Suggestions: Whose gf4 board to buy?

[Loafsta]

ok, So if I finally convince myself to blow half my life savings on a gf4 board in the next few weeks or so, which should I get? I'm currently running a hercules gf2 pro, which works fine and had a decent software package -- including a decent OC utility -- but I've heard hercules has gone downhill. Visiontek, which seems to be running the most ads, always looked like a cheap alternative to me. What about PNY, Gainward, MSI and Asus? Asus is the most expensive and I don't see that it has anything better than the Gainward card. I think I want VIVO functionality so I don't have to upgrade again when I finally start doing some home video editing.

Any recommendations? Doesn't necessarily have to be any of the brands listed above, either. I just haven't done enough research and after doing a lot of work recently on my system I don't really feel like reading through another fifty reviews of hardware when I can probably get good info right here. Let me know.

Oh, and before I get jumped on for buying the gf4 instead of just getting a gf3 for cheap, I am trying to get my system to a peak level before I stop spending anything big on it for a couple years.

[DragonBreath]

I'm not to sure about the gf4 but the Winfast Leadtek gf3 ti200 128ddr I have is a very nice card. I'm very impressed with the quality of this card, the utilities for o/c and hardware monitoring. It also came with Win DVD software and 2 full games. If I ever buy another card it will be Winfast. DB

[wilsontc]

in australia the geforce 4 (mx440) is cheaper than ALL the geforce 3 ti200 and ti500 cards.
i think it is better than the other g3 cards but it has 64 ddr not 128.
this doesn't seem to be a problem according to toms, but if you want it for several years 128 might be better.

hope it works out for you

[DragonBreath]

I returned a gf4 mx440 to get the gf3 ti200. The mx440 does not fully utlize Directx 8 and has many less features than any of the gf3 cards. Nvidia stated the mx version gf4 were going to be pushed towards the business end of the market and ocassional gamers. If your going for the GF4 go with a TI if your willing to spend the loot. DB

[Loafsta]

Actually, Wilson, be careful about that. The Geforce 4 MX engine is not the same as the Geforce 4 Ti. Its being marketed to the average home consumer and is more on par with a souped-up Gf 2 than even a Gf 3. Basically, the MX is supposed to replace the sub-$150 range products over the next few months. The Gf Ti 4200 should fit into the Gf 3 Tis current price range when its introduced later this year. It has similar speed to a Geforce 3 but includes the nFX II second vertex shader, accuview AA, and improved pixel shaders. The Geforce 4 Ti 4400 and 4600 are the top-of-the-line new cards. You can see that Tom's article makes a note of Nvidia's decision to deceptively name the card Geforce 4 even though it doesn't even have the nfiniteFX architecture available in a Geforce 3. Check out Tom's discussion of Gf 4 MX

By the way, thanks for the advice, DragonBreath. I'll definitely look into Leadtek -- although my research has me leaning toward Gainward right now.

[wilsontc]

thanks dragon breath, i had no idea about that. i will tell my friend who was going to buy that card - it has just come out in australia!
but why would nvidia release a card that is faster than geforce 3 and 2 but not give it all the directx 8 support?

[Gnerma]

Originally posted by wilsontc in australia the geforce 4 (mx440) is cheaper than ALL the geforce 3 ti200 and ti500 cards.... ...if you want it for several years 128 might be better. hope it works out for you

I agree with perhaps buying a card with 128 mb of memory for a long term thing but NOT a GeForce4 MX. Those cards cannot render the snazzy directX 8 effects that geforce 3 and geforce 4 4x00 cards can. A LOT more games will have those in the future. Nvidia has been getting some criticism for calling the geforce 4 MX a 'geforce 4' at all.

As for which manufacturer is 'the best' I doubt that anybody truly knows since the cards have only been out for a short time. Any responses you get will probably be based more on brand preference than the actual card in question. All the major brands will be good cards. If it were me I would read the reviews and look at which card overclocks the best.

[Gnerma]

wilson - deception plain and simple. Many consumers won't even know that there are more than one kind of geforce 4 and they'll buy the MX thinking they are getting the 'latest and greatest'. Also, I can see a lot of major PC makers putting a MX card into their machines just to put "Geforce 4" on the spec sheet. Which, will probably help sell a lot of rigs.

As for why they made a faster card with no DX8 support I would guess it has everything to do with the almighty $$$.

[Loafsta]

Gnerma -- Thanks for the advice. I know most cardmakers don't even have their product on shelves yet, so anyone's opinion is just speculation, but I'm actually trying to get some brand preference out of people. I've only gone through two cards in my system building days -- one was the cheapest Geforce 2MX I could find -- a Visiontek -- and the next was the hercules I have now. You just hear good things about certain companies and I was hoping to get some feelings from people about good experiences they've had with particular card brands regardless of whether they are Gf4s or not.

Fortunately, it looks like some of the cardmaker's prototypes are going out to reviewers, so I'm getting some idea of what to expect. However, I want to know what manufacturers tend to have the best package for price -- OC and monitoring utility, games, snazzy card features like VIVO, etc. If anyone has any input, it would still be appreciated!

[Werewolfdaddy]

I've had an Asus Geforce 3 for some time and was happy with the performance with it; however, I recently upgraded to an Asus Geforce 3 Ti 500 and I am VERY impressed with it. Yet, I've put 3 chaintek geforce 3 ti200 in computers that I have built for lanmates and they seem to be solid cards. Mine is better, though.