Temperatures:

The testing conditions were as follows:

• Ambient Room Temp: 28C
• Ambient checked before and after tests.
• Card left idle at test settings for 20 minutes to get back to idle temperature.
• Load temperatures checked with FurMark and Bad Company 2.
• Cards Tested: EVGA GTX460, ASUS EAH5870, ASUS ENGTX480, MSI 5770 HAWK

Computer Case

Tech Station

As you can see from the two charts above, the GTX460 idles lower than any card we have tested so far. It does have higher load temperatures than we were expecting, however, from what we saw the fan is set to lower speed profiles to help keep the noise down. So the temperatures did not trigger the full speed of the fan and the temperatures were a little higher as a result. This is a big give-and-take situation with temperatures and fan noise. However, we feel the 460 does a nice job of walking this fine line, and we have no complaints with anything we saw in our tests.

Power Consumption:

Notice in the test below that this is total system power consumption. We tried our best to push the load as much as possible on the video card and nothing else. We ran FurMark at the highest settings our system would allow. We feel FurMark gives the most reliable readings on GPU load and on how much wattage the card puts out without stressing other components in the system too much. (Total consumption measured at outlet.)

With the power consumption tests, you can see the new GF104 architecture paying off. The power usage is noticeably better than the GTX480 and also better than the Radeon HD5870, which was to be expected. The GTX460 puts out a respectable power consumption for the mid-range card that it is, and we were very pleased to see how well it did in this test, especially after the GTX480 almost gave us a heart attack.

Fan Noise:

The fan noise from the EVGA GTX460 was surprisingly minimal. This may have been due to the fact that the EVGA Precision software had a max fan speed of 80%, however, even at 80% the fan did not seem to overpower you with noise. It was an acceptable level at 80% and we were certainly not used to that. Most fans we have tested in the past annoy us once they get over tbe 60% mark.  This is really an extreme improvement over the 480 we tested a few weeks ago, and a testament to the improvements in the GF104 architecture to allow such a dramatic improvement in noise levels and temperatures.

Conclusion:

The EVGA GeForce GTX460 SuperClocked had an impressive run in our gauntlet of tests. It kept the minimum FPS at a very respectable level, which we have said all along is our main focus point in the game benchmarks, because that is where the lag spikes start coming into play. The 460 did a great job of keeping the spikes away for more enjoyable, smoother game play.

The added software from EVGA was nice to see. The Precision software was easily one of the better bundled suites we had the pleasure of using and was very simple to use. The GUI was polished and easy on the eyes, which shows how much effort they put into their products. The OC Scanner was also a nice program to have at our disposal and it helped in overclocking the card by taking the most time-consuming part of the process completey out of our hands; finding the artifacts! Once we reached that point, we just backed the clocks down a little and voila, our card was perfectly stable.

Overall, the GF104 has been greatly improved over GF100 in many ways, as you can see from the tests. The temperatures are now under control, and power usage is back down to a reasonable level where it should be. If Nvidia keeps going along with this type of improvement, ATI better watch out. The GTX460 also comes with EVGA’s top-notch warranty program and 24/7 customer support. The step-up program they have implemented over the years is also a bright spot for the company, allowing customer’s to trade in their current graphics cards within 90 days of pruchase to use toward an upgrade. With the great job that Nvidia did on the GTX460, and having it backed by EVGA, we simply cannot see where you could go wrong with this mid-range beast!

The EVGA GeForce GTX 460 SuperClocked 1024MB EE receives the TechREACTION.net Gold Silicon Award!

For more information on the EVGA GeForce GTX 460 SuperClocked 1024MB EE, check out the official product page.

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