NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 3
NVIDIA graphics card specifications and benchmark scores
At a Glance
NVIDIANVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 3 Specifications
GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 3 GPU Core
Shader units and compute resources
The NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 3 GPU core specifications define its raw processing power for graphics and compute workloads. Shading units (also called CUDA cores, stream processors, or execution units depending on manufacturer) handle the parallel calculations required for rendering. TMUs (Texture Mapping Units) process texture data, while ROPs (Render Output Units) handle final pixel output. Higher shader counts generally translate to better GPU benchmark performance, especially in demanding games and 3D applications.
GTS 450 Rev. 3 Clock Speeds
GPU and memory frequencies
Clock speeds directly impact the GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 3's performance in GPU benchmarks and real-world gaming. The base clock represents the minimum guaranteed frequency, while the boost clock indicates peak performance under optimal thermal conditions. Memory clock speed affects texture loading and frame buffer operations. The GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 3 by NVIDIA dynamically adjusts frequencies based on workload, temperature, and power limits to maximize performance while maintaining stability.
NVIDIA's GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 3 Memory
VRAM capacity and bandwidth
VRAM (Video RAM) is dedicated memory for storing textures, frame buffers, and shader data. The GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 3's memory capacity determines how well it handles high-resolution textures and multiple displays. Memory bandwidth, measured in GB/s, affects how quickly data moves between the GPU and VRAM. Higher bandwidth improves performance in memory-intensive scenarios like 4K gaming. The memory bus width and type (GDDR6, GDDR6X, HBM) significantly influence overall GPU benchmark scores.
GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 3 by NVIDIA Cache
On-chip cache hierarchy
On-chip cache provides ultra-fast data access for the GTS 450 Rev. 3, reducing the need to fetch data from slower VRAM. L1 and L2 caches store frequently accessed data close to the compute units. AMD's Infinity Cache (L3) dramatically increases effective bandwidth, improving GPU benchmark performance without requiring wider memory buses. Larger cache sizes help maintain high frame rates in memory-bound scenarios and reduce power consumption by minimizing VRAM accesses.
GTS 450 Rev. 3 Theoretical Performance
Compute and fill rates
Theoretical performance metrics provide a baseline for comparing the NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 3 against other graphics cards. FP32 (single-precision) performance, measured in TFLOPS, indicates compute capability for gaming and general GPU workloads. FP64 (double-precision) matters for scientific computing. Pixel and texture fill rates determine how quickly the GPU can render complex scenes. While real-world GPU benchmark results depend on many factors, these specifications help predict relative performance levels.
Fermi 2.0 Architecture & Process
Manufacturing and design details
The NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 3 is built on NVIDIA's Fermi 2.0 architecture, which defines how the GPU processes graphics and compute workloads. The manufacturing process node affects power efficiency, thermal characteristics, and maximum clock speeds. Smaller process nodes pack more transistors into the same die area, enabling higher performance per watt. Understanding the architecture helps predict how the GTS 450 Rev. 3 will perform in GPU benchmarks compared to previous generations.
NVIDIA's GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 3 Power & Thermal
TDP and power requirements
Power specifications for the NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 3 determine PSU requirements and thermal management needs. TDP (Thermal Design Power) indicates the heat output under typical loads, guiding cooler selection. Power connector requirements ensure adequate power delivery for stable operation during demanding GPU benchmarks. The suggested PSU wattage accounts for the entire system, not just the graphics card. Efficient power delivery enables the GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 3 to maintain boost clocks without throttling.
GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 3 by NVIDIA Physical & Connectivity
Dimensions and outputs
Physical dimensions of the NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 3 are critical for case compatibility. Card length, height, and slot width determine whether it fits in your chassis. The PCIe interface version affects bandwidth for communication with the CPU. Display outputs define monitor connectivity options, with modern cards supporting multiple high-resolution displays simultaneously. Verify these specifications against your case and motherboard before purchasing to ensure a proper fit.
NVIDIA API Support
Graphics and compute APIs
API support determines which games and applications can fully utilize the NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 3. DirectX 12 Ultimate enables advanced features like ray tracing and variable rate shading. Vulkan provides cross-platform graphics capabilities with low-level hardware access. OpenGL remains important for professional applications and older games. CUDA (NVIDIA) and OpenCL enable GPU compute for video editing, 3D rendering, and scientific applications. Higher API versions unlock newer graphical features in GPU benchmarks and games.
GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 3 Product Information
Release and pricing details
The NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 3 is manufactured by NVIDIA as part of their graphics card lineup. Release date and launch pricing provide context for comparing GPU benchmark results with competing products from the same era. Understanding the product lifecycle helps evaluate whether the GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 3 by NVIDIA represents good value at current market prices. Predecessor and successor information aids in tracking generational improvements and planning future upgrades.
GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 3 Benchmark Scores
No benchmark data available for this GPU.
About NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 3
Who Should Consider It
The NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 3 is an end-of-life graphics card built on the Fermi 2.0 architecture, targeting the entry-level segment of its generation. With a 50th percentile ranking against all GPUs in the benchmark database, this card sits squarely in the middle of the pack historically, but that positioning is deceptive given the age of the underlying silicon. The GTS 450 Rev. 3 is best suited for users running legacy applications, older DirectX 11 titles, or esports games from its release era. The card's 1024 MB of DDR3 memory and 128-bit bus width mean that modern games at 1080p with high-resolution textures will quickly exhaust its frame buffer, making it a poor choice for contemporary AAA releases.
Benchmark data shows no average score recorded, and with zero entries in the nearest rivals field, the card's relative standing must be inferred from its architectural features and raw compute specifications. The 144 shading units and 451.0 GFLOPS of FP32 performance place it in a class that can handle 720p gaming at medium settings in titles optimized for older hardware, but the lack of modern feature support makes it unsuitable for 1440p or 4K workloads. For users with a 300 W power supply and a PCIe 2.0 x16 slot, the GTS 450 Rev. 3 remains a functional stopgap for basic desktop use, legacy gaming, or as a diagnostic card. However, the 106 W TDP and dual-slot cooler with two 6-pin power connectors indicate this is not a low-power solution by today's standards.
Ray Tracing and Feature Set
The GTS 450 Rev. 3 does not include dedicated ray tracing cores or tensor cores, as those technologies were introduced in later NVIDIA architectures. This card relies entirely on the Fermi 2.0 compute units for all rendering tasks, which means hardware-accelerated ray tracing is completely absent. Software-based ray tracing in modern titles would be impractical given the 451.0 GFLOPS of FP32 throughput, as the card would struggle to maintain playable frame rates even at reduced resolutions. The API support includes DirectX 12 with a feature level of 11_0, which provides basic compatibility with modern titles but lacks the advanced features like mesh shaders or variable rate shading that require newer hardware. OpenGL 4.6 support is present, offering broad compatibility with legacy applications and open-source drivers.
The display outputs consist of two DVI ports and one mini-HDMI 1.3a connector, which limits connectivity options for modern monitors. The mini-HDMI 1.3a standard supports 1080p output but lacks the bandwidth for higher refresh rates or 4K resolutions that newer HDMI versions provide. The absence of Vulkan API support is notable, as many modern titles and emulators rely on Vulkan for efficient multi-threaded rendering. The feature set is clearly dated, and the card's PCIe 2.0 x16 interface, while physically compatible with modern motherboards, offers half the bandwidth of PCIe 4.0 or 5.0 slots, potentially bottlenecking data transfers in memory-intensive workloads.
Memory Subsystem
The memory subsystem of the GTS 450 Rev. 3 consists of 1024 MB of DDR3 memory operating at a 128-bit bus width, yielding a total bandwidth of 22.40 GB/s. The memory clock is set at 700 MHz, or 1400 Mbps effective, which is conservative even for the DDR3 era. This bandwidth figure is the critical bottleneck for the card's performance, as the 144 shading units and 16 ROPs are capable of generating data faster than the memory can feed them. At 1080p resolution, the 1024 MB frame buffer is sufficient for older games with modest texture sizes, but any title requiring more than 1 GB of video memory will cause the card to spill over into system RAM, resulting in severe stuttering and frame drops.
The 22.40 GB/s bandwidth translates to a pixel fill rate of 4.698 GPixel/s and a texture fill rate of 18.79 GTexel/s. For high-resolution gaming, this memory subsystem is inadequate; the card would need at least double the bandwidth to maintain consistent frame pacing at 1440p. The 128-bit bus width, while standard for the entry-level segment at the time, limits the card's ability to scale with increasing resolution demands. The 16 ROPs are also a constraining factor, as they determine the card's ability to write final pixel data to the frame buffer, and 16 ROPs paired with 22.40 GB/s bandwidth create a system that is balanced only for 720p or 1366x768 gaming.
How It Compares
The nearest rivals list for the GTS 450 Rev. 3 is empty, which means the benchmark database has not identified any comparable GPUs with sufficient data to establish a competitive ranking. This absence is telling, as it suggests the card's performance profile is either too weak or too old to be meaningfully compared against modern entries in the database. Without rival data, the card's 50th percentile ranking against all GPUs must be interpreted with caution; this percentile likely reflects the historical distribution of all GPUs ever benchmarked, where the GTS 450 Rev. 3 falls in the middle due to the sheer number of older, weaker cards that have been recorded over time.
In the absence of direct rivals, the card's position can be inferred from its raw specifications. The 451.0 GFLOPS of FP32 performance is roughly a quarter of what a mid-range card from five years later would offer, and the 22.40 GB/s bandwidth is less than a tenth of what modern entry-level cards provide. The 1,170 million transistors on a 238 mm² die at 40 nm process node represent a transistor density of 4.9 million per square millimeter, which is minuscule compared to modern chips. The card's predecessor, the GeForce 200 series, and its successor, the GeForce 500 series, bracket its position in NVIDIA's product stack, but without specific benchmark scores for those cards, direct numerical comparison is impossible.
Benchmark Performance
The benchmark performance section is notable for its absence of data: the avgBenchmarkScore is 0, and the benchmarks array is empty. This zero score does not indicate that the card fails to render anything; rather, it reflects that no standardized benchmark results have been recorded in the database for this specific revision of the GTS 450. The "Rev. 3" designation suggests this is a later revision of the original GTS 450, potentially with different memory or clock configurations, but the fact pack provides no clock speeds for the core, only memory clocks. The lack of benchmark data makes it impossible to provide the exact percentage deltas required for a thorough comparative analysis.
What can be quantified is the card's theoretical peak performance: 451.0 GFLOPS of FP32, 18.79 GTexel/s of texture fill rate, and 4.698 GPixel/s of pixel fill rate. These figures, when compared to the 50th percentile ranking, suggest that the card outperforms the bottom 50% of all GPUs ever tested, which includes many integrated graphics solutions and very early discrete cards. However, the absence of nearest rivals means that no deltaPct values exist to express how far ahead or behind the card is relative to its closest competitors. The 106 W TDP and dual-slot cooler suggest a card that was designed to be a mid-range performer in its day, but without benchmark scores, any claim about real-world frame rates would be speculation. The data clearly indicates a card that is end-of-life, with production status confirmed as discontinued, and any prospective user should approach it with expectations calibrated to its 2012 release date rather than modern performance standards.
The AMD Equivalent of GeForce GTS 450 Rev. 3
Looking for a similar graphics card from AMD? The AMD Radeon RX 480 offers comparable performance and features in the AMD lineup.
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