We've been impressed with Gigabyte's NVIDIA-based GeForce 400-series cards. Indeed, the GTX 460 SOC is our favourite mid-range card of the moment, mixing super-overclocked frequencies with whisper-quiet operation.
As you may know, NVIDIA quietly rolled out the GeForce GTX 460 SE a short while back. It reduces the CUDA cores from 336 to 288 and knocks-down core/memory frequencies from 675MHz/3,600MHz to 650MHz/3,400MHz when compared to the regular GTX 460. Importantly for NVIDIA and its partners, the cheaper card keeps the 256-bit interface and 1GB framebuffer found on the better-performing GF104 card.
Gigabyte takes advantage of the cheaper GTX 460 variant and slaps its impressive WindForce 2X cooler on top of a custom PCB that looks very much like the one used on the full-fat GTX 460.
The GTX 460 SE cranks up the core frequency to a healthy 740MHz but keeps the memory at a reference-matching 3,400MHz, though we're sure it could be coaxed higher with a little overclocking.
A couple of dual-link DVI and HDMI outputs are standard for the model, and we think it will succeed if price at, say, £125 on launch.
