Power Consumption and Conclusions
All of that overclocking definitely costs us on the power side – the MSI HAWK card uses about 50+ watts more power than the reference card running at 675 MHz core and nearly as much as the higher end GeForce GTX 470.
Performance
Obviously the MSI GeForce GTX 460 1GB HAWK card stands out from a lot of the other GTX 460 cards for a lot of reasons. Performance is definitely on the top of that list. Out of the box the card will run at 780 MHz, well over the stock speed, and the card is built to go much higher than that with some really simple software adjustments.
In our testing, as we saw with our previous overclocked GTX 460 review, the MSI HAWK card easily outpaced the reference design and was nearly up to the level of the GF100-based GTX 470 cards in all of our benchmarks except Metro 2033. For current games that is great news but it might actually be more indicative of future gaming performance in titles like HAWX 2, Lost Planet 2, etc than we would like. We’ll know soon enough.
Features
The MSI GeForce GTX 460 HAWK is really a card with features at every turn including an improved circuitry design, a custom cooler that is both quieter and more efficient not to mention being overclocked right out of the box. But the “Military Class” components are built for a lot more than that and the headroom we found on this card was incredible – I easily reached 910+ MHz on the core clock speed without so much as a hiccup. With a little TLC, this card could definitely go further.
Of course, with the MSI card you have access to the amazing MSI Afterburner software that allows to change the voltages, clock speeds and set profiles that you can easily access depending on your current task. Overall, MSI has created a great total package.
Pricing and Availability
The MSI GeForce GTX 460 1GB HAWK is currently selling for $229 BEFORE another $20 mail-in rebate. In my view that is a STEAL for a card of this quality and with this feature set. Even the cheapest GTX 470 is going to run you about $280+ and other, much more basic GTX 460 cards are going for the $200-210 range, again pointing out the value in this price.
Final Thoughts
Final Thoughts
The MSI GeForce GTX 460 HAWK is one of the best GF104 cards we have seen and thanks to a complement of overclocking hardware and software features, a high quality board design, custom cooler and overclocked frequencies this is one graphics card that should get any budget PC gamers’ attention.
Thoughts and opinions on the MSI GTX 460 HAWK card or our review? Let us know in the PC Perspective Forums!
MSI GeForce GTX 460 1GB HAWK
Thoughts and opinions on the MSI GTX 460 HAWK card or our review? Let us know in the PC Perspective Forums!
