14 DAY TRIAL // After quite a few details about the GeForce GT 520 made their way to the Web, Nvidia has finally released its new entry-level graphics card into the wild and its specifications seem to confirm what the previous leaks have told us.
The GeForce GT 520 is based on the same GF119 core that Nvidia used for its GeForce GT 410M and 520M mobile offerings and it should replace the current GeForce GT 220.
As far as its specifications go, Nvidia's new solution is basically a cut in half version of the GF108 GPU and it packs 48 stream processors, 8 texturing units, 4ROP units as well as a 64-bit wide memory interface.
This can be connected to a maximum of 2GB of DDR3 video frame buffer which has a reference clock of 900MHz (1.8GHz data rate).
The core works at 810MHz and the shaders at 1620MHz, but, as is usually the case with entry-level GPUs, the operating frequencies may vary slightly depending on the implementation.
Nvidia rates the TDP of the GT 520 at 29W when the card is fully loaded and its idle power consumption is expected to sit around the 10W mark.
Just like all the other Nvidia entry-level graphics cards, the GT 520 can support DVI, D-Sub and HDMI 1.4a video outputs and power is provided via the PCI Express slot.
Right now it's pretty difficult to get an idea about the performance of the GT 520 as reviews are scarce, but a previously leaked 3DMark result suggested that the card is about 30% faster than the Intel HD 3000 GPU used by Sandy Bridge processors.
Company's such as Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, Sparkle, PNY and Zotac have already announced graphics card models based on the GT 520 and pricing seems to be set around the $60 mark.