GT220? Isn’t this supposed to be an OEM product? Well it was, now it isn’t.

The GT220 cards would be more accessible in time to come, after all nVidia just launched the card today (Yes, you can use uncle Google and see there’s plenty of news on this).

The Appearance

It is a very simple card but I must say I really like the non-reference cooler. The card is short and uses only 1 PCI-E slot, no power connector required.

The unique copper/aluminium hybrid cooler design also features a PWM controlled fan, which automatically adjusts its fan speed in accordance to the GPU temperature.

The card also comes with HDMI, DVI and VGA output.

The Bundle

- The card
- Installation CD and guide

Card Details

Here’s a summarized detail of the card.

Based on the GT220 page at nVidia the GPU / Memory / Shader clocks are 615 MHz / 790 Mhz / 1335 Mhz but the unit with us the OC Edition, running at 660 Mhz / 800 Mhz / 1436 Mhz

Test Setup

The computer setup used for this review.

Processor	Intel Xeon X3320 @ 3.0ghz
RAM	Kingston HyperX 4GB Dual-channel Kit
Motherboard	Jetway X-Blue P45
Cooler	Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme
Monitor	20″ Dell Ultra-sharp Wide-screen LCD
Power Supply	Gigabyte Odin GT 550w
Operating System	Windows Vista Home Basic 32bit
Driver Version	Forceware 190.45

The Performance

I’m comparing this card to the Galaxy GeForce 9600GT Low Power Low Profile. It should give a good idea on how this card performs.

Basically these 2 are in between the actual GT220 and 9600GT. As seen in the details given earlier, this GT220 is the overclocked version while the 9600GT LP LP is the downclocked version.

This time around, I’ve decided to do 2 form of benchmark for this card. First one is the usual setup while the 2nd run has the details set lower.

World In Conflict

Graphic Detail : Maximum @ 1680×1050

Card	Average
Galaxy Geforce GT220	13
Galaxy Geforce GT220 (0x AA / AF)	23
Galaxy Geforce 9600GT	22

We see a huge performance boost just by turning AA / AF off.

Company Of Heroes : Opposing Fronts

Graphic Detail : Maximum @ 1680×1050

Card	Average
Galaxy Geforce GT220	21.2
Galaxy Geforce GT220 (0x AA)	22.5
Galaxy Geforce 9600GT	26.7

Looks like AA didn’t matter at all, this means the game is playable with this card with other details turned lower.

Lost Planet : Extreme Condition

Graphic Detail : Maximum at 1680 x 946

Card	Snow (Average)	Cave (Average)
Galaxy Geforce GT220	17.6	25.2
Galaxy Geforce GT220 (0x AA / Bilinear AF)	22.6	30.8
Galaxy Geforce 9600GT	31.2	43.4

Crysis

Graphic Detail : Maximum @ 1680×1050

Card	Average
Galaxy Geforce GT220	5.24
Galaxy Geforce GT220 (0x AA, Medium)	22.45
Galaxy Geforce 9600GT	6.85

Crysis’ game setting was very convenient, so setting them to MEDIUM was a breeze. I think games should allow us to save setting profiles for easier benching.

H.A.W.X.

Graphic Detail : Maximum @ 1680×1050

Card	Average
Galaxy Geforce GT220	15
Galaxy Geforce GT220 (0x AA)	19
Galaxy Geforce GT220 DX10.1	17
Galaxy Geforce GT220 DX10.1 (0x AA)	19
Galaxy Geforce 9600GT	29

While disabling AA didn’t help much, It’s interesting to see that the DX 10.1 mode does affect the framerate a little.

Furmark

Graphic Detail : Maximum @ 1680×1050

Card	Average
Galaxy Geforce GT220	12
Galaxy Geforce 9600GT	14

Operating Temperature

Furmark was used for graphic card stressing.

Card	Idle (°C)	Load (°C)	Stress (°C)
Galaxy Geforce GT220	34	52	61
Galaxy Geforce 9600GT	45	60	73

Readings were taken when ambient temperature was around 23°C.

- Load, Furmark was run for 1 minute at 1680×1050 with 4xAA.
- Stress, Furmark was run under the Stress Test mode for 5 minutes.

Power Consumption

Please note that the numbers below indicate the wattage for the entire system, not the graphic card alone.

System Power Consumption	Idle (w)	Load (w)
Galaxy Geforce GT220	43	93
Galaxy Geforce 9600GT	42	93

Readings taken using Gigabyte’s P-Tuner software.

Conclusion

Unfortunately I do not have the pricing with me at the moment but I certainly will update the site within the day or 2.

Now as to the card itself, it’s quite alright actually. Ideally the card is great for anything below 1680×1050 with medium details and no AA.

Oh and remember that there are DDR2 versions as well. This is DDR3.

UPDATED : Price is to be around RM 300, now I think that’s really bad for the card as it doesn’t measure up in price:performance compared to the HD4670 cards that are usually priced around RM 280 and performs better. Maybe you can consider GT220 if you want something low-powered from the GREEN side and does better in folding@home but budget gaming wise, I’d say HD4670 it is. DX10.1 doesn’t do any good at this level.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 12th, 2009 at 12:01 am and is filed under Graphic Cards, Hardware Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.