EVGA GeForce GT 730 2GB GDDR3 64-bit DVI/HMDI/VGA Low Profile Graphics Card 02G-P3-1733-KR

This is the buyers grandson writing this review. I am a student that take IT classes and was looking to build a nice budget gaming rig. I looked around a bit and did some research and found this card had the best price point and greatest specs. I got the GDDR5 version as it is very much faster then the standard DDR3. I am able to play every game I have in high to ultra quality. With my ACER 19.5 inch monitor(1600×900). This is dueled with a Core 2 DUO and 4gb of DDR2. I am also saying this card DOES work with my 240 Watt power supply. Which i was mostly afraid of when buying the card. I have a DC7800 SSF as of now. Its been running great since Christmas day and it still plays games like a champ. Be careful as I did notice my computer temps did run up a bit. But don’t let that scare you away as this is a amazing product for a budget gamer. I am 15 and I am very very happy I bought this product. Thank you so much EVGA. Thanks to you I will be able to take this computer to college and beyond with me. I definitely recommend anyone to buy this product. AMAZING specs and card for the price. Be wary and get the GDDR5 version. Its worth it in the long run. Thanks for anyone who found this helpful!

Just to clarify, this review is of the low-profile 2GB GDDR5 model, or the one with the model number of 02G-P3-3733-KR.

I bought this to replace an aging Galaxy GeForce GT 610 card with 2GB DDR3 RAM. I liked the card well enough, but I made the mistake of getting the actively cooled model and the fan has just about completely went out with bad bearings. It still technically works, but it sounds like a rejected Boeing.

I don’t do a whole lot of gaming but when I do I like to be able to actually play the game at a resolution higher than 320×240 and a framerate higher than 15. This card does the job admirably, but it has its pitfalls. Don’t expect to run anything but the oldest games on anything resembling ultra detail. For the price I really cannot complain, as my next choice was a GTX750Ti but that would have blown my budget completely asunder as I bought other things at the same time as this card with a fixed amount of money. Yes, I was settling, but I am in fact very happy with how this card performs. My only regret is not getting the passively-cooled iteration of this card, but I wanted the full 2GB of GDDR5 RAM and PCI-E x16 interface this card allowed. It’s not particularly loud now, but I know that just a few years from now I’ll be wishing I had something that wasn’t cooled by a fan.

For all this, the card manages a 4-star rating. Like the title says, don’t expect GTX-series performance. It’s not meant for the same tasks a GTX-series would be.This card is meant mainly for running Windows Aero and running most games just "acceptably" rather than having 60 fps with Ultra detail at 1920×1080. For what it is, the EVGA brand helps a lot and you always know that when you order EVGA products you’re getting something that is very well made. This card is made with all solid capacitors — nothing new in this day and age, but I still remember having to bin cards because an electrolytic cap that was too close to the heatsink blew up. You can, at least in theory, replace capacitors, and I’ve seen people do it, but I just am not good with a soldering iron.

Long story short, it’s a good card. If you’re looking for something low-to-mid range, this is a — if not perfect — close to perfect card for your needs. I only wish I had managed to get a passively cooled model with 2GB of GDDR5 memory and a PCI-E x16 connector, but that’s probably asking for a bit too much.

There are several versions being sold as GeForce GT 730, so just to be clear, this review applies to DDR5 64bit card, part number 02G-P3-3733-KR. The manufacture’s description for this card says:

Dimensions
Height: 2.718in – 69.04mm
Length: 5.7in – 144.8mm
Width: Single Slot

But this is not so. This may be a great card, but it’s heatsink/fan overhangs the next expansion slot. For a typical micro ATX motherboard of the yesteryear that I have (PCI, PCI, PCI-E x1, PCI-E x16), this means loosing the only other PCI-E expansion slot. For me, that slot is already taken by a USB3 card. I need something slimmer, please.

–Update–
I bought a DDR3 version of this card (also with fan), part number 02G-P3-2732-KR, and it fits in a single slot just fine.

–Update 2–
I played with 02G-P3-2732-KR for about a year now (single slot 2GB DDR3 version). It can play Minecraft fine. It will struggle with more demanding games. But really, for performance metrics it is best to go to a benchmarking site, for example videocardbenchmark-dot-net. This card has a rating of 928 or so. This is better than a built-in video chip, even if you have a modern motherboard (for example, Intel HD 4000 is rated 451). Still, this is an entry level card by today’s standard.

The Good:
————-
Fits into a single slot.
Does not take a lot of power to run.
Can be configured full height or half height (low profile).
Has many outputs: VGA / DVI / HDMI.
Can work with older versions of Windows (Windows XP and later).
Can provide custom resolution (I have 16:10 monitor that I run at 1024×640 or 1152×720).

The Bad:
———–
Noticeable fan hum.

Let’s give this card three stars out of five – one less for misleading specs and one less for fan noise.