Final thoughts, rating and HEXUS.right2reply
Whilst enthusiasts await the arrival of NVIDIA's GeForce 300-series architecture, the company's first 40nm retail parts act as a low-end precursor for what's to come.
However, albeit adequate for low-res, low-quality gaming, readers will be aware that NVIDIA's GeForce 210 and GeForce GT 220 are only on par with year-old, cheaper cards from AMD. Indeed, the Radeon HD 4670 takes the GT 220 to task in every game.
Where the cards do show some purpose is in the media or HTPC environment, where a decent choice of outputs, cool operation, low power consumption and the ongoing promise of CUDA acceleration combine to create a competitive all-round package that, albeit without bitstream support. It's a package that will appeal to OEMs - and pre-built systems are likely to be the area in which NVIDIA continues to sell the majority of these GPUs.
Looking specifically at the Inno3D GeForce GT 220, it's a stock-clocked card that currently remains one of the few GeForce GT 220 solutions priced at around £50. Despite the relatively cheap asking price, however, the card is notably noisy both when idle and under load, negating the requirements of most HTPC users. Shopping around, readers will find factory-overclocked cards with PWM-controlled coolers for an additional few pounds, and those who demand a near-silent computing experience may want to seek out passively-cooled alternatives.
For readers wanting a little more graphical grunt whilst keeping to a budget, it's worth noting that NVIDIA will be launching a 200-series mid-range card soon. The GeForce GT 240 aims to fill the gap between the reviewed card and the long-in-the-tooth GeForce 9600 GT.
HEXUS Rating
We consider any product score above '5/10' as a safe buy. The higher the score, the higher the recommendation from HEXUS to buy. Simple, straightforward buying advice.
The rating is given in relation to the category the component competes in, therefore Inno3D's GeForce GT 220 is evaluated with respect to our 'budget' criteria.
Inno3D GeForce GT 220
HEXUS Where2Buy
The Inno3D GeForce GT 220 graphics card can be ordered now from the following retailers:
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As always, UK-based HEXUS.community discussion forum members will benefit from the SCAN2HEXUS Free Shipping initiative, which will save you a further few pounds plus also top-notch, priority customer service and technical support backed up by the SCANcare@HEXUS forum. |
| TBC | |
| at a cost of £49.73 (DDR2 version) | |
HEXUS Right2Reply
At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.
