Galaxy GeForce GTS 450 Super OC 1GB in SLI Overclocked

Already impressed with what the GTS 450 in SLI offers, we see what our Galaxy offerings do when we ramp up the clocks further.

Published
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Manufacturer: Galaxy
14 minutes & 1 second read time

Introduction and Overclocking


Introduction

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Another launch has brought with it another huge amount of reviews and articles. So far we've looked at the Galaxy, MSI and Palit offerings of the model in standalone review form. We've also looked at the MSI card when overclocked to a massive 950MHz core and we've just finished looking at the Galaxy version in SLI, too.

If that wasn't enough for you, it's time to see what happens when we check out the Galaxy cards in SLI, when overclocked. SLI of this mid range card is going to become a popular option, because as people expand into multiple monitor setups and SLI becomes a requirement for that, buying two mid range cards like the GTS 450 or GTX 460 is a more feasible and attractive option than buying two much more expensive GTX 470s or GTX 480s.

Since we've already looked at the Galaxy offering in a lot more detail, I recommend that if you haven't yet, to check out the stand alone review of it here if you want to know what's going on with the bundle. Let's not delay any longer and check out what happen with our overclock.


Overclocking

Galaxy already started with a high 888MHz core clock and 4000MHz QDR clock, and since we got only 950MHz out of the MSI card when it was sitting by its lonesome, we didn't expect to get too high since we figure the extra heat of having two cards would impact our overclock slightly.

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What we ended up with was pushing the core to 920MHz; that in turn bumped the Shader to 1840MHz and the 1GB of GDDR5 went from an already nicely overclocked 4000MHz QDR to 4300MHz QDR.

Test System Setup and 3DMark Vantage


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We would like to thank the following companies for supplying and supporting us with our test system hardware and equipment: Intel, ASRock, Kingston, Mittoni, Noctua and Corsair.

When it came to testing, the main thing we wanted to know was how the setup compared to the SLI setup when at the default 888 / 4000 QDR setup. For further good measure, we've included a number of other single card setups just to help put everything into perspective.

Let's get started!


3DMark Vantage

Version and / or Patch Used: 1.0.1
Developer Homepage: http://www.futuremark.com
Product Homepage: http://www.futuremark.com/products/3dmarkvantage/
Buy It Here




3DMark Vantage is the new industry standard PC gaming performance benchmark from Futuremark, newly designed for Windows Vista and DirectX10. It includes two new graphics tests, two new CPU tests, several new feature tests, and support for the latest hardware.

3DMark Vantage is based on a completely new rendering engine, developed specifically to take full advantage of DirectX10, the new graphics API from Microsoft.

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As you would expect, we see a little bump with both Vantage presets.

Unigine Heaven Benchmark




Version and / or Patch Used: 2
Developer Homepage: http://www.unigine.com
Product Homepage: http://unigine.com/press-releases/091022-heaven_benchmark//



New benchmark grants the power to unleash the DirectX 11 potential in the gift wrapping of impressively towering graphics capabilities. It reveals the enchanting magic of floating islands with a tiny village hidden in the cloudy skies. With the interactive mode emerging experience of exploring the intricate world is ensured within reach. Through its advanced renderer, Unigine is one of the first to set precedence in showcasing the art assets with tessellation, bringing compelling visual finesse, utilizing the technology to the full extend and exhibiting the possibilities of enriching 3D gaming.

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At both resolutions we can see a slight bump in overall performance.

Benchmarks - Resident Evil 5


Resident Evil 5

Version and / or Patch Used: Demo Benchmark
Developer Homepage: www.residentevil.com/
Product Homepage: http://www.residentevil.com/




Resident Evil 5 is a survival horror video game developed and published by Capcom. The game is the seventh installment in the Resident Evil survival horror series, and was released on September 18. Resident Evil 5 revolves around Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar as they investigate a terrorist threat in Kijuju, a fictional town in Africa.

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Across the board we can see some impressive gains. Fortunately we're already above that 60 FPS average we want. We're not going to complain about more performance, though.

Benchmarks - Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.


Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X.

Version and / or Patch Used: Benchmark Demo
Timedemo or Level Used: Built-in Test
Developer Homepage: http://www.ubi.com/UK/default.aspx
Product Homepage: http://www.hawxgame.com/





Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X is an arcade-style flight simulator video game developed by Ubisoft Romania and published by Ubisoft for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and iPhone OS.

The fundamental gameplay mechanics are similar to those of other console-based flight series. Players take on enemies with over 50 aircraft available. Each mission is at real world locations in environments created with commercial satellite data. A cockpit, first person, and third person view are selectable. The third person view gives the player an external view of both their plane and the target.

Set above the skies of a near-future world, increasingly dependent on private military companies with elite mercenaries who have a relaxed view on the law. As these non-governmental organizations gain power, global conflict erupts with one powerful PMC attacking the United States.

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At all resolutions we again see a very nice bump in performance, especially at the highest resolution where we're getting well away from that 60 FPS average we need.

Benchmarks - Mafia II


Mafia II

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update
Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark
Developer Homepage: http://www.2kczech.com/
Product Homepage: http://www.mafia2game.com/
Buy It Here




Mafia II is a third-person action-adventure video game, the sequel to Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven. It is developed by 2K Czech, previously known as Illusion Softworks, and is published by 2K Games. The game is set from 1943 to 1951 in Empire Bay (the name is a reference to New York's state nickname "The Empire State"), a fictional city based on San Francisco and New York City, with influences from Chicago and Detroit. The game features a completely open-ended game map of 10 square miles. No restrictions are included from the start of the game. There are around 50 vehicles in the game, as well as licensed music from the era.

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With our cores over 900MHz you can see we're again seeing a nice boost in performance. Unfortunately we're not quite where we need to be at 2560 x 1600, but thankfully 1920 x 1200 and down is going to be silky smooth.

Benchmarks - Lost Planet 2


Lost Planet 2

Version and / or Patch Used: Benchmark Demo
Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark - Test A Scene 1
Developer Homepage: http://www.capcom.com/
Product Homepage: http://www.lostplanet2game.com/




Lost Planet 2 is a third-person shooter video game developed and published by Capcom. The game is the sequel to Lost Planet: Extreme Condition which is also made by Capcom, taking place ten years after the events of the first game, on the same fictional planet. The story takes place back on E.D.N. III 10 years after the events of the first game. The snow has melted to reveal jungles and more tropical areas that have taken the place of more frozen regions. The plot begins with Mercenaries fighting against Jungle Pirates. After destroying a mine, the Mercenaries continue on to evacuate the area, in which a Category-G Akrid appears and attacks them. After being rescued, they find out their evacuation point (Where the Category-G appeared) was a set-up and no pick up team awaited them. The last words imply possible DLC additions to the game, "There's nothing to be gained by wiping out snow pirates... unless you had some kind of grudge."

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While we're still not where we need to be at 1920 x 1200 and above, the extra MHz help us move further away from that 60 FPS average at 1680 x 1050.

Benchmarks - Aliens vs. Predator


Aliens vs. Predator

Version and / or Patch Used: Standalone Benchmark
Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark
Developer Homepage: http://www.rebellion.co.uk/
Product Homepage: http://www.sega.com/games/aliens-vs-predator/




Aliens vs. Predator is a science fiction first-person shooter video game, developed by Rebellion Developments, the team behind the 1999 original PC game, and published by Sega for Microsoft Windows, the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. The game is based on the Alien vs. Predator franchise, a combination of the characters and creatures of the Alien franchise and the Predator franchise. There are three campaigns in the game, one for each race/faction (the Predators, the Aliens and the Colonial Marines), that, while separate in terms of individual plot and gameplay, form one overarching storyline.

Following the storyline of the campaign modes comes the multiplayer aspect of the game. In this Multiplayer section of the game, players face off in various different gametypes in various different ways.

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Across the board we see a bump in performance; it's nothing major, but it does help bring us closer to that 60 FPS average we need.

Benchmarks - Final Fantasy XIV


Final Fantasy XIV

Version and / or Patch Used: Standalone Benchmark
Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark - Elezen (Male)
Developer Homepage: http://www.square-enix.com/
Product Homepage: http://www.finalfantasyxiv.com/




Final Fantasy XIV, also known as Final Fantasy XIV Online, is the fourteenth installment in the Final Fantasy series. The game is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game and is developed and published by Square Enix. The game takes place in a land called Hydaelyn, mainly in a region named Eorzea, which will have a contemporaneously aesthetic blend of science fiction and classic fantasy elements.

The battle and job systems will be different from the one previously used in Final Fantasy XI, which utilized experience points and level-based progression. Final Fantasy XIV is being designed to utilize a skill-based progression[15] system similar to that of Final Fantasy II. Character races will resemble and allow players to create avatars similar to ones in Final Fantasy XI. Group play has been de-emphasized, and now solo and group play have been balanced. Weapon use will alter "character development".

Note: Final Fantasy XIV gives us a score and not a normal FPS rating, our understanding is that anything around 2000 points or above is considered playable.

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At both presets we see a little bump in performance, but nothing too major.

Benchmarks - Street Fighter IV


Street Fighter IV

Version and / or Patch Used: Standalone Benchmark
Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark
Developer Homepage: http://www.capcom.com/
Product Homepage: http://www.streetfighter.com/




While Street Fighter IV features models and backgrounds rendered in 3D, the gameplay remains on a traditional 2D plane, with the camera having freedom to move in 3D at certain times during fights, for dramatic effect. Producer Yoshinori Ono has stated that he wanted to keep the game closer to Street Fighter II. A new system called "Focus Attacks" ("Saving Attack" for the Japanese version) has been introduced, as well as Ultra moves. The traditional six-button control scheme returns, with new features and special moves integrated into the input system, mixing classic gameplay with additional innovations.

All the characters and environments in Street Fighter IV are rendered as 3D models with polygons, similar to the Street Fighter EX sub-series Capcom produced with Arika. However, there are a couple of key differences. Art director and character designer Daigo Ikeno, who previously worked on Street Fighter III 3rd Strike, opted for non-photorealistic rendering to give them a hand-drawn look, with visual effects accented in calligraphic strokes, ink smudges and ink sprays during the fights.

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Street Fighter IV didn't include the overclock one bit. You can clearly see performance has taken a big step backwards here. Fortunately we're still above the numbers we need for a smooth experience.

Benchmarks - Far Cry 2


Far Cry 2

Version and / or Patch Used: 1.01
Timedemo or Level Used: Ranch Long
Developer Homepage: http://www.ubi.com/
Product Homepage: http://www.farcry2.com/
Buy It Here




The Dunia Engine was built specifically for Far Cry 2 by the award-winning Ubisoft Montreal development team. It delivers the most realistic destructible environments, amazing special effects such as dynamic fire propagation and storm effects, real-time night-and-day cycle, dynamic music system, non-scripted enemy A.I. and so much more.

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At all resolutions we see a bump in both minimum and average numbers.

Benchmarks - Batman Arkham Asylum


Batman Arkham Asylum

Version and / or Patch Used: 1.1
Timedemo or Level Used: Built-in Test
Developer Homepage: http://www.batmanarkhamasylum.com/
Product Homepage: http://www.batmanarkhamasylum.com/





Batman: Arkham Asylum exposes players to a unique, dark and atmospheric adventure that takes them to the depths of Arkham Asylum - Gotham's psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane. Gamers will move in the shadows, instigate fear amongst their enemies and confront The Joker and Gotham City's most notorious villains who have taken over the asylum.

Using a wide range of Batman's gadgets and abilities, players will become the invisible predator and attempt to foil The Joker's demented scheme.
Batman: Arkham Asylum features an original story penned exclusively for the game by famous Batman author and five-time Emmy award winner Paul Dini, whose credits include Lost season one and Batman: The Animated Series.

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We see a little bump in both our averages and minimums at all resolutions. Even when not overclocked, we were getting very impressive numbers at all resolutions.

Benchmarks - High Quality AA and AF


High Quality AA and AF

Our high quality tests let us separate the men from the boys and the ladies from the girls. If the cards weren't struggling before they will start to now.

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Galaxy GeForce GTS 450 Super OC 1GB in SLI Overclocked 32


Galaxy GeForce GTS 450 Super OC 1GB in SLI Overclocked 33


Galaxy GeForce GTS 450 Super OC 1GB in SLI Overclocked 34


Apart from Street Fighter IV which again showed a backwards setup in performance, we do see a bump across the board in all other games.

Benchmarks - PhysX Tests


PhysX Tests

Here we're able to find out when PhysX is turned on in games that support it what kind of frame rates we're able to get. We always set PhysX to the highest possible in game settings while also keeping detail at its highest.

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Galaxy GeForce GTS 450 Super OC 1GB in SLI Overclocked 36


We see a small bump at all resolutions under our PhysX tests. You can see we still fall short of the 60 FPS average under Mafia II, though, along with just falling short under Batman AA at 2560 x 1600.

Temperature Test






The temperature of the core is pulled from MSI Afterburner with the max reading used after a completed run off 3DMark Vantage and the Performance preset.

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The extra voltage does add a little more heat into the mix, but it's not much of a jump.

Sound Test






Pulling out the TES 1350A Sound Level Meter we find ourselves quickly yelling into the top of it to see how loud we can be.

After five minutes of that we get a bit more serious and place the device two CM away from the fan on the card to find the maximum noise level of the card when idle (2D mode) and in load (3D mode).

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On the noise front we don't really hear any change when it comes to overclocking. It seems that the fans don't feel the need to spin any faster.

Power Consumption Tests






Using our new PROVA Power Analyzer WM-01 or "Power Thingy" as it has become quickly known as to our readers, we are now able to find out what kind of power is being used by our test system and the associated graphics cards installed. Keep in mind; it tests the complete system (minus LCD monitor, which is plugged directly into AC wall socket).

There are a few important notes to remember though; while our maximum power is taken in 3DMark06 at the same exact point, we have seen in particular tests the power being drawn as much as 10% more. We test at the exact same stage every time; therefore tests should be very consistent and accurate.

The other thing to remember is that our test system is bare minimum - only a SSD hard drive is used with a single CD ROM and minimal cooling fans.

So while the system might draw 400 watts in our test system, placing it into your own PC with a number of other items, the draw is going to be higher.

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The extra voltage helps boost overall power draw up. Really, though, it's not a number most people would be worrying about.

Total Performance Rating (TPR)


Total Performance Rating

The TPR graph is a combination of all our benchmarks in which NVIDIA and ATI are on an even playing field.

The TPR number is a combination of:

3DMark Vantage, Heaven Benchmark V2, Resident Evil 5, Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X., Mafia 2 (PhysX Off), Lost Planet 2, Aliens vs. Predator, Final Fantasy XIV, Street Fighter IV, Far Cry 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum (PhysX Off) and our four High Quality tests which include Mafia 2, Aliens vs. Predator, Street Fighter IV and Far Cry 2.

All of the benchmark results achieved are then combined into a single number. As this graph will grow over time and cards won't be re-tested, next to each model you'll find the driver version that was used when the card was benchmarked.

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It doesn't come as much of a surprise that this setup tops our new TPR graphs. The minor OC does bring with it only a minor bump in overall performance, though.

Total Value Rating (TVR)


Total Value Rating

The TVR graph is the TPR score divided by the price of the video card. The price of the video card is based on the list price of the model on Newegg.com. In the event the card isn't listed, it will be based on the U.S. $ MSRP given to us by the manufacturer.

In the event we can't source a price from either, the product will not receive a TVR rating. As with our TPR graph, the amount of video cards on the list will grow over time and the price of the model won't change from what it was when first reviewed. For this reason the U.S. $ price that the card is based off will be included next to the name of the model.

In the event you want to find the TVR rating yourself based on the current price, all you have to do is simply divide the TPR number by the list price.

TVR numbers are rounded to the nearest whole number; 100.3 will be 100; 100.8 will be 101 and 100.5 will be rounded down to 100.

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Because the jump in overall performance is only a little bit, the overall value jumps up only slightly.

Final Thoughts




It's clear that after the release of the GTX 460, companies have chosen to kick up the overclocking side of things another notch. We're seeing companies really offer us some huge overclocks, with some coming in not all that far from its maximum overclock. And while that means there's not as much to play around with, it means that you're able to get almost maximum performance out of a card without the need to tinker with it, which for some people is just perfect.

The biggest issue with SLI and Crossfire is that when you start going down those paths, you're adding more heat into the mix. As soon as that begins to happen you're hindering your maximum overclock ability. With these cards being clocked not far from the models maximum OC when in single card form, you're not finding that much more head room when it comes to overclocking further when in SLI. You combine this with the fact that you're going to be running more voltage through the cards and even more heat is generated, you'd probably be almost best to leave a card and setup like this at the reference clocks.

The picture would be different if the core clock was 800MHz, but it's not; it's 888MHz, and Galaxy has taken the time to bump the memory to 4000MHZ QDR which we've said before was a great decision.

Considering the performance you're able to get out of this setup for $300 US, it really is quite amazing. Throw in the fact that it's just cool to have multi GPU / card setups and you're onto a winner. The GTS 450 in SLI, like the GTX 465 is performance on a budget, and not budget performance.

There's a large gap between the GTS 450 and GTX 460, which means there's a very large gap between the same cards when running SLI. While a single GTX 460 overclocked to over 900MHz might be better value than a GTS 450 SLI setup, the latter setup is going to offer more performance for a price tag that isn't much higher.

NVIDIA has ultimately provided a setup for the $300 US price bracket while also creating a great card for people who want to spend under $150 US, and while AMD intend to start launching the HD 6000 series from October, word is they'll start at that mid $200 US mark the GTX 460 is at, and not this budget friendly $150 US mark.

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Shawn takes care of all of our video card reviews. From 2009, Shawn is also taking care of our memory reviews, and from May 2011, Shawn also takes care of our CPU, chipset and motherboard reviews. As of December 2011, Shawn is based out of Taipei, Taiwan.

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