NVidia GT620 (am I wrong to be dissappointed?)

richard_hawkes · 12 Oct 2012 at 17:28

Hey guys,

Wow. I purchased an NVidia GeForce GT 620 to replace an "old" GeForce 9600s. I hadn't expected miracles, but as far as I can tell, it's absolutely no better at all. The specs suggest a much better clocks speed, more cores etc etc, but I'm not seeing that. I'm using Borderlands 2 as my benchmark, and I'm barely squeezing 20fps at the lowest settings.

Now like I say, I did only pay £40 for it (which might have been a tenner too much looking around), but still, am I missing something? Do these games also come down to the CPU as well? I have the Intel Q8200 (quad core). Again, old-ish, but no slouch really and I don't see it being particularly challenged according to the task manager.

So should I send it back and pay (say) another £40 for something more reasonable, or am I doomed from the start with my 4GB Q8200 Windows 7 pc?

Yours hopefully...
Richard

Martini1991 · 12 Oct 2012 at 17:32

It's not meant for gaming in the slightest, I wouldn't be surprised if the 9600s was faster.
Also, unless I'm mistaken, due to Nvidia's architectural change, the shaders they used to count previously do more than the ones now (Ergo, the 512 shader GTX580 against a 512 shader part from the 6XX series would have the 580 being vastly better)

spixelspixel · 12 Oct 2012 at 17:38

You want at least a 7750 or equivalent, 620 is not for gaming really, just a general usage graphics cards.

Redmint · 12 Oct 2012 at 17:38

<£40 cards really aren't designed for gaming, the only way you're going to get a 'gaming' card for £40 is buying 2nd hand. This is about the lowest spec card I'd think of doing any gaming on: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-257-AS&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1983 but realistically you're looking at £85+ cards for gaming.

richard_hawkes · 12 Oct 2012 at 17:43

You guys rock. Thank you for the speedy replies. I shall hopefully be getting this replaced then (assuming they let me seeing as it's been unboxed. Man, why do NVidia make their specs so damn confusing? Perhaps it's cos' I is an idiot?

PapaLazaru · 12 Oct 2012 at 17:45

The game cost nearly as much as the card what did you expect?

spoffle · 12 Oct 2012 at 17:48

How long have you had it? You'll have the distance selling regulations covering you request a return within 7 working days.

spoffle · 12 Oct 2012 at 17:48

PapaLazaru said:
The game cost nearly as much as the card what did you expect?

£20 is nearly £40?! :eek:

Tonester0011 · 12 Oct 2012 at 17:50

spoffle said:
£20 is nearly £40?!

YES!

Defy Belief · 12 Oct 2012 at 17:53

They aren't made for gaming....

So you read the clock speeds but you didn't read: "NVIDIA GeForce GT 600-series graphics cards deliver premium multimedia performance-every time. Trust NVIDIA GeForce GT 630, 620, and 610 dedicated graphics for a faster, more immersive experience in your favorite applications."

spixelspixel · 12 Oct 2012 at 17:56

Defy Belief said:
They aren't made for gaming....

So you read the clock speeds but you didn't read: "NVIDIA GeForce GT 600-series graphics cards deliver premium multimedia performance-every time. Trust NVIDIA GeForce GT 630, 620, and 610 dedicated graphics for a faster, more immersive experience in your favorite applications."

borderlands 2 is an application!

spoffle · 12 Oct 2012 at 18:05

Defy Belief said:
They aren't made for gaming....

So you read the clock speeds but you didn't read: "NVIDIA GeForce GT 600-series graphics cards deliver premium multimedia performance-every time. Trust NVIDIA GeForce GT 630, 620, and 610 dedicated graphics for a faster, more immersive experience in your favorite applications."

Multimedia covers games, and realistically there aren't many "mainstream" applications you'd expect a graphics card to be delivering "a faster, more immersive experience in your favorite applications" outside of games.

In fact that pretty much says games without saying the actual word. There's absolutely nothing premium about it either, but that whole blurb really is implying game usage.

richard_hawkes · 12 Oct 2012 at 18:51

Too right!

spoffle said:
In fact that pretty much says games without saying the actual word. There's absolutely nothing premium about it either, but that whole blurb really is implying game usage.

Yes, I too had read "multimedia" as gaming. I wasn't expecting a three-screen 3d 120fps head explosion, but I had hoped to tweak the settings up a touch above "low" for a few things and see around 30-40fps. I now realise that's a naive view.

I don't get why NVidia would feel they have to justify low-level cards this way. I tried to find a like-for-like graph on graphics cards, but it was tough to get something meaningful. Of course, I should have come here first

Oh the indignity.

But thank you again. I will be calling tomorrow to see if I can swap this out. My wallet needs to be a bit looser, and I need to be a bit more thoughtful!

- Richard

spixelspixel · 12 Oct 2012 at 18:56

richard_hawkes said:
Yes, I too had read "multimedia" as gaming. I wasn't expecting a three-screen 3d 120fps head explosion, but I had hoped to tweak the settings up a touch above "low" for a few things and see around 30-40fps. I now realise that's a naive view.

I don't get why NVidia would feel they have to justify low-level cards this way. I tried to find a like-for-like graph on graphics cards, but it was tough to get something meaningful. Of course, I should have come here first Oh the indignity.

But thank you again. I will be calling tomorrow to see if I can swap this out. My wallet needs to be a bit looser, and I need to be a bit more thoughtful!

- Richard

You can return the card for full refund under DSR if you have it less than 7 days. OCUK offer a 14 day money back guarantee as well so you should have no problems exchanging it.

arc@css · 12 Oct 2012 at 19:02

Always makes me cringe a bit when cards are sold as supporting gaming / dx11, when they have no possibility of being able to provide a half decent frame rate.

varkanoid · 12 Oct 2012 at 20:04

GT 620 is probably a rebadged 9600 knowing Nvidia !

richard_hawkes · 12 Oct 2012 at 20:28

varkanoid said:
GT 620 is probably a rebadged 9600 knowing Nvidia !

Oh please, don't make it worse! It's been a painful day all round. I knew I was on a downslope when the new card didn't have a power slot!

So what about this fella?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-200-EA

£50 more than I would have spent (ho ho ho), but perhaps I can get excited about switching anti-aliasing on !! :rolleyes:

spixelspixel · 12 Oct 2012 at 20:32

richard_hawkes said:
Oh please, don't make it worse! It's been a painful day all round. I knew I was on a downslope when the new card didn't have a power slot!

So what about this fella?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-200-EA

£50 more than I would have spent (ho ho ho), but perhaps I can get excited about switching anti-aliasing on !!

i don't think the gtx 650 is worth the price tbh but its much better than the 620

ps... you should configure your trust ! to left of the edit button.

coupe69 · 12 Oct 2012 at 20:51

richard_hawkes said:
Oh please, don't make it worse! It's been a painful day all round. I knew I was on a downslope when the new card didn't have a power slot!

So what about this fella?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-200-EA

£50 more than I would have spent (ho ho ho), but perhaps I can get excited about switching anti-aliasing on !!

For the price of that 650 you could get yourself a second hand GTX 470 or even a 480, both of which offer vastly better gaming performance than the woefully underperforming and overpriced 650, although you would probably need a PSU upgrade

spixelspixel · 12 Oct 2012 at 20:54

coupe69 said:
For the price of that 650 you could get yourself a second hand GTX 470 or even a 480, both of which offer vastly better gaming performance than the woefully underperforming and overpriced 650, although you would probably need a PSU upgrade

I'd probably recommend something like a 460/560/6850 to match his cpu better. And wouldn't need to change his psu