The Galaxy GeForce GT 430 graphics card, based on Fermi architecture, is a budget-friendly card priced at $79.99. However, the lack of GDDR5 memory is a bust, especially for gaming. This card is better suited for a home theater PC (HTPC), due to low power supply requirements and HDMI 1.4a support for 3D Blu-ray movies. If you're into playing World of Warcraft, this card can handle it with ease. But for gamers looking to play a variety of games, the 1GB ATI Radeon 5670 is a better bet. With price cuts and rebates, the Radeon 5670 costs about the same as the Galaxy GT 430 but offers 1GB of DDR5 memory.
Pros
- Low Price
- HDMI and DVI Ports
- Support for DirectX 11, NVIDIA PhysX, and NVIDIA CUDA
Cons
- Lower Performance In Graphic-Intensive Games
- Lack of DDR5 Memory
Description
- 700MHz Core Clock
- 800MHz Memory Clock
- 1400MHz Shader Clock
- 1GB DDR3 Memory
- 96 Stream Processors
- One HDMI, One DVI, and One VGA Port
Review - Galaxy GeForce GT 430 1GB DDR3 Graphics Card
The Galaxy GeForce GT 430 is designed for gamers on a budget looking for an affordable graphics card. Priced at $79.99 at e-tailers, the PCI-Express GT 430 offers 1GB of DDR3 memory, support for DirectX 11, and NVIDIA CUDA and PhysX technology.
Built using Fermi architecture, the Galaxy GT 430 also features a 700MHz core clock, 800MHz memory clock, 1400MHz shader clock, and 96 shaders. This card fits smaller cases and uses only one motherboard slot. Minimum system requirements include a 300 watt power supply, Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon XP processor, and 1GB of memory. This allows entry-level gamers to upgrade an older system with an affordable GPU.
After testing the Galaxy GeForce GT 430, it is apparent this card works best in light games, such as World of Warcraft, that aren't graphic-intensive. As far as benchmarks go, the Galaxy GT 430 scored a P4213 using the 3DMark Vantage utility on an Intel E8400 system with 8GB of DDR2 memory. The following benchmarks were achieved using the same E8400 desktop and Unigine Heaven Benchmark v2.1 tool. FPS stands for frames per second.
1280x1024 Resolution
- FPS - 13.4
- Scores - 337
- Minimum FPS - 8.9
- Maximum FPS - 32.3
1680x1050 Resolution
- FPS - 10.8
- Scores - 273
- Minimum FPS - 7.9
- Maximum FPS - 24.3
1920x1200 Resolution
- FPS - 9.1
- Scores - 229
- Minimum FPS - 6.7
- Maximum FPS - 19.2
As you can see, the card scores best at 1280x1024 resolution. The lower resolution paired with low settings within powerful games allows for usability, but the games will not be ultra smooth. A more advanced graphics card definitely offers better gameplay.
Overall, the Galaxy GeForce GT 430 is better used in an HTPC. If you're into light gaming but on a strict budget, the GT 430 will play new DirectX 11 games but with very low settings. The ATI Radeon 5570 is slightly better, but with recent price drops the Radeon 5670 can be purchased for the same cost as the GT 430 and offers improved gameplay and DDR5 graphics memory.