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A Closer Look at the NVIDIA GTX 460 A Closer Look at the NVIDIA GTX 460 After reviewing NVIDIA graphics cards for more than four years, we were a bit surprised by the general design used for the GTX 460 series of cards. Instead of the usual location of the fan at the rearmost portion of the card, this one uses a centrally mounted 75mm fan that pushes cool air directly onto a large heatsink. Otherwise, the exterior of the reference GTX 460 is pretty much standard with a full length black shroud.  Several times throughout the course of this article we have mentioned that the GTX 460 will be available in two denominations: 768MB and 1GB. Between the two cards, there is no way to tell one from the other other than the differences between each board partners’ packaging and product numbers.   The central fan on these cards is partially exposed since NVIDIA bevelled the shroud towards the center of the heatsink. Supposedly, this should allow the fan to access fresh airflow when it is placed close to a second card in an SLI configuration. It’s a brilliant idea in our books but we’re hoping everyone will realize that exposed fan blades can nip your fingers if you’re working in a case with the card running.   Since the GTX 460 is actually quite short, NVIDIA was able to place the two 6-pin power connectors on the back of the card without having to worry about any interference in standard ATX-sized cases. On the backplane, there are a pair of DVI outputs as well as a single mini DVI connector.  There really isn’t much unique about the rear PCB shot we have above other than the telltale and odd looking rectangular retention bracket which frames an equally unique looking core.   The GTX 460’s svelte 8 ¼” length means that it is one of the shortest cards available in its price bracket. Basically, it’s about the same length as a HD 5770. | ||||
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