EVGA GeForce GTS 450 1GB FTW Single & SLI Review

If you have already read our main GTS 450 1GB review, you should be no stranger to how we feel about NVIDIA’s latest entry into more affordable waters. Basically, we found that it was a good little product being launched into a market segment where some competition was desperately needed. What stood out the most however was the card’s ability to perform some highly impressive overclocking acrobatics which garnered it significant performance gains.

In keeping with the overclocking-friendly nature of the GTS 450, EVGA will be launching a whole lineup of cards which cover every base from reference all the way up to products that carry mind-bending clock speeds. The usual SuperClocked and SSC models are there for the taking but there is one other which has been a rarity in recent months: the FTW (For the Win) Edition. It also happens to be the subject of this review.

This is the highest-end card in EVGA’s GTS 450 lineup and indeed the first FTW-branded GTX 400-series card that sports a standard heatsink design. Don’t expect it to come cheap though; at $150, the FTW flirts mid way between the price of a GTS 450 and the 768MB GTX 460 while equalling the cost of the ATI HD 5770. Its clock speeds on the other hand tend to tell a different story as it should take the title as the fastest GTS 450 available at launch.

For a GTS 450 1GB, there is no denying the FTW edition does cost quite a bit. However, it comes backed by EVGA’s truly excellent customer service and Trade Up program which give buyers piece of mind long after the initial purchase. However, for whatever reason EVGA decided to deck this card out with a meagre 2-year warranty. All in all, it should be interesting to see if this card is worth the price premium it demands.