Zotac GTX 465 Review: Full-on, affordable Fermi?

Choosing the right hardware for a test like this is not easy. There is a strong school of argument that every card should be tested on our Core i7 980 Extreme Rig, but that’s not likely to be the kind of configuration which the GTX 465 will find itself placed into.

KitGuru feels comfortable testing GTX 465 in a system which a larger number of users might choose. Processor power will come from Intel’s multi-award winning Core i7 875K processor sitting on Intel’s capable DP55WG motherboard. CPU cooling comes from the Noctua NH D14 and we’ve assembled the system into our Silverstone Raven 02. Special thanks goes to Crucial for sending over 4GB of Ballistix Tracer.

As the GTX 465 is aimed at the mid sector audience there is no point testing games with our LaCie LED reference 30 inch panel which costs almost £2,000 … double the cost of the rest of the system. Statistics show that less than 1 percent of the enthusiast audience use a 30 inch screen and those who do will be aiming higher than a GTX 465, possibly a GTX 480 or BE HD5870– be sure to check out our reviews. We will be using the fantastic Dell Ultrasharp U2410 monitor as well as a Panasonic Viera 600hz 1080p Plasma TV for our results today … many people buying a GTX 465 will also be gaming in a 1080p living room environment.

GTX 465 will be pitted against two reference cards from AMD, the Radeon HD 5830 and 5850. From what we understand, nVidia wants to line the GTX 465 against the 5830, but the actual line up will depend on street pricing. Last week, KitGuru heard that the GTX 465 will retail around £255 inc vat in the UK. At that price point, GTX 465 will be lap dancing in the 5850’s groin space. Not easy. If a £40 price drop happens in the next few weeks, then it will dance into the much softer 5830 space. We’ll watch these price points and let you know!

Zotac GTX465 Graphics Card
AMD Reference 5850 Graphics Card
AMD Reference 5830 Graphics Card
Dell U2410 Monitor
Panasonic 42 inch Viera 600hz Plasma Television
Intel Core i7 875K Processor
Intel DP55WG Motherboard
Crucial 2x2gb (4gb) Ballistix Tracer Memory – running at 1600mhz
Coolermaster 700W PSU
Intel 160GB SSD Drive
2x500GB Western Digital Hard Drives in Raid 0
Silverstone Raven 02 Chassis

Windows 7 64 Bit Ultimate Edition
Valve Steam Client
Catalyst 10.5 Driver
Forceware 257.15 Driver
Fraps Professional
Metro 2033
Alien V Predator
Far Cry 2
Resident Evil 5
Tom Clancy H.A.W.X.
Grand Theft Auto 4: Episodes from Liberty City
Left 4 Dead 2
Crysis Warhead
Unigine Heaven Benchmark 2.1

Thermal Diodes
Digital Sound Level Noise Decibel Meter Style 2
Raytek Laser Temp Gun 3i LSRC/MT4 Mini Temp

The system was built from scratch and all drivers, firmwares and software was updated – all our results are gathered from five individual runs to analyze and remove any possible result abnormalities. We try to mix and match games between reviews to keep it interesting for regular readers – no one wants to see the same four or five games benchmarked every week.

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