System setup and notes
| Graphics cards | Inno3D
GeForce GT 220 (1,024MB, GDDR3) |
Sapphire
Radeon HD 4670 (512MB, GDDR3) |
Sapphire
Radeon HD 4650 (512MB, GDDR3) |
Radeon
HD 4200 IGP (256MB+128MB DDR3 SidePort) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current pricing, including VAT | £53 | £53 | £43.27 | N/A |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX10.1, 4.1 | DX10.1, 4.1 | DX10.1, 4.1 | DX10.1, 4.1 |
| Stream processors | 48 | 320 | 320 | 40 |
| GPU clock | 625MHz | 750MHz | 600MHz | 500MHz |
| Shader clock | 1,360MHz | 750MHz | 600MHz | 500MHz |
| Memory clock (effective) | 1,580MHz | 2,000MHz | 1,400MHz | 500MHz / 1,333MHz |
| Memory bus width (bits) | 128-bit | 128-bit | 128-bit | |
| CPU | AMD Athlon II X3 435 (2.90GHz, 1.5MB L2 cache, tri-core, AM3) | |||
| Motherboard | GIGABYTE GA-MA785GPMT-UD2H (AMD 785G + SB710 chipset) | |||
| Motherboard BIOS | F3 | |||
| Memory | 4GB Corsair XMS3 DHX PC3-10666 | |||
| Memory timings and speed | 9-9-9-24 2T @ DDR3-1,333 | |||
| PSU | Corsair CX400W | |||
| Monitor | Dell 2405FPW Widescreen 24in TFT | |||
| Disk drive(s) | Seagate 1TB Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 (3Gb/s mode) | |||
| Graphics driver | ForceWare 191.07 | Catalyst 9.10 | Catalyst 9.10 | Catalyst 9.10 |
| Operating system | Windows 7 Ultimate, 64-bit | |||
Software
| 3D benchmarks | Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X
v1.2, internal benchmark: DX10/10.1, low quality Enemy Territory: Quake Wars v1.5, HEXUS custom-recorded benchmark. OpenGL, low quality Far Cry 2 v1.03, low quality |
|---|---|
| General benchmarks | CPU usage during 1080p
Blu-ray playback using Cyberlink PowerDVD 9 Power draw Temperature readings |
Notes
Given its current retail pricing, NVIDIA's GeForce GT 220 finds itself pitted against AMD's Radeon HD 4670 and 4650. In keeping with the low-end nature of the cards, 3D benchmarks are conducted at 1,280x1,024 and 1,680x1,050.
To see if the cards are a worthy low-cost upgrade, we also compare performance with an integrated graphics solution - the Radeon HD 4200 IGP on a GIGABYTE 785G motherboard.