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The Asus GTX550 Ultimate card we tested looks great, works well and was cool and quiet under pressure. We love the design of the DirectCU II cooler and the idea of buying a card off the shelf at more than 1GHz is very attractive. Unfortunately, when all of the initial love-fest is over, you're left with the actual performance against the other cards in the nVidia range.
It's so obviously better than the GTS450 and so obviously slower than the GTX460. On that basis, it has a position in the market – but the big problem is the price for the turbo-charged versions.
With a street price of £115 inc vat, the stock clocked Asus GTX550 Ti looks to be about £5 more than the Asus GTS450 TOP that we tested. While the performance delta is small in some games, you can get more than 10% in some titles. The memory interface is wider than with the GTS450 products and we know that the core has more potential than the 910MHz is ships with as standard.
It's worth saying that the GTX560 is a beast of a card which deserves its lead in every test. While we can call it cheap in comparison to the new top of the range models from AMD and nVidia, it's hard to see a gamer who is focused on value being drawn to the >£200 price point, except in passing.
KitGuru's conclusion is that the GTX460 is still nVidia's standard bearer in the £150 region (plus or minus £45) and it should be on the short list for any mid-range system being considered by an nVidia lover.
While Asus' Ultimate edition is both visually sexy and technically interesting – our top prize must go to the very competitively priced Asus GTX550 Ti. At £115 this is a bargain and no mistake. Many people will buy a single card to start with and then, maybe, consider upgrading to SLi at a later date. For that reason, we will be looking at GTX550 in SLi formation sometime in the future.
KitGuru says: For now, the £115 1GB Asus GTX550 Ti is a worthy winner and definitely recommended at this price point.
The £115 card seems like a good buy for the money. the other ones at 150 quid are just stupid.
Shortest Kitguru video card review yet. Zardon taking a break ?
Not sure im sold on these cards, the 460 seems better all round, still. even if its a few quid more.
most pointless nvidia release, evar.
Their pricing is wrong, the lower end model is good value, would like to see overclocking etc and power consumption results. very limited review.
I read a lot of reviews about this card, and while its the price I normally buy into, the card hasn’t got me excited at all. Im holding onto my 450 until the next generation.
Nice to see the slower version tested, thats quite a price difference
At 145 its a waste of money, but at 115 its viable. thats such a huge price difference, seems way out. at 115 its more competitive.