. Problems can only arise when trying to run on a PC with such an accelerator the most recent gaming applications that have increased requirements for hardware, including the graphics subsystem. But in this case, you need a completely different computer and with completely different parameters and specifications.
The main characteristics of the video accelerator
The total number of processor cores for image output in this adapter is 96. The core frequency is 810 MHz in the NVidia GeForce GT 440. The characteristics of the processor itself indicate that it operates at a frequency of 1620 MHz. At the software level, this product supports proprietary NVidia technologies: PureVideo, PhysX and CUDA. Also, according to the specification, this solution supports Direct X version 11.0 and Open GL 4.0. The accelerator itself is designed to be installed in the expansion slot of the motherboard PCI-E 16X version 2.0. Most often, this adapter comes with VGA, HDMI and DVI ports. The latter, among other things, allows you to display the image immediately on 2 monitors, if you have the appropriate adapter. When connected to a VGA port, the video signal is output in analog format, and its maximum resolution can be set to 2048X1536. In other cases, a digital code is already used, and the resolution ceiling is set to 2560X1600.
Type of heat sink system. Temperature Values and Heat Pack
The thermal package of this GPU is 65 watts. The use of a passive heat sink system limits precisely this characteristic of the NVidia GeForce GT 440 graphics card. ASUS, PALIT and all other manufacturers of graphic accelerators are forced to equip this graphics processor only with an active cooling system, which includes an aluminum radiator and cooler. According to the specification, the maximum temperature allowed for this chip is 98 0 . In reality, during the operation of such a graphics accelerator, its values are limited to the range 50-75 0 . It is also necessary to note separately the requirements for the power supply unit of the system unit, whose power at using a video subsystem based on such an accelerator should be at least 300 watts.
RAM, its possible types and bus capacity
NVidia GeForce GT 440 is aimed at using standard memory DDR3 or GDDR5 standards. The characteristics of this accelerator indicate that, in combination with the first type of RAM, its operating frequency will be equal to 0.9 GHz, but in the second case this value will increase and will be equal to 1, 6 GHz. The bandwidth for DDR3 is declared at 28 Gb / s, and for GDDR5 - 51 Gb / s. The capacity of the RAM bus is the same for all accelerators of this series and is equal to 128 bits. Although the use of the RAM standard GDDR5 is more preferable in terms of performance, but a significant gain from its use in this case does not work. And the main reason here lies in its volume, which in this version is only 512 MB, and this is clearly not enough for comfortable work with high-resolution screens. But when equipping such a video card with DDR3 memory, the volume of the video buffer can be increased to 1 GB or even up to 2 GB. This volume is already enough for the prompt output of high-resolution images, but the use of currently outdated RAM affects the adapter's performance not in the best way. The final characteristics of the memory subsystem of this model of the graphics adapter are given in the table.
Possible characteristics of the GT 440 memory subsystemName of the video card | RAM Type | The amount of video buffer, GB | Operating frequencies, GHz | Bandwidth, GB / sec |
GT 440 | DDR3 | 1 or 2 | 0.9 | 28 |
Gddr5 | 0.512 | 1,6 | 56 |
Analogs and comparison with them
Integrated graphics cards are the main competitors of the NVidia GeForce GT 440. A feature that provides a higher level of performance for PCs with discrete graphics is a separate video subsystem buffer with increased bit depth. It is due to this feature that the improved performance in this case is obtained. When using integrated graphics, part of the system RAM is used as a video buffer, and the adapter receives access to it in parallel with the CPU. Also in this case, the reduced capacity of the RAM and its frequency and reduced throughput. All this entirely concerns the Radeon accelerators integrated in the CPU for chips and AMD and HD Graphics for Intel processors. Therefore, to increase the overall performance of a PC, it is better to add a relatively small amount and install an entry-level discrete graphics accelerator in it. In this case, the gain in terms of speed will be obvious.
Accelerator price. User reviews
In the new state, it is already impossible to purchase such a video card. It has been discontinued quite a long time ago, and its stocks are sold out. In second-hand condition, this accelerator can be bought at a price of no more than 4000 rubles. Such a price is fully consistent with the parameters and performance of the NVidia GeForce GT 440. The characteristics of this video card on the part of the owners indicate that this is an excellent solution for implementing the video subsystem of an entry-level gaming PC. She has no significant flaws.
Summary
Here is such an excellent entry-level graphics card is the NVidia GeForce GT 440. Its specifications and cost are fully consistent with the entry-level graphics accelerators. Moreover, the inclusion of such discrete graphics significantly increases the speed of the computer system and allows you to more quickly solve resource-intensive tasks.