Zotac Geforce GT 430 Zone Edition fan-less graphics card

It often seems as though playing games on a computer requires an expensive graphics card with so many fans it makes it hard to hear anything.

The Zotac Geforce GT 430 ZONE is a more sensible card that offers reasonable performance but it doesn't have a fan.

This means the card is covered by a large and heavy heatsink – the silver metal section in the picture. It takes two slots on the computer's motherboard (it can only be used in a desktop computer, not a laptop). The manual wasn't much help but the fitting process isn't too difficult if you are happy to open the computer. We were glad to see that the manual recommended uninstalling existing drivers before starting.

The card needs to be fitted to a PCI-Express x16 socket on the motherboard and it has DVI, HDMI and Displayport sockets for connecting to monitors and TVs. Older monitors with VGA sockets can be connected using a DVI adapter, which will have to be bought separately.

A CD included in the box contained all the drivers and software required for the card, along with some extras including the Nero Vision Xtra program for converting and editing video. The card supports the DirectX 11 standard for games and has 1GB of memory.

Performance in our fairly powerful test computer was good. Results from some of our standard test games were good but not great, with enough power to play without turning down the detail settings too much. An older title, Portal, averaged an excellent 150 frames per second but on the newer flight simulator DCS A-10C it dropped to 15 frames per second and, more worryingly, the card overheated and the game crashed.

Zotac's technical support people pointed out that with a fan-less card, it's even more important to make sure the computer is well ventilated with good air flow through the case. We found that pointing a cheap fan at the card made a big difference, though of course this defeats the point.

This is not the cheapest GeForce GT 430 card on the market, and the same model with a fan costs only £5 more but if you are making an effort to keep the noise down it is a good upgrade.

Editor's note 23 June 2011: After an update to DCS: A-10C the card stopped overheating while the game was in progress. The advice to ensure good ventilation still stands, of course.

The GT 430 ZONE is available from Scan