nVidia Geforce GT430 Review

When testing the GT430, we feel it is important to have a system which an enthusiast might use in this specific sector. We are using the Core i5 760 quad core as the foundation of our system build. We have connected the system to a Panasonic 42inch 1080p Plasma TV and will run most of the tests at 720p today (1280×720) to tie in with the potential audience.

We only received the card a few days ago so we are focusing on comparing directly to the best AMD product at this specific price point (around £65).

Test System:

Zotac GT430 1GB

Comparison card:
Sapphire HD5670 512mb (reference 775mhz Core 4000mhz GDDR5)

System:
Processor: Intel Core i5 760
Memory: Corsair 4GB DDR3 @ 1600mhz
Motherboard: ASRock P55 Extreme4
Cooler: Thermaltake Frio Cooler
Chassis: Bitfennix Colossus
Power Supply: ThermalTake ToughPower XT 775W PSU
Monitor: Panasonic 42inch NeoPDP Plasma 600hz 1080P TV

Software:
Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit
Unigine Heaven Benchmark
Stone Giant
3DMark Vantage
HQV Benchmark
Catalyst 10.9 Driver
Fraps Professional
Steam Client
FurMark
Forceware 260.77 beta

Technical Monitoring and Test Equipment:
Keithley Integra unit
Thermal Diodes
Raytek Laser Temp Gun 3i LSRC/MT4 Mini Temp
Extech digital sound level meter & SkyTronic DSL 2 Digital Sound Level Meter

Games:
Resident Evil 5
Lost Planet 2
Far Cry 2
Mafia 2
Tom Clancy H.A.W.X.
Left4Dead 2

All the latest BIOS updates and drivers are used during testing. We perform under real world conditions, meaning KitGuru tests all games across five closely matched runs and average out the results to get an accurate median figure.

Our minimum frame rate game graphs have three main zones. These are sampled over a specific 30 interval period of time and then mapped into a chart. These are handy reference guides to detail worst case performance of the product being reviewed. When we test video cards we try to find the best combination of resolution and image quality settings while still maintaining playable frame rates.

Over 30fps is the zone most people want at all times, this means perfectly smooth frame rates with no hitching.

Between 30fps and 25fps is the KitGuru ‘Playable’ zone, although some people might notice occasional stuttering in specific scenes.

Under 25fps is classed as the KitGuru ‘Danger Zone’ which means that the game experience will be less than impressive. Settings and/or resolution would need lowered to help smooth out the frame rate.

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