Review: NVIDIA (eVGA) GeForce GTS 250 1GB: much ado about nothing? - Graphics - HEXUS.net

System setup and notes

Graphics cards	eVGA GeForce GTS 250 SC 1,024MB	Scan GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB	Inno3D GeForce GTX 260 896MB	ASUS Radeon HD 4850 512MB	Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 512MB	XFX Radeon HD 4870 XXX 1,024MB
Current pricing, including VAT	£139 (estimated)	£114.99	£215.51	£112.99	£149.49	£213.32
Shader model	4.0	4.0	4.0	4.1	4.1	4.1
Stream processors	128	128	216	800	800	800
GPU clock speed (MHz)	770	738	576	625	750	775
Shader clock speed (MHz)	1,890	1,836	1,242	625	750	775
Memory clock speed (MHz)	2,246	2,200	1,998	1,986	3,600	3,800
Memory bus width (bits)	256	256	448	256	256	256
CPU	Intel Core i7 965 Extreme Edition (3.2GHz, 8MB L3 cache, quad-core, LGA1366)
Motherboard	Foxconn Bloodrage X58
Motherboard BIOS	P04
Mainboard software	Intel Inf 9.1.0.1012
Memory	6GB Corsair DOMINATOR PC12,800
Memory timings and speed	9-9-9-24 1T @ DDR3-1,333
PSU	Cooler Master Real Power Pro 1,000W
Monitor	Dell 30in 3007WFP - 2,560x1,600px
Disk drive(s)	Seagate 500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 (3Gb/s mode)
Graphics driver	ForceWare 182.06 (non-WHQL)	ForceWare 182.06	ForceWare 182.06	Catalyst 9.2	Catalyst 9.2	Catalyst 9.2
Operating system	Windows Vista Business SP1, 64-bit

Software

3D Benchmarks	Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare v1.7, HEXUS custom-recorded benchmark: DX9 - very high quality Company Of Heroes: Opposing Fronts v2.103: DX10 - very high quality Enemy Territory: Quake Wars v1.5, HEXUS custom-recorded benchmark. OpenGL - very high quality Far Cry 2 v1.01 - very high quality Race Driver: GRID v1.2, HEXUS custom-recorded benchmark - ultra quality

Notes

The transition to a Core i7 platform is finally complete. We have a total of five comparison cards, ranging from the GeForce 9800 GTX+ through to a GeForce GTX 260, costing almost twice as much. From the red team there's the £113 ASUS Radeon HD 4850 512MB, the now-price-reduced Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 512MB for under £150, and, matching the 1GB frame-buffer on the eVGA card, a pre-overclocked Radeon HD 4870 1GB card from XFX. Bear in mind that a stock-clocked version can be purchased for £178 now.