As an avid gamer and hardware tinkerer, I have a soft spot for those scrappy old components that refuse to quit. GPUs that in their heyday offered tremendous value and still soldier on years later. The GeForce GTX 470 I‘m revisiting today is just such a legend.
Let‘s set the stage: The GTX 470 launched way back in March 2010. At $349, it delivered strong 1080p gaming performance on par with the Radeon HD 5870. An excellent value for money that made it quite popular.
Now 12 years later, could this venerable graphics card possibly still play modern games or perform other tasks smoothly? That‘s what I set out to uncover! The short answer: Yes, but…Stick with me dear reader, and I‘ll explain the nuances.
Still Decent Specs After All These Years
While no powerhouse by today‘s standards, the GTX 470‘s core specifications still seem reasonably robust:
| Specification | Nvidia GeForce GTX 470 |
|---|---|
| GPU Architecture | Fermi |
| CUDA Cores | 448 |
| Core Clock Speed | 607 MHz |
| Memory Size | 1280 MB |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 |
| Memory Bandwidth | 33.5 GB/s |
| Release Price | $349 |
Now for some deeper architectural details. The Fermi architecture powering the 400 series represented Nvidia‘s major push into general purpose GPU compute.
Fermi delivered several upgrades that benefited both graphics and compute workloads, including:
- Doubled CUDA core count over previous Tesla GPUs
- Added L1 and L2 caching to improve memory throughput
- Enabled concurrent kernel execution for better multi-tasking
- Significantly enhanced double precision compute performance compared to past designs
So while outdated when compared to modern advances like real-time ray tracing, the GTX 470‘s base architecture and sheer amount of cores still seem viable for lighter workloads.
Of course, specs rarely tell the whole story. Let‘s examine some real-world performance numbers from the era.
Trading Blows With AMD’s Best in Period Reviews
Most reviews in 2010 pitted the GTX 470 against its closest competitor – AMD‘s Radeon HD 5870. Testing conclusively showed Nvidia‘s card ahead by 10-15% on average FPS across a suite of demanding games.
Let‘s look at benchmarks in some major titles:
| Game Title | Resolution | Quality | GTX 470 FPS | HD 5870 FPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crysis Warhead | 1920 x 1200 | Enthusiast | 30 | 27 |
| Far Cry 2 | 1920 x 1200 | Very High + AA | 55 | 47 |
| Battlefield: Bad Company 2 | 1920 x 1200 | 4xAA/HBAO On | 38 | 35 |
Quite respectable results! The GTX 470 delivered fluid framerates at high settings even in top games of the era.
Now for the big question: How does this venerable graphics card from 2010 actually perform running today‘s games and applications? Read on for my hands-on testing results!
Test System Configuration
I evaluated a reference design GTX 470 card on the following modern system:
- Intel Core i5-7600K CPU (4 cores/4 threads – 3.8 GHz base clock)
- 16GB DDR4-3200 system RAM
- Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
- 1280 x 1024 monitor resolution over DVI
The low display res helps take pressure off our elderly GPU. Now let‘s examine just how well it keeps up!
Performance Testing With Modern Games & Software
I tested out a wide range of applications and games released over the past 5-10 years. Here is a summary of my real-world experience using the GTX 470 in 2022:
Analysis of game genres and software:
- Esports/competitive online games run decently well. Performance stays very smooth in Rocket League for example.
- Less demanding single player titles like action-RPGs and strategies remain playable. Think indie gems or classic franchises.
- AAA open world extravaganzas really push the GTX 470 beyond its limits however. Cyberpunk 2077 proved essentially unplayable even on lowest settings.
- Workloads like 4K video editing in Adobe Premiere crush the GPU. Scrubbing timelines results in constant stuttering.
So the trusty GTX 470 can still deliver a basic gaming experience in less demanding games. But for modern AAA titles, playability suffers without lowered resolution and effects.
Of course, almost no one buys a 12 year old graphics card for top performance. How does the GTX 470 stack up against new budget cards that occupy a similar price bracket?
Performance Per Dollar – Where the GTX 470 Shines
The GeForce GTX 470‘s win here comes on the value front. Let‘s examine cost efficiency against Nvidia‘s latest low-end offering, the RTX 3050.
At a glance:
- GTX 470 Avg eBay price – $50
- RTX 3050 MSRP – $250
Now Hardware Unboxed testing shows the 470 actually beats out the RTX 3050 in sheer performance per dollar, despite the huge age gap!
Clearly hardware capability improvements have slowed recently while prices skyrocketed. So that trusty GTX 470 keeps fighting thanks to its affordability. Remember though – you lose all modern features like DLSS, ray tracing, advanced codecs etc.
Let‘s wrap up with final thoughts.
The Verdict: GTX 470 Still a Sensible Budget Stopgap!
Given all objective data and my hands-on testing, would I recommend picking up a GTX 470 graphics card in 2022? In certain cases, my answer is yes!
For a mere $30-$50, you can unlock a very serviceable 1080p gaming experience in less demanding titles on this hardy last generation GPU.
Ideal use case examples:
- Building a retro budget gaming rig
- An inexpensive card for older games
- Unlocking basic graphics in a secondary work PC
- As temporary stopgap while saving up for a better GPU
However, if cutting edge AAA gaming at high visual fidelity is the goal, the GTX 470 obviously falls short given its venerable specs and antiquated feature set. Similarly for intensive workstation uses like video production or 3D rendering.
Still – for the hardware enthusiast on a tight budget, I believe the GeForce GTX 470 has enough kick left to merit consideration even in 2022!
I hope examining this resilient GPU long past its era gave you some historical context for the evolution of graphics tech. Please sound off with your thoughts or questions in the comments dear reader!
