This article discusses the NVidia entry-level graphics adapter GT 610. Its characteristics once again indicate that it is a budget-class product and its capabilities are sufficient to solve only the most simple tasks, which include web surfing and video playback in HD - quality and viewing pictures. But with demanding toys or Photoshop, this accelerator will be difficult to cope with.
Who is this accelerator for?
As noted earlier, the GT 610 is aimed at the entry-level product segment. The characteristics of this video adapter once again confirm this. The graphics accelerator itself was introduced in 2012, and then motherboards without an integrated video subsystem were not so rare. When organizing an entry-level PC based on such a motherboard, the hero of this review was used. Another possible application is in the event of a breakdown of the existing video card (both discrete and integrated) and the need to restore the PC to a working state urgently and at the lowest cost. Such accelerators had a minimal cost, and it was not difficult to quickly acquire them for the reason that they were always available.
Hardware specifications
Very and very modest technical specifications in the GT 610. The characteristics of this semiconductor crystal indicate that it was produced according to the standards of 40 nm process. The chip itself was built on the Fermi architecture and had the code designation GF119. The number of CUDA units in this accelerator was 48. The clock speed of the video processors was 810 MHz, and the accelerator itself was 1620 MHz. At the software level, this adapter supported Dirext X (version 11.0) and OpenGL ( version 4.2) technologies . Such a video card should have been installed in the expansion slot of the PCI E 16X motherboard (version 2.0). The maximum resolution of the output image for digital ports was 2560 x 1600, and for analog - 2048 x 1536. In the first case, the picture could be output to the DVI or HDMI ports , and in the second - only to VGA. The maximum number of displays for this video card was 2.
RAM adapter
The GeForce GT 610 was designed to install only 1 GB of RAM . The characteristics of this product indicated that it supported the outdated type of RAM even at that time - DDR3. GDDR5 was dominant in the graphics market at that time , and sometimes some manufacturers installed it on such adapters. But this did not give a significant gain in performance due to the fact that the RAM controller was oriented to work in combination with DDR3 at lower frequencies. As a result, the GDDR5 frequency in this case decreased and such microcircuits already functioned as regular DDR3. The capacity of the RAM bus in this case was 64 bits, and its speed was 1.8 Gbit / s.
Thermal performance of the video accelerator
For some manufacturers, the GT 610 video card was equipped with an active cooling system. The characteristics of this semiconductor chip indicated that its thermal package was 29 W, and therefore it is most correct to use a passive cooling system in combination with it. Even if you accelerate such an accelerator, then its thermal package will increase insignificantly, and it will still be able to work normally with a conventional aluminum radiator. The maximum temperature allowed for a given silicon crystal is 102 degrees Celsius . In normal mode, this value is 35 -55 degrees . Even if you overclock this chip, it is unlikely that its temperature will exceed a value of 70 degrees . The minimum allowable power for the PC power supply in this situation is 300 watts.
Similar products
Today, integrated video cards are direct competitors to the NVidia GT 610. The characteristics of this graphics accelerator position it as an entry-level product. Accelerators built into the central processor are now aimed at the same niche. At the same time, the latter have one important advantage, which is that they are part of the PC initially and there is no need to overpay for them. But the level of performance they have, if not better, then at least comparable. The result is a situation where it makes no sense to install a discrete graphics accelerator in an entry-level PC, but it is better to use an integrated solution. And now there are no such computers in which there would be no integrated video subsystem. As a result, you can use the GT 610 only when the integrated video card is out of order and you need to restore the system unit of the computer quickly and with minimal cost. In all other cases, the use of such an accelerator is completely unjustified.
The price of the adapter. Owners about this product
For 2000-3000 rubles, you can buy a used NVidia GT 610 graphics card. Its characteristics fully and fully correspond to such a cost. In the new state, it is no longer possible to buy such an adapter from stocks because they are no longer available. Of course, experts refer the passive cooling system (that is, low noise level during operation) and the affordable cost to the advantages of this model. But the minus in this case is one, but very significant - a low level of performance.
Summary
Of course, for its time it was an excellent entry-level video accelerator GT 610. Its characteristics (reviews confirm this) made it possible to solve the most simple tasks. At the same time, the cost of this product was very affordable, and it looked quite worthy in the composition of office PCs. But now integrated video cards have occupied this niche. Using the GT 610 is justified only when it is necessary to restore PC performance due to a broken graphics accelerator and at the lowest cost.