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The ASUS ENGT430 1GB GDDR3

11 Oct 2010

The ASUS ENGT430 is based on NVIDIA's entry-level GeForce GT 430 and comes with ASUS' dust-free cooler design, GPU Guard and Fuse Protection.

Tags: nvidia, asus, fermi, geforce gt 430

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HWZ's Overall Rating: 7.5

Performance:

7.5

Features:

7.5

Value:

Compact size

Decent overclockability

Runs cool and quiet

Reference clock speeds

<div id="product-review" class="article">
			<h2 class="header-green">ASUS GeForce GT 430 - Can You Really Play Games with Budget Cards?</h2>
		<span class="byline">Reviewed by Kenny Yeo on Monday, 11 Oct 2010</span>
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		 		<h2 class="page-title">The Basic Fermi</h2>
		 		<h3 class="page_title">The Basic Fermi</h3>
<p>At the recent <a target="_blank" href="/product-guide/features/view/81786">NVIDIA GPU Technology Conference</a>, NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang admitted to the production delays of Fermi, but with the release of the more mainstream-friendly GeForce GTX 460 and GTS 450, Fermi is slowly but surely gaining traction amongst gamers.</p>
<p>To build on its momentum, NVIDIA is now introducing their latest addition to the Fermi family - the GeForce GT 430. As the &ldquo;GT&rdquo; moniker denotes, this is a card targeted at budget to lower-end mainstream users. And this is fitting, because the GeForce GT 430 is powered by the GF108, a far more streamlined version of the original GF100 chip that debuted in the GeForce GTX 480. It is also the same chip that powers the GT 415M, GT 420M,  GT 425M, and GT 435M mobile GPUs.</p>
<p>On the hardware level, the GeForce GT 430 has effectively only half a GPC (graphics processing cluster). This means it has only two streaming multiprocessors, giving it a total of 96 CUDA cores, 16 texture mapping units and 16 raster operating units, which is a fair bit lesser than the GeForce GTS 450. The GeForce GT 430 is also the first Fermi card to use GDDR3 memory even though it retains a 128-bit wide memory bus. In all and on paper, it is very similar to the <a href="http://(http://www.hardwarezone.com.sg/features/view/1602" target="_blank">GeForce GT 240</a> that was launched in November last year.</p>
<p>Needless to say, NVIDIA does not claim that the GeForce GT 430 is the answer to all your gaming needs. Instead, it is positioned as the perfect complement to HTPC or media centre setups especially if you into 3D, seeing that it supports 3D Blu-ray playback and HD audio bitstreaming (supported only by the newer ForceWare 260 drivers).</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><img height="475" width="500" alt="" src="/files/images/card-box_1.jpg" title="The entry-level and most basic of Fermi cards is here. We managed to get an ASUS ENGT430 graphics card to test drive the GeForce GT 430 GPU." /></p>
<p>Even so, NVIDIA says gaming can still be done insofar as users are reasonable with their expectations. According to NVIDIA, the GeForce GT 430 will trump integrated graphics solutions, and will handle the 1280 x 1024 resolution nicely as long as you don&rsquo;t go wild on the in-game graphics quality settings by checking all the boxes or turn everything up to high.</p>
<p>Anyhow, this got us thinking, could you really play modern games with entry-level graphics cards? To find out, we have have put to the test popular entry-level cards from both NVIDIA and ATI, along with the new GeForce GT 430.</p>
<p>Before we begin, here's a quick look at how the GeForce&nbsp;GT 430 stacks up against competitive comparison SKUs.</p>
<p class="rtecenter"><img height="488" width="390" src="/files/images/gt430.gif" title="Screenshot of GPU-Z detailing the new GeForce GT 430. Note, however, that because GPU-Z has yet to be updated, take these figures with a pinch of salt." alt="" /></p>
<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" border="1" align="center" width="95%">
    <caption>NVIDIA GeForce GT 430 and competitive SKUs compared</caption>
    <tbody>
        <tr>
            <th align="center" valign="middle">Model</th>
            <th align="center" valign="middle">NVIDIA&nbsp;GeForce&nbsp;GT 430</th>
            <th align="center" valign="middle">
            <p>NVIDIA&nbsp;GeForce GT 240</p>
            </th>
            <th align="center" valign="middle">
            <p>NVIDIA&nbsp;GeForce GT 220</p>
            </th>
            <th align="center" valign="middle">ATI&nbsp;Radeon HD&nbsp;5670&nbsp;</th>
            <th align="center" valign="middle">
            <p>ATI&nbsp;Radeon HD&nbsp;5570</p>
            </th>
            <th align="center" valign="middle">ATI&nbsp;Radeon HD 5450</th>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <th align="center" valign="middle">Core Code</th>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">GF108</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">GT215</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">GT216</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">Redwood XT</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">Redwood PRO</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">Cedar PRO</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <th align="center" valign="middle">Transistor Count</th>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">Unknown</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">727 million</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;486 million</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">627 million</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">627 million</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">292 million</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <th align="center" valign="middle">Manufacturing Process</th>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">40nm</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;40nm</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">40nm</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">40nm</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">40nm</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">40nm</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <th align="center" valign="middle">Core Clock</th>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;700MHz</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">550MHz</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;625MHz</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">775MHz</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">650MHz</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">650MHz</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <th align="center" valign="middle">Stream Processors</th>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;96 Stream Processors</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">96 Stream Processors</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;48 Stream Processors</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">400 Stream Processing Units</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">400 Stream Processing&nbsp;Units</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">80 Stream Processing Units</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <th align="center" valign="middle">Stream Processor Clock</th>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;1400MHz</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">1340MHz</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;1350MHz</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">775MHz</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">650MHz</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">650MHz</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <th align="center" valign="middle">Texture Mapping Units (TMU) or Texture Filtering (TF) units</th>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;16</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">32</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;16</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">20</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">20</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">8</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <th align="center" valign="middle">Raster Operator units (ROP)</th>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;16</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">8</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;8</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">8</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">8</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">4</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <th align="center" valign="middle">Memory Clock</th>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;1800MHz GDDR3</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">1800MHz GDDR3 / 3400MHz GDDR5</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;2000MHz GDDR3</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">4000MHz GDDR5</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">1800MHz GDDR3</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">1600MHz GDDR3</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <th align="center" valign="middle">DDR Memory Bus</th>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;128-bit</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;128-bit</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;128-bit</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">128-bit</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">128-bit</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">64-bit</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <th align="center" valign="middle">Memory Bandwidth</th>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;28.8GB/s</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">28.8GB/s / 57.6GB/s</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;16.0GB/s</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">76.8GB/s</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">28.8GB/s</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">12.8GB/s</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <th align="center" valign="middle">PCI Express Interface</th>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;PCIe ver 2.0 x16</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">PCIe ver 2.0 x16</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;PCIe ver 2.0 x16</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">PCIe ver 2.0 x16</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">PCIe ver 2.0 x16</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">PCIe ver 2.0 x16</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <th align="center" valign="middle">Molex Power Connectors</th>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">None</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">None</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">None</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">None</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">None</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">None</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <th align="center" valign="middle">Multi GPU Technology</th>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">None</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">None</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">None</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">CrossFireX</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">None</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">None</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <th align="center" valign="middle">DVI Output Support</th>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;2 x Dual-Link</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">2 x Dual-Link</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;2 x Dual-Link</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">2 x Dual-Link</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">2 x Dual-Link</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">2 x Dual-Link</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <th align="center" valign="middle">HDCP Output Support</th>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;Yes</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">Yes</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;Yes</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">Yes</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">Yes</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">Yes</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <th align="center" valign="middle">Street Price</th>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;Launch Price: ~US$79</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">~US$89</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">~US$70</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">~US$99</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">&nbsp;~US$79</td>
            <td align="center" valign="middle">~US$55</td>
        </tr>
    </tbody>
</table>
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