14 DAY TRIAL // Apparently, NVIDIA has decided that it is time for the unveiling of a new graphics adapter, namely a modified version of the GeForce GTX 460, which has a different number of CUDA cores and modified frequencies.
It seems that the Santa Clara, California-based video card maker is aiming for the same performance level as its original incarnations, and/or the mainstream market directly below it.
In other words, this new board, dubbed GeForce GTX 460 SE, is overall weaker than its original incarnation.
One thing is that it has a lower number of CUDA cores, 288 instead of 336 to be exact, while also sporting lower clock speeds.
For one, the GF104 graphics processing unit (GPU) is operating at 650 MHz, which is less than the 675 MHz of the other one's stock version.
Additionally, the shaders settle for a clock speed of 1,300 MHz, basically 50 MHz lower than the card's original counterpart.
Furthermore, the 1 GB of GDDR5 VRAM is set to function at 3,400 MHz instead of 3,600, though it retains the interface of 256 bits.
The rest of the feature set is mostly unchanged, at least according to the leak that actually revealed the approach of this graphics card.
All in all, since the GTS 450 is able to cope with most games at their high settings, this new iteration of an even stronger card should not have any problems in gaming scenarios.
There is 2-way SLI support, for multi-GPU configurations and multiple video output options, including dual-DVI and HDMI ports.
According to the aforementioned report, this toned down version of the GTX 460 video controller will be unleashed on November 15.
Unfortunately, there is, at this time, no sort of information on the exact price it will bear, although speculations may suggest a tag possibly on par with that of the original GTX 460 with 768 MB of memory ($199.99).