Reference and Galaxy Overclocked cards
The GeForce GTS 450 1GB card looks very much like the GTX 460 and is pretty basic in terms of design and cooler configuration. 

Galaxy NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 1GB Review - Fermi goes lower, again - Graphics Cards 109

Galaxy NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 1GB Review - Fermi goes lower, again - Graphics Cards 110
 
Galaxy NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 1GB Review - Fermi goes lower, again - Graphics Cards 111

Galaxy NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 1GB Review - Fermi goes lower, again - Graphics Cards 112

The cards will only require a single 6-pin PCIe power connection which is good news for those gamers with cheaper power supplies. 

Galaxy NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 1GB Review - Fermi goes lower, again - Graphics Cards 113

The reference card connections include a pair of dual-link DVI ports and a mini-HDMI though we are still only able to connect two displays simultaneously. 

Galaxy NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 1GB Review - Fermi goes lower, again - Graphics Cards 114

The bare card shows us just how little board design there is on the GF106-based parts compared to the higher end cards that require much more power regulation, etc.

Galaxy NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 1GB Review - Fermi goes lower, again - Graphics Cards 115

Even the heatsink for the GTS 450 is small and the shroud that covers it greatly exaggerates its size and weight. 

Galaxy NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 1GB Review - Fermi goes lower, again - Graphics Cards 116

The only retail sample we received early enough to do testing with (planned vacations and unplanned GPU releases never work out well) was the Galaxy GeForce GTS 450 Super OC model that, as the name implies, runs at higher than standard speeds. 

Galaxy NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 1GB Review - Fermi goes lower, again - Graphics Cards 117

Galaxy continues with the feature of the removable fan for their cooler design with the low cost cards.

Galaxy NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 1GB Review - Fermi goes lower, again - Graphics Cards 118

The connectivity options include a full size HDMI port, VGA output and one dual-link DVI connection.  Based on the price and the consumer that is usually buying this level of graphics card I think Galaxy’s design makes more sense than NVIDIA’s reference.

Now, let’s take a look at the Galaxy card’s speeds and get started on those tests!

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