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Asus expedition geforce gtx 1050 ti.

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Asus expedition geforce gtx 1050 ti.

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The GeForce GTX 1050 Ti is NVIDIA’s answer to AMD’s Radeon RX 400 series of cards, or the Radeon RX 460 and 470 to be specific. While NVIDIA completed the core of its 16nm FinFET line-up with the GeForce GTX 1060, it still didn’t have a card to compete with AMD in the sub-US$200 market.

That’s where the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti comes in. Because NVIDIA isn’t making a Founders Edition model of the card, we’ll be skipping straight to review a custom version from ASUS in the form of the Expedition GeForce GTX 1050 Ti.

But even though it is targeted at the budget market, the card still supports all the new features that debuted on the earlier GP104 GPU in the GeForce GTX 1080. This includes things like improved power efficiency, enhanced memory compression techniques to free up memory bandwidth and Simultaneous MultiProjection (SMP) technology for better compatibility with multi-display setups.

The double ball bearing fans will
last longer than regular sleeve
bearing fans.
The double ball bearing fans will last longer than regular sleeve bearing fans.
AT A GLANCE
GPU TRANSISTOR COUNT 3.3 billion.
CORE CLOCK 1,290MHz.
MEMORY 4GB GDDR5.
MEMORY CLOCK 7,000MHz.
PRICE $289.

CONCLUSION

Slower than the AMD Radeon RX 470, but a good choice for gamers on really tight budgets.

The ASUS card is the first of a brand new series that was designed with long-term durability and reliability in mind. This is borne out by its use of dual double ball bearing fans and the 144 hours of endurance tests that ASUS put it through, which includes stability tests with the latest games. NVIDIA designed this card to deliver over 60fps in both the latest eSports titles and AAA games, provided you stick to a 1080p resolution and High and Medium settings respectively. While we don’t run our benchmarks at these precise settings, our results still bode well for NVIDIA’s claims. For example, in Tom Clancy’s Division (1080p, High settings), the card pushed out around 44fps, and it stands to reason that it would manage close to 60fps if we dropped the settings to Medium.

Overall, the card occupied the middle ground between the Radeon RX 460 and RX 470, setting itself up as an option for those who find the RX 460 too weak, and the RX 470 too pricey.

Another point to note is that despite the card’s supposed mass market appeal, it actually lends itself quite well to mini-ITX system builders. Its compact size will fit in just about anywhere, and its 75 watt TDP means that NVIDIA has been able to dispense with any external PCIe connectors, which will result in less cabling and cleaner builds.

PICTURES ASUS.

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