Review: ZOTAC GeForce GTX 460 1GB in SLI - beating up on GTX 480

Final thoughts and rating

We already know that the GeForce GTX 460 cards provide decent performance for their sub-£200 retail listing. Going by previously-tested SLI performance for the more-expensive GTX 400-series GPUs, we conjectured that cobbling two GTX 460s together would lead to interesting results.

Putting two GTX 460 1,024MB cards side by side bulges performance to the extent that it is, on average, 20 per cent faster than a GeForce GTX 480, judged at 1,920x1,080; that's telling because both cost around £375 from most retailers.

We're always keen to point out that multi-GPU solutions tend to have their own particular foibles, especially with software that's not optimised for two or more cards. While that remains true for two GTX 460s, having more than one card opens up the way for a dedicated PhysX GPU or three-screen (3D) Vision Surround support - something a single GTX 480 can't handle.

Impressed by single-card performance of the ZOTAC GeForce GTX 460 1,024MB, the deal is sweetened by the knowledge that adding a second will provide near-perfect scaling and multi-monitor goodness. Two cards are well worth a look if you are planning on spending more than £300 on your next graphics upgrade.

The Good

Near-perfect scaling in SLI
Opens up 3D Vision Surround
Beats GeForce GTX 480 by 20 per cent in our benchmmarks

The Not So Good

Multi-GPU implementation will never be quite a good a single card's

HEXUS Rating

ZOTAC GeForce GTX 460 1,024MB in SLI

HEXUS Awards

ZOTAC GeForce GTX 460 1,024MB in SLI

HEXUS Where2Buy

Please see here.

HEXUS Right2Reply

At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.

Login with Forum Account

Don't have an account? Register today!

looks good but as stated before,

Multi-GPU implementation will never be quite a good a single card's

As a single card's what?

People get two cards to get better performance than a single card of the same price. Same reason I went for dual 5850s, which easily beats a 480. Scaling on multi card setups, while highly engine dependent, is getting better every month. No need to live in the past.

This article should have had dual 768MB versions of the 460, or even tri 768MB 460s, as well as dual 4850s. Would love to see the comparisons.

you cant do tri sli in 460's mate

j.o.s.h.1408;1951076
you cant do tri sli in 460's mate

In 460's what? Seriously, bad apostrophe use - they're possessive or shortening words, not used to make things plural.

Just checked the tri 460s and you're right. Even though you didn't a) give a reason or b) a link to prove it.

borandi
As a single card's what?

The apostrophe at the end of ‘card’ denotes that the sentence is referring to the impementation. So it's a cleaner way of saying ‘Multi-GPU implementation will never be quite a good a single card’s implementation.' Much like you could say that ‘Paul’s car is nicer than John's.'

We had two 1GB cards in and decided to offer you an insight into performance. Dual 768MBs in SLI is coming later on in the week - well, as soon as another card lands in the labs.