NVIDIA’s GeForce 400 GPU design is finding quite a lot of homes recently. ASUS has just made official their usage of the latest design within their ENGTS450 graphics card. And with the announcement comes the plethora of features tagging along for the ride, all of which is made better by the Fermi-based DirectX 11 graphics card. Available right now for your purchasing and upgrading pleasure, in fact.
Along with the standard DirectX 11 graphics card goodness and features, you also get NVIDIA’s 3D Vision support, as well as PhysX and CUDA support. The graphics card also features advanced tessellation. You will also have to take advantage of the DirectCU thermal design, as well as the Voltage Tweaking ability. You also get GPU guard, Fuse Protection, Dust Proof fan, and EMI shielding. All of these working together means you get the best frame rate, advanced cooling, and reliability when you overclock your system. The ENGTS450 starts at $139.99, and it’s available right now. Go ahead and read the full press release below for all the details.
Press Release
ASUS ENGTS450 Graphic Cards Deliver Innovative Design, Value,
and Outstanding 3D Performance
– The ENGTS450 DirectCU series of cards fuse award winning thermal design
and Voltage Tweak technologies –
Fremont, CA (September 13, 2010) – ASUS today announces the latest addition in its Fermi-based high-performance DirectX 11 graphics cards — the ENGTS450 DIRECTCU Series.
ASUS is excited to launch their ENGT450 graphics cards featuring NVIDIA’s latest GeForce 400 GPU design that delivers impressive DX11 graphics plus support for exciting technologies like NVIDIA 3D Vision, PhysX and CUDA and enhanced tessellation. The ASUS ENGTS450 DirectCU TOP lineup goes further than reference solutions with a focus on quality, reliability and performance. These facets are driven through features like DirectCU thermal design, Voltage Tweak overvolting and reliability features like GPU Guard, EMI Shield, Fuse Protection and a Dust Proof Fan Design. These innovative features ensure enhanced cooling, frame rate, reliability and allow for superior overclocking, continuing to show ASUS’ focus at providing the best performance and value for the budget gamer who does not want to sacrifice quality or performance.
Better Cooling with Copper — DirectCU Technology
Continuing to set the bar in graphics cooling designs, ASUS continues its use of its award winning DirectCU thermal heatsink and fan assembly design.
The ENGTS450 DirectCU performs 20% cooler and 35% quieter with DirectCU thermal technology as well as ensuring quiet and cool operation even when overclocked. The use of top quality components ensures that the ENGTS450 DirectCU Series stays stable during overclocking and durable for long-term use.
Pushing Boundaries Further with TOP selected GPUs
ASUS ENGTS450 DirectCU TOP/DI/1GD5 graphics cards continue with the award winning TOP design with sorted GPUs featuring factory overclocks for improved gaming and benchmarking. The ASUS ENGTS450 DirectCU TOP series feature Voltage Tweak technology that allows adjustment of voltages to the GPU for superior overclocking and higher frame rates. Voltage Tweak in unison with the award winning fan controls offered in Smart Doctor graphics utility allow for flexibility and safety when overclocking. These features can boost the core and memory clocks significantly for faster overall performance* in your games, applications, or benchmarks.
Elevating Gaming and Multimedia To A New Level Of Immersion
Dedicated gamers and media enthusiasts need look no further than the power of NVIDIA’s new GTS450 chipset in the ASUS ENGTS450 series of graphics cards. These cards open up new horizons of visual fidelity with native DirectX11 capabilities and resolutions up to 2560 x 1600. Finally, true high definition gaming comes to life in vivid detail with the added advantage of NVIDIA 3D Vision technology allowing for the most immersive gaming and cinema experience.
Product highlights:
The ASUS ENGTS450 DIRECTCU TOP/DI/1GD5 is TOP-selected and overclocked to perform at 925MHz, performing over 15% faster than reference solutions.
ASUS DirectCU thermal technology: Precision mounted twin DirectCU 8mm copper heatpipes are in direct contact with the GPU — creating faster heat dissipation and achieving 20%* cooler performance and 35%* quieter operation at 21dB* (idle mode) — barely audible, even in a quiet room.
ASUS Voltage Tweak technology allows the ENGTS450 DIRECTCU Series to overclock to the GPUs limits, potentially allowing frequencies near 1GHz. More impressive and more covenient, the bundled ASUS Smart Doctor utility alters the GPU voltage without requiring adjusted BIOS settings, or even reboot the PC. Gamers can achieve higher frame rates on-demand and without interrupting the on-screen action.
ASUS ENGTS450 DirectCU levels up overclocking stability with the unique POSCAP (Capacitor) to reduce power noise. In addition ASUS ENGTS450 Series pushes forward in hardware design using a more advanced 4-phase power (compared to reference 3-phase) to provide higher current flow and more stable voltage during tweaking.
The exclusive PCB stiffener and GPU Guard provide extra strong hold to enhance shockproof performance and prevent bending and cracking. Plus, the Fuse Protection and EMI shield deliver risk-free graphics performance.
*Subject to system configuration and usage.
Specifications, graphics card appearance and bundled software subject to change without notice. Please visit usa.asus.com for more details.
Availability
The ASUS ENGTS450 DIRECTCU Series are available immediately from authorized ASUS resellers. With an MSRP starting at $139.99, ASUS’ 400 series extends the spectrum of features, performance, and true Windows 7 optimization to new audiences.
NVIDIA has given the official nod to the new GeForce GTS 450 video card, an “affordable” model that still attempts to deliver decent gaming performance. In fact, the company reckons the Fermi-based card packs 2.4x the geometry processing performance over its predecessor, along with DirectX 11 support and a roughly $129 price tag.
More interesting, perhaps, is NVIDIA’s claim that the GeForce GTS 450 1GB is up to 65-percent faster than AMD’s ATI Radeon HD 5750 1GB, something we can’t imagine their arch rivals are happy about. There’s also support for NVIDIA 3D Vision and SLI for multi-card setups.
ASL, ASUS, Colorful, ECS, EVGA, Gainward, Galaxy, Gigabyte, Innovision 3D, Jetway, KFA2, Leadtek, MSI, Palit, Point of View, PNY, Sparkle and Zotac are all launching GeForce GTS 450 cards, so you’re spoilt for choice if you’re in the mood for Fermi but aren’t feeling flush.
Press Release:
New NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 Delivers DX11 Done Right to Even More PC Gamers
New GeForce GTS 450 Delivers 2.4X Geometry Processing Performance Over Previous Generation Products
‘The GeForce GTS 450 makes huge strides in expanding DX11 capability to the masses. Civilization V plays beautifully on the GTS 450 and looks even more amazing with 3D Vision technology.’
–Sid Meier, Director of Creative Development, Firaxis Games
‘We are excited about the GeForce GTS 450, which brings awesome performance to a very affordable price point. By delivering a great gaming experience mixed with some cutting-edge features such as support for 3D Vision, we are confident that fans of Dead Rising 2 will have a great platform to play on.’
–Shinsaku Ohara, Producer of Dead Rising 2, Capcom
SANTA CLARA, CA — (Marketwire) — 09/13/2010 — NVIDIA today announced the latest addition to its Fermi-class of graphics processing units (GPUs), the NVIDIA® GeForce® GTS 450 — which was designed to deliver the best DX11 price/performance in the $129 USD price category. According to the latest Steam survey, a leading indicator of the hardware used by PC gamers today, 56 percent(i) of gamers play at mainstream resolutions, typically between 1600×1050 and 1280×1024. The GTS 450 was specifically designed to excel at these resolutions, delivering awesome DX11 performance with 4X antialiasing turned on, enabling more gamers than ever before to experience incredibly detailed characters, terrain and game environments with blazing fast performance and awesome visuals.
For games and applications that feature tessellation — the key feature of DX11 — the GTS 450 is up to 65% faster than the closest competitive product(ii). Even in last generation DX9 and DX10 games, the GTS 450 is faster by over 30%(iii), including in the blockbuster PC title StarCraft II. This makes the GTS 450 a terrific GPU for playing this year’s hottest games including the upcoming holiday titles like Civilization V and Hawx2, both of which feature support for DX11 and tessellation, and other games, such as Dead Rising 2.
“The GeForce GTS 450 makes huge strides in expanding DX11 capability to the masses,” said Sid Meier, Director of Creative Development, Firaxis Games. “Civilization V plays beautifully on the GTS 450 and looks even more amazing with 3D Vision technology.”
“We are excited about the GeForce GTS 450, which brings awesome performance to a very affordable price point,” said Shinsaku Ohara, Producer of Dead Rising 2 at Capcom. “By delivering a great gaming experience mixed with some cutting-edge features such as support for 3D Vision, we are confident that fans of Dead Rising 2 will have a great platform to play on.”
With full support for NVIDIA 3D Vision™ technology, the GeForce GTS 450 also provides the graphics horsepower and video bandwidth needed to experience games and high definition Blu-ray movies in eye-popping stereoscopic 3D. And with NVIDIA SLI technology, the industry’s most scalable multi-GPU platform, gamers will be ecstatic to almost double their gaming performance by adding a second GTS 450 to their PC, when budget allows.
The GeForce GTS 450 is available starting today from the world’s leading add-in card partners, including ASL, ASUS, Colorful, ECS, EVGA, Gainward, Galaxy, Gigabyte, Innovision 3D, Jetway, KFA2, Leadtek, MSI, Palit, Point of View, PNY, Sparkle, Zotac and others.
NVIDIA has prematurely unveiled [Google cache] its GeForce GT 420 graphics card, in the process confirming the rumors of an entry-level GeForce 400 series for desktop computers. The actual card itself is relatively uninspiring, destined for OEM customers only and packing DirectX 11 compatibility, 48 stream processors and 2GB of DDR3 900MHz memory.
The assumption is that the desktop cards will use variants of the GeForce 400M range of GPUs announced earlier this month, offering performance in excess of integrated graphics chipsets but not threatening NVIDIA’s more ambitious models. As to when the GeForce GT 420 will see a lasting unveil, that remains to be seen.
First heard about back in March, NVIDIA’s GeForce GT 430 graphics card has been missing ever since. But, thanks to a new rumor floating around the Internet today, it seems that NVIDIA may indeed be getting ready to pull the curtain off their newest graphics card. Though, the specifications of the new card may be sub-par enough not to attract new eyes, but move them towards the other GeForce GT cards set to launch later this year as well.
Thanks to a new leak today, NVIDIA’s GeForce GT 430 graphics card is rumored to launch sooner than later. The specs look something like this: a 700MHz core clock speed — while the 128-bit memory speed has the card set at 900MHz. Unfortunately, one of the biggest questions, about whether or not this will be pre-packaged in PCs or a retail item has yet to be cleared up.
The card itself is PCI Express 2.0 x16. And while we wish we could tell you that the leak divulged a price for us, that’s not the case. Along wit the exact launch date, the price is a mystery. Though, considering the cards that NVIDIA already sells, these base graphics cards could easily be sold for somewhere around $100.
Back when NVIDIA made its GeForce GTX 460 official in mid-July, we suspected we might see some slightly more outlandish production models after OEMs had a little time with the Fermi GPU. Onda has delivered just that with their GeForce GTX 460 ES, an overclocked version with dual fans compared to the reference design’s single spinner, and Expreview managed to get their hands on a sample.
The dual 80mm fans and triple set of copper heatpipes – as well as all the cooling fins – certainly add up to a distinctive and thick video card. It sounds like the reference boards will be getting larger, too; Onda apparently struggled to get their chosen ten SMD inductors to fit.
Memory is 1GB of Samsung GDDR5, and there are VGA, DVI and HDMI connectors to choose between. This is still a prototype board, according to Onda, and as such will see some physical changes by the time it reaches the market (price and date unknown), but Expreview are still planning to put it through its paces in benchmarking; we’ll let you know as soon as that happens.
Clevo may not quite be a household name, but the company’s mid- and high-end laptops have been thoroughly rebadged and neatly demonstrated the Clevo heritage. Fresh to the SlashGear test bench is the Clevo W880CU, courtesy of AVADirect, a monstrous Core i7 behemoth of a machine with a 17.3-inch display and 2GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480M graphics. At almost $3,000, does the performance warrant the price tag? Check out the full review after the cut.
With a laptop like this, the spec sheet is king. Intel’s quadcore Core i7-820QM 1.733GHz processor takes center stage, paired with 4GB of Kingston DDR3 memory and a Seagate Momentus XT 500GB Hybrid hard-drive (that uses 4GB of onboard flash memory to speed up performance). Graphics are courtesy of NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 480M with 2GB of discrete GDDR5 memory, and then there’s a Blu-ray burner, 17.3-inch 1920 x 1080 Full HD glossy display.
Connectivity includes gigabit ethernet, WiFi a/b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, a modem and HDMI, along with S/PDIF digital audio output and analog audio in/out. There’s also a USB 3.0 port, three USB 2.0 ports, eSATA, FireWire, DVI-I, an ExpressCard 54/34 slot and a multiformat memory card reader.
As for the chassis it’s all packed into, Clevo have sensibly avoided go-faster stripes and outlandish graphics. Instead the W880CU is relatively sober, dominated by the large 16:9 aspect display (with a 2-megapixel webcam above it) and a full-sized chiclet style keyboard. Build quality for the hefty 4kg machine is very high, surpassing Alienware machines in our opinion, with great keyboard spacing and a tactile, responsive multitouch trackpad. Clevo has squeezed in not only four speakers but a subwoofer, too.
First things first: performance. We kicked off with Geekbench, a synthetic test of processor and memory performance, and the Clevo W880CU scored a healthy 6490. That’s almost 200 points higher than Apple’s Core i7-620M dualcore MacBook Pro. We then turned to PCMark to put the 2D/3D graphics and multimedia performance of the W880CU through its paces. Overall, the Clevo score 6445 PCMarks, with stand-out categories being gaming (8453), productivity (7240) and music (6623).
It’s also worth remembering that the W880CU’s everyday performance will likely improve somewhat over time, thanks to the Seagate Momentus XT Hybrid hard-drive. As we found when we reviewed the Momentus XT a few weeks back, its so-called Adaptive Memory technology learns to prioritize commonly accessed programs and data, shifting them into its 4GB of flash memory for speedier recall. That’s the sort of thing that won’t show up in regular Geekbench testing, but will definitely be noticeable in everyday use; for instance, we found after a few reboot cycles in our Momentus XT Hybrid review, Windows 7 ended up booting in just half the time.
Clevo and AVADirect bill the W880CU as a gaming notebook, and unsurprisingly it’s a strong performer when it comes to the sort of modern titles most notebooks might blanch at. The NVIDIA GPU is easily capable of full-framerate play, and with the sort of hardware that a decent desktop wouldn’t be ashamed of – together with great keyboard action – the W880CU doesn’t disappoint.
As for multimedia performance, the W880CU’s Blu-ray drive and surround-sound speakers do a decent job. We saw no ghosting while watching high-definition action footage, and both viewing angles and brightness are impressive. Unfortunately sound doesn’t quite live up to the visuals, with audio being crisp but – despite the subwoofer – a little lacking on the low end. Still, given the space Clevo have to work with, it’s probably expecting too much for true home theater audio from a laptop.
It feels almost criminal to use the Clevo for everyday browsing and email duties, but of course it handles them without breaking a sweat. Windows 7 Home Premium’s HTPC functionality was also welcome, though the internal TV tuner card option wasn’t fitted to our review unit. The W880CU is supplied admirably bloatware-free, which is very welcome in a world where most Windows machines arrive overloaded with trials and demos.
The W880CU’s main shortcoming is its battery life, with Clevo estimating a mere 90 minutes of unplugged runtime with the NVIDIA GPU active. In practice, that estimate is pretty accurate with general use; if you’re trying to do any serious gaming then expect it to dip beneath 60 minutes. Really, this is a portable desktop replacement rather than a laptop in the traditional sense, something you can realistically move to another room or the nearest LAN party but not intended for gaming on the go.
Its likely audience is well aware of that, however, and prioritizes performance over battery longevity. They’ll probably also dip further into the customization options: as well as the TV tuner you can specify a second hard-drive with optional RAID setup, up to 8GB of DDR3 memory, CPUs up to Intel’s Core i7-940XM, and even what thermal compound is used. Altogether it’s relatively straightforward to come up with a machine that makes the $2,975.26 sticker price of our review unit look halfway to a bargain.
For most, the Clevo W880CU is overkill. Everyday tasks are just as easily performed on machines less than half the price, while the gaming experience can be ostensibly similar on significantly more affordable rivals. Nonetheless, with its combination of sturdy build, quietly confident styling and hardware not just sufficient for today’s breed of high-end games but titles around the corner too, we can’t help but find the W880CU appealing. Niche, certainly; expensive, undoubtedly; but the Clevo makes perhaps the strongest case to date for bypassing a traditional desktop PC.
3D notebooks are gaining traction, and gamers now have a few more options to choose from. AVADirect have picked up the ASUS G51JX-3D and the Clevo W880CU W860CU 3D, each toting NVIDIA’s 3D Vision technology (that uses shutter glasses) and various CPUs from Intel’s Core i5 and i7 ranges.
Both the G51JX-3D and W860CU 3D have 15.6-inch HD displays and NVIDIA graphics cards – a GeForce GTS 360M 1GB on the ASUS and a GeForce GTX 285M 1GB on the Clevo – while the former gets up to 6GB of DDR3 memory and the latter up to 8GB. The ASUS is outfitted with a Core i7-720QM processor as standard, but there’s more flexibility with the Clevo: that can have any of a range of Core i5 and i7 chips, together with optional SSDs.
Both systems come with a pair of 3D Vision glasses, and the Clevo can be custom painted (for a fee). The ASUS G51JX-3D starts at around $1,600, while the Clevo W860CU 3D starts at around $1,800.
Press Release:
AVADirect Introduces Two New 3D Gaming Notebooks
AVADirect, a recognized leader in the computer industry, introduces two innovative 3D notebooks to its lineup of mobile platforms.
Just like the latest movies and televisions, notebooks are evolving from 2D to 3D. Powered by revolutionary NVIDIA® 3D Vision™ technology, hundreds of games, photos, movies, and websites can now be experienced in 3D today! Both the Clevo W860CU 3D and the ASUS G51JX-3D have all of the components necessary for 3D Vision™ integrated into a sleek, portable form factor. With the included pair of high-tech active shutter glasses, users can now experience crystal-clear 3D wherever and whenever they want.
The Clevo W860CU 3D 3D features a 15.6” HD display and blazing fast NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 285M with 1GB of GDDR5 memory. Users can choose from the latest Intel® core i5 and i7 mobile CPUs and customize nearly every other facet of their 3D notebook, including the addition solid state drives,custom paint, and up to 8GB’s of superfast 1333mhz DDR3 ram. Pricing for the new Clevo W860CU 3D starts around $1800.
The Asus G51JX-3D features a 15.6″ HD display and a super-capable GeForce® GTS 360M with 1GB of GDDR5 memory. This is coupled with an Intel® Core i7-720QM processor and a massive 6GB’s of DDR3 ram. Pricing for the Asus G51JX-3D starts around $1600.
Both notebooks come with all the components necessary for 3D Vision™, and are entirely compatible with 3D Vision™ Ready desktop monitors and projectors.
“Thanks to this impressive 3D technology, and our commitment to innovation, we are able to offer our customers the ultimate mobile 3D experience,” says Misha Troshin, CMO and Co-Owner of AVADirect.
It’s a tough world for a consumer desktop PC. Laptops have stolen all the glamour; you need to offer something special if you’re going to stand out among the rank and file of stationary computing. Acer’s Aspire X3400-U2012 may not be a true portable PC but, with a small-form-factor (SFF) chassis paired with desktop components does the grunt-for-the-footprint balance make it a sensible buy? Check out the SlashGear review after the cut.
There’s a little of the Lenovo in the Aspire X3400’s design, a solid black mini-tower (standing 10.5-inches high) with a minor splash of blue the only attempt to brighten things. Up front there’s a DVD burner, five USB 2.0 ports, a multi-format memory card reader and audio in/out; at the back there are a further four USB 2.0 ports, both HDMI and VGA, gigabit ethernet, audio in/out (with 5.1-channel support), an eSATA port, PS/2 ports for legacy keyboard and mouse (Acer’s supplied peripherals are both USB, and of reasonable quality if not anything outstanding) and of course power. Build quality is decent, with a pleasant mixture of gloss and matte black plastics.
Inside there’s a 2.9GHz AMD Athlon II X3 435 processor paired with 4GB of DDR3 memory and integrated NVIDIA GeForce 9200 graphics with a 500GB hard-drive, though no integrated Bluetooth and WiFi. Acer offer a 2.9GHz X4 635 processor and up to 1TB of storage as options, while the Aspire X3400 can handle up to 8GB of DDR3 memory. Of course, because of the small size there are no free drive bays inside: the optical drive takes up the 5.25-inch bay and the HDD occupies the 3.5-inch bay.
Software is Windows 7 Home Premium, complete with a basic array of Acer’s own applications. Probably of most interest to the HTPC aficionados likely to be eyeing the Aspire X3400 is the eRecovery Management app, which automatically makes backups of your multimedia store. There’s also the usual trial of Office Home & Student 2007 (together with a full copy of Works 8.5), a trial of McAfee, Google’s Toolbar and Nero 9 Essentials.
We benchmark tested the Acer Aspire X3400-U2012 using Geekbench, a synthetic test of processor and memory performance. It scored a reasonable 5,108, primarily thanks to a strong showing by the processor. In comparison, Gateway’s ZX6900 – which uses a 2.93GHz Intel Core i3-530 with 4GB of RAM – scored slightly higher, at 5,313. Acer’s own all-in-one, the Aspire Z5600, scored 5,475 with Intel’s 2.33GHz Core 2 Quad Q8200 and 4GB of RAM.
The Aspire X3400’s integrated GeForce 9200 graphics are certainly showing their age, and this isn’t the GPU for you if you’re hoping to do any serious gaming. While it may run titles like Crysis it’s at their very minimum settings, and you’ll still see dropped frames. Instead, think of the Aspire X3400 as a home multimedia PC, perfectly sized to slot under your TV, hook up via HDMI (with HDCP support) and act as a media player. On those terms its capabilities are far more adequate; Windows 7 Home Premium includes native media PC features, though you’ll need to add a USB TV tuner if you want to record/pause broadcast TV. It’s a shame Acer didn’t throw a remote control in the box (or at least wireless keyboard/mouse peripherals).
In use, the Acer runs reasonably quietly – there’s some fan noise which may be noticeable during quiet media playback, but nothing extreme – and shows little in the way of lag. We happily browsed several internet tabs with media playing in the background and the Aspire X3400 had no problem keeping up with us. Paired with a sizeable NAS it would certainly work well as an HTPC.
We’d like to see a bigger hard-drive as standard, and obviously the GPU falls short of anything a semi-serious gamer might be looking for, but considering the $459.99 MRSP there’s plenty to like about the Acer Aspire X3400-U2012. Solid – if not outstanding – performance together with an admirably small footprint and lashings of connectivity add up to a strong contender for your living room or home office.
NVIDIA has outed its much-rumored GeForce GTX 460, a mid-range Fermi-based graphics card promising four times the performance of rivals, real-time PhysX and 3D support with a price tag of roughly $199. The company has focussed their efforts on DirectX 11 tessellation, with a quoted up to 4x improvement in performance over cards from other manufacturers.
Two cards are being announced, the GeForce GTX 460 768MB – expected to arrive from ASL, ASUS, Colorful, ECS, EVGA, Gainward, Galaxy, Gigabyte, Innovision 3D, Jetway, KFA2, Leadtek, MSI, Palit, Point of View, PNY, Sparkle and Zotac – together with the GeForce GTX 460 1GB, which will go on sale by July 26th 2010. Both have 336 CUDA cores and 56 texture units; the GTX 460 768MB has a 192-bit memory interface, while the GTX 460 1GB has a 256-bit memory interface.
The graphics clock runs at 675MHz while the processor clock runs at 1,350MHz; there’s also a 1,800 memory clock, NVIDIA SLI support, and 3D Vision/3D Vision Surround support. Standard ports include two Dual Link DVI and a mini HDMI (with an internal audio input for the latter, together with HDCP compliance), while maximum display resolution is 2,560 x 1,600. They’re both dual-slot cards with a PCI-e 2.0 x16 interface.
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 768MB should be available from today, with an MRSP of $199; the GeForce GTX 460 1GB will be roughly $229 when it arrives later this month.
Press Release:
DX11 Done Right! NVIDIA Delivers Monster Tessellation Performance to the $199 Sweet Spot for Gamers
New GeForce GTX 460 Delivers up to 4x Performance Over Competing Processors, Real-Time PhysX, and Eye-Popping 3D
‘Capcom has worked closely with NVIDIA on a number of PC titles and GeForce GPUs have always helped us to deliver the very best experience to users. The GeForce GTX 460 is a great card and its blazing performance helps our titles to shine.’ — Capcom / Jun Takeuchi / General Manager of R&D Strategic Planning Department
‘With the GeForce GTX 460, NVIDIA is really upping the ante with an amazingly fast DirectX 11 GPU available at a great, mainstream-friendly price. Its new hardware tessellation support will enable games to reach an entirely new caliber of graphics.’ — Epic Games / Tim Sweeney / Chairman, CEO and Technical Director
‘The Civilization V team is really excited about the high-end DirectX 11 performance at a mainstream price point that the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 delivers. The 460’s support for DX11 features such as tessellation and compute shaders allow Civilization V to run faster while looking better than ever.’ — Firaxis Games / Dan Baker / Graphics Lead on Civilization V
‘We’ve got a great working relationship with the NVIDIA engineers. It has enabled us to add amazing new visual effects like native 3D, 3D Vision Surround, and PhysX/APEX support in Mafia II. With the new GeForce GTX 460, Empire Bay comes to life, immersing players like never before!’ –2K Games / Denby Grace / Senior Producer of Mafia II
‘NVIDIA platforms continue to be the Gold Standard at Id Software for quality, performance, and support.’ — Id Software / John Carmack / Technical Director
‘Great performance at a great price — what’s not to love? With full support for PhysX and 3D Vision, the GeForce GTX 460 is a great GPU to use for UDK development and UE3-based games.’ — Epic Games / Mark Rein / Vice President
‘Kings and Castles will look spectacular on the GeForce GTX 460. Imagine how full-scale battles with hundreds of soldiers, dragons, and flying zeppelin battleships will look in fantastic 3D!’ — Gas Powered Games / Chris Taylor / Founder & CEO
The new NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 GPU delivers awesome DX11 performance and support for PhysX and 3D Vision to the $200 sweet spot gamers love.
SANTA CLARA, CA — (Marketwire) — 07/11/2010 — NVIDIA today announced the latest addition to its Fermi-class of graphics processing units (GPUs), the NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 460 — which delivers a great DX11 gaming experience and is priced right at the market’s $199 sweet spot.
Built from the ground up for DirectX 11 tessellation, GeForce GTX 460 GPUs deliver monster tessellation performance with up to 4x tessellation performance(i) over competing GPUs. The GTX 460 brings the ultimate next-generation DX11 gaming experience to a new price segment, enabling more gamers than ever to experience incredibly detailed characters, terrain and game environments with blazing fast performance and awesome visuals.
With full support for NVIDIA 3D Vision™ technology, the GeForce GTX 460 provides the graphics horsepower and video bandwidth needed to experience games and high definition Blu-ray movies in eye-popping stereoscopic 3D.
Here’s what leading game developers have to say about the GeForce GTX 460:
“With the GeForce GTX 460, NVIDIA is really upping the ante with an amazingly fast DirectX 11 GPU available at a great, mainstream-friendly price. Its new hardware tessellation support will enable games to reach an entirely new caliber of graphics.”
– Epic Games / Tim Sweeney / Chairman, CEO and Technical Director
“NVIDIA platforms continue to be the Gold Standard at Id Software for quality, performance, and support.”
– Id Software / John Carmack / Technical Director
“We’ve got a great working relationship with the NVIDIA engineers. It has enabled us to add amazing new visual effects like native 3D, 3D Vision Surround, and PhysX/APEX support in Mafia II. With the new GeForce GTX 460, Empire Bay comes to life, immersing players like never before!”
–2K Games / Denby Grace / Senior Producer of Mafia II
“The Civilization V team is really excited about the high-end DirectX 11 performance at a mainstream price point that the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 delivers. The 460’s support for DX11 features such as tessellation and compute shaders allow Civilization V to run faster while looking better than ever.”
– Firaxis Games / Dan Baker / Graphics Lead on Civilization V
“Great performance at a great price — what’s not to love? With full support for PhysX and 3D Vision, the GeForce GTX 460 is a great GPU to use for UDK development and UE3-based games.”
– Epic Games / Mark Rein / Vice President
“Capcom has worked closely with NVIDIA on a number of PC titles and GeForce GPUs have always helped us to deliver the very best experience to users. The GeForce GTX 460 is a great card and its blazing performance helps our titles to shine.”
– Capcom / Jun Takeuchi / General Manager of R&D Strategic Planning Department
“Kings and Castles will look spectacular on the GeForce GTX 460. Imagine how full-scale battles with hundreds of soldiers, dragons, and flying zeppelin battleships will look in fantastic 3D!”
– Gas Powered Games / Chris Taylor / Founder & CEO
With 336 NVIDIA CUDA™ cores and 56 texture units, the GeForce GTX 460 comes in two flavors:
GTX 460 768MB, with a 192-bit memory interface at an estimated U.S. price of $199
GTX 460 1GB, with a 256-bit memory interface at an estimated US price of $229
The GeForce GTX 460 768MB version is available starting today from the world’s leading add-in card partners, including ASL, ASUS, Colorful, ECS, EVGA, Gainward, Galaxy, Gigabyte, Innovision 3D, Jetway, KFA2, Leadtek, MSI, Palit, Point of View, PNY, Sparkle, Zotac and others. Wider availability of the GeForce GTX 460 1GB is expected by July 26, 2010. Consumers are encouraged to check their favorite retailer or e-tailer for availability.
Remember that stonking NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480M Fermi GPU and the Clevo gaming notebook it was expected to first show up in? The Clevo D900F is now up for sale, and if you’ve in the region of $2,959 lying around waiting for a Core i7 based 17-inch monster notebook, you probably won’t be disappointed. Everything from a 2.66GHz Core i7-920 through to a 3.33GHz Core i7-980X Extreme are on offer (factor in an extra $856 for the latter), together with some Xeon quadcores, as well as up to 12GB of DDR3 memory.
There’s also a huge range of storage choices, from a measly 160GB HDD through to triple-bay HDD/SSDs in optional RAID configurations. Other options include Blu-ray burners, Bluetooth (to go along with the WiFi a/b/g/n), various sound cards and TV tuners, while a 3-megapixel webcam and four built-in speakers are standard.
Connectivity includes S-Video, DVI, VGA, FireWire, USB 2.0 and audio in/out, and you can even have the D900F painted in various custom colors. A maxed-out Clevo D900F could easily set you back several thousand dollars, so choose your options wisely.
First things first: performance. We kicked off with 
Remember that stonking 