Zotac GTX460 AMP! Edition Review

Review Score:
Zardon

KitGuru has been singing the praises of the GTX460 since it was released. We thought both eVGA and MSI versions we reviewed offered superb value for money with class leading performance. The Zotac AMP! Edition is the fastest GTX460 card we have tested to date, thanks to the very generous core and memory clock enhancements.

Our testing today has shown that Zotac have balanced the card to offer low noise levels while providing enough cooling power to keep it in the ‘safe zone’. That said, 84c when running Furmark is the highest temperature we have yet to record with a GTX460 … its perfectly safe however.

The card has further potential for manual overclocking and we managed to push the core to 925mhz and the memory to 1075mhz offering even more frame rate improvements at the cost of temperature increases, reaching the 90c mark. We feel that manual fan configuration would be a prerequisite for peace of mind if you wanted to run at these speeds.

The Zotac bundle is impressive, we are glad to see Dirt 2 removed from the bundle and replaced with the excellent new Prince Of Persia title which offers something fresh and diverse to a potential customer.

When compared with a reference GTX460, power consumption is higher with the AMP!, between 30-40 watts extra being drained from the power supply under load. It is just a side factor of the increased voltage PCB design and overclocked configuration.

When weighing all of this into a final decision, we feel the extra $20 is well worth it when compared to a standard GTX460.

KitGuru says: The GTX460 AMP! is an excellent board which combines class leading performance with low noise and high overclocking prowess.

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Rating: 5.0/5 (1 vote cast)
Zotac GTX460 AMP! Edition Review, 5.0 out of 5 based on 1 rating

31 Comments
  • Garry
    August 17, 2010
    #1
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    ah very nice indeed, seems like a good performance indeed.

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  • Tim
    August 17, 2010
    #2
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    Cant be bad to the pricing really, only $20 more than the reference 1GB version? like it

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  • Roger
    August 17, 2010
    #3
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    Seems like a good deal all round really considering – seems a bit hotter than most.

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  • Terry
    August 17, 2010
    #4
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    GTX460 is hard to beat right now, cheaper than HD5850 and close in performance :)

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  • Tri Color
    August 17, 2010
    #5
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    Very good card, and the pricing is excellent, was expecting it to be at least 50 bucks more.

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  • Brook
    August 17, 2010
    #6
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    I was pleasanty surprised to see the results. but the 460s are really good, I am sure they are selling tons of these now.

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  • Tech Head
    August 17, 2010
    #7
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    I like the colours, which sounds gay, but the orange fan and blackish PCB look well together. Good board, but There are so many video card reviews on tech sites now, they are all much of a bleh to me :) the three screen sapphire one was cool last week.

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  • Tommy Cruicshanks
    August 17, 2010
    #8
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    The 460 deserves to sell well, they are good cards. they are a little power happy now though I see – around 190 watts. thats a lot of juice.

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  • Henry Ram
    August 17, 2010
    #9
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    these would be great in SLI.

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  • Stefan
    August 17, 2010
    #10
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    When are they available ? would be good to know release dates.

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  • Trevor Mang
    August 17, 2010
    #11
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    I would say this will sell well, considering the pricing on it. thats a hell of an overclock.

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  • Lou
    August 17, 2010
    #12
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    Has to be the fastest 460 on the market, without question.

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  • Roy
    August 17, 2010
    #13
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    wonder when the 450 is out, that should be good if they use similar technology.

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  • Sam
    August 17, 2010
    #14
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    Good review. amazing what you can buy in 2010 compared to 2007, for the same money. I think I paid teh same for my crappy GTS250.

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  • Hard Not Floppy
    August 17, 2010
    #15
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    Zardon, this must have been hard to write you are such an ati fanboy :)

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  • Luke Morris
    August 17, 2010
    #16
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    Cant believe how small these cards are compared to the power they put out.

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  • Muffler
    August 17, 2010
    #17
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    Well my comment seemed to vanish weirdly, but ill try again. (hate this code system for entering responses btw!).

    Good review, but my main worry is with ATI releasing a new line soon this will be quickly outdated.

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  • SkyDiver
    August 17, 2010
    #18
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    Good review, enjoyed it. one question. how hot does it get?

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  • Tech Head
    August 17, 2010
    #19
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    SkyDiver there is a page on temperatures near the end, have a look properly and see :)

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  • Sniper Elite Headshot
    August 17, 2010
    #20
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    I think the MSI card you reviewed last week looks nicer. this is quite an ugly looking card.

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  • Garth
    August 17, 2010
    #21
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    We need new cards im bored of all these already ! ATi get the new series out !

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  • Freyo
    August 17, 2010
    #22
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    We need new ATI boards. the GTX460 is a great card but its really quite boring, we need new tech :) 480/470/465/460 —- snore.

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  • QueenNight
    August 17, 2010
    #23
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    Seems to be a really solid performer especially with such high overclocks. I wonder why they offer lifetime warranty in USA but only years in europe ?

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  • Yankie
    August 17, 2010
    #24
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    Just wanted to pop on and say nice site, found it today, bookmarked.

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  • Tomas
    August 17, 2010
    #25
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    Very good card from zotac, the fan looks very like the reference one.

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  • Bob Wang
    August 17, 2010
    #26
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    Here is the fastest GTX460 card out there:
    http://www.fudzilla.com/reviews/reviews/reviews/tgts-magic-makes-povs-gtx-460-the-fastest-gtx-u460-around

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  • Riyad
    August 17, 2010
    #27
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    if they got the card down to 200 inc vat it would dominate sales.

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  • Toby
    August 17, 2010
    #28
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    the biggest issue i have with zotac is supply. they are always very poor in the regions around me. need to order them in internationally.

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  • John
    August 17, 2010
    #29
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    Good photos, the card is very attractive looking, not often we see manufacturers making good looking cards. I like the sapphire hd5670 ultimate, something really impressive looking about it.

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  • Brad
    August 17, 2010
    #30
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    The last card I bought from zotac died and it took me 2 months to get it replaced. no thanks.

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  • Hank
    August 17, 2010
    #31
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    well balanced and quiet by design, seems like a good combination. temps look a bit high to me.

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