The GTX 750 Ti arrives as Energy-efficient 28nm Maxwell

• Test Configuration

  Test Configuration – Hardware

• Intel Core i7-4770K (reference 3.5GHz, HyperThreading and Turbo boost is on to 3.7GHz; overclocked to 4.0GHz; DX11 CPU graphics), supplied by Intel.
• Intel Core i7-3770K (reference 3.5GHz, HyperThreading and Turbo boost is on to 3.7GHz; also overclocked to 4.5GHz; DX11 CPU graphics), supplied by Intel.
• ECS GANK Domination Z87H3-A2X motherboard (Intel Z87 chipset, latest BIOS, PCOe 3.0 specification, CrossFire/SLI 8x+8x) supplied by ECS
• EVGA Z77 FTW motherboard (Intel Z77 chipset, latest beta 03-12-13 BIOS, PCIe 3.0 specification; CrossFire/SLI 16x+16x using Plex chip), supplied by EVGA.

• Kingston 8 GB HyperX Predator DDR3 PC2800 RAM (2×4 GB, dual-channel at 2400MHz for Ivy Bridge and 2800MHz for Haswell, supplied by Kingston)
• GeForce GTX 750 Ti, 2GB reference clocks and also further overclocked, supplied by Nvidia
• Nvidia GTX 650 Ti, 1 GB reference design and clocks, supplied by Nvidia
• GTX 480, 1.5GB (reference clocks), supplied by Nvidia
• GeForce GTX 780 Ti, 3GB (reference clocks), supplied by Nvidia
• Bigger Picture includes GTX Titan 6GB/780 3GB/770 2GB/760 2GB, all at reference speeds, supplied by Nvidia on Ivy Bridge platform (4.5GHz to equal Haswell’s 4.0GHz)
• Sapphire Vapor-X HD 7770 1050/1400MHz factory overclocked and supplied by Sapphire
• PowerColor R9 270X PCS+, 2GB stock speeds, supplied by PowerColor
• VisionTek R9 280X, 3GB stock speeds, supplied by VisionTek
• PowerColor R9 290X PCS+ at Uber speeds.
• Two 500 GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 hard drives for Ivy Platform
• Two 240 GB Kingston HyperX SSDs, supplied by Kingston
• Two 2TB Toshiba 7200 rpm HDDs for Haswell platform
• Cooler Master Platinum Pro 1000W PSU, supplied by Cooler Master and used for Ivy Bridge platform
• Thermaltake ToughPower 775W power supply unit supplied by Thermaltake and used for Haswell platform
• Cooler Master Seidon 240 CPU watercooler, supplied by Cooler Master, used for Ivy Bridge
• Thermaltake Water2.0 Pro watercooler, supplied by Thermaltake, used for Haswell platform
• Onboard Realtek Audio
• Genius SP-D150 speakers, supplied by Genius
• Thermaltake Overseer RX-I full tower case, supplied by Thermaltake for Haswell platform
• Thermaltake Chaser MK II, full tower case, supplied by Thermaltake for Ivy Bridge platform
• Philips DVD SATA writer
• HP LP3065 2560×1600 thirty inch LCD

Test Configuration – Software

• Nvidia GeForce 334.69 launch drivers for the GTX 750 Ti/GTX 650 Ti/GTX 480/GTX 780 Ti; and GeForce 331 family of drivers for all other Nvidia cards. High Quality, prefer maximum performance, single display.
• AMD 13.12 WHQL Catalyst drivers; latest CAPs. High Quality – optimizations off; use application settings for HD 7770/R9 270X and for R9 290x.  Catalyst 13.11 used for all other Radeons.
• Windows 7 64-bit; very latest updates
• Latest DirectX
• All games are patched to their latest versions.
• VSync is off in the control panel.
• AA enabled as noted in games; all in-game settings are specified with 16xAF always applied; 16xAF forced in control panel for Crysis.
• All results show average, minimum and maximum frame rates except as noted.
• Highest quality sound (stereo) used in all games.
• Windows 7 64, all DX10 titles were run under DX10 render paths; DX11 titles under DX11 render paths.

The Benchmarks

Synthetic

• 3DMark 11
• Firestrike – Basic & Extreme
• Heaven 4.0

• The Witcher 2
• Borderlands 2
• Aliens: Colonial Marines

• Crysis

• STALKER, Call of Pripyat
• Civilization V
• Max Payne 3
• the Secret World
• Sleeping Dogs
• Sniper Elite V2
• Hitman: Absolution
• Far Cry 3
• Tomb Raider: 2013
• Crysis 3
• BioShock: Infinite
• Metro: Last Light
• GRID 2
• Splinter Cell: Blacklist
• Total War: Rome II
• Batman: Arkham Origins
• Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag

Before we get to the GTX 750 Ti’s performance charts, let’s look at overclocking, power draw and temperatures.

Overclocking, Power Draw, Noise and Temperatures

Overclocking the GTX 750 Ti is just as easy as overclocking the GTX 600 and 700 series. We were able to add an additional +135MHz over the base clocks that Nvidia set for the reference GTX 750 Ti. On top of that, we were able to add +550MHz on the memory; overall, a very good overclock.  What is interesting is that we did not run out of headroom, we ran into issues with PrecisionX and other overclocking tools being limited to +135MHz maximum offset.  It did not matter if we added overvoltage, we saw a fixed boost of up to 1284MHz.

We did not adjust the GTX 750 Ti’s voltage nor fan profile. Temperatures were never an issue and the fan profile remained at stock which meant that the GTX 750 Ti is also extraordinarily quiet at maximum load – the fan profile never went over 52% and the temperatures remained under 71C under the most stressful conditions and highest load in gaming.  It made little difference to the noise level whether it was at 50% or even at maximum rpm – the GTX 750 Ti is a very quiet card.

Let’s head to the performance charts to see how the GTX 750 Ti – stock and overclocked – compares with the non-Boost regular GTX 650 Ti and the GTX 480 as well as competing AMD cards and see how it fits into the “Big Picture”