GeForce2 At Its Best: 6 Affordable Graphics Cards with nVIDIA’s MX – THG.RU

GeForce2 At Its Best: 6 Affordable Graphics Cards with nVIDIA’s MX

As high-end graphics cards are usually pretty expensive, it’s probably best not to go out and buy such polygon monsters as soon as they appear on the market, simply due to the huge and frequent price drops that come with the introduction of each new generation of chips.

Instead, you’re better off purchasing a graphics card that won’t leave you on the rocks, financially. There are several graphics chips that are actually both affordable and well-perform. The cheapest solution is certainly ATI’s Radeon VE, which is available for less than $85 today. Unfortunately, you will have to live without Transform & Lighting. Graphics cards with this chip are slower than GeForce2 MX products, but clearly cheaper.

Another alternative is the Hercules 3D Prophet 4500 with ST Microelectronics’ Kyro II chip. Equipped with 64 MB memory and Tile Based Rendering, the chip is a veritable challenger to the entire GeForce2 family from nVIDIA, with the exception of the GeForce2 Ultra. Although the Kyro II, as well as the Radeon VE, does not support T&L, I’d rate this chip as the smartest mainstream graphics product today in terms of technology.

However, the reality is that nVIDIA still continues to dominate the international market with its well-known and popular GeForce2 brand – a visit to any computer shop will prove this. Most stores offer at least three products that are based on a GeForce2 chip. While many people wouldn’t even consider purchasing a Radeon VE board for performance reasons (see benchmarks), the Kyro II could easily become a top seller, if it were more readily available.

MX400 Cards: The Differences

Graphics boards based on the GeForce2 MX400 are shipped with different memory configurations, usually 32 or 64 MB Single Data Rate SDRAM. Basically, the GeForce2 MX family also supports DDR memory, but if DDR memory is actually used, then the memory interface is narrowed to 64-bit. This means that a board equipped with DDR memory will have exactly the same performance as a board with SDR memory. Since DDR memory is still more expensive than SDR chips, almost all manufacturers are staying with the SDR type.

nVIDIA is well aware of the fact that 128-bit DDR boards with GeForce2 MX could easily reach the performance level of a GeForce2 GTS or GeForce2 Pro with only a small amount of overclocking. Also, ‘DDR’ is used intentionally to act as a marketing catchword – of course only the GeForce2 GTS and Pro cards are truly enhanced by this technology.

There are several types of SDRAM available that differ in their cycle time. Gainward and PixelView equipped their boards with 4 and 4.5 ns chips, giving them much more potential for higher memory clock speeds. While you can overclock the PixelView board on your own, Gainward even offers an ‘Enhanced Mode’ that runs the board at much faster frequencies.

ABit Siluro MX400

GPU Clock: 200 MHz

Memory Size: 64 MB

Memory Speed: 5.5 ns @ 166 MHz

The latest graphics board from ABIT is equipped with 64 MB of SDRAM memory, which means that the full 128 bits of memory interface can be used. Although the GeForce2 MX supports DDR memory, the interface has been limited to 64-bit so that the card will compete with either the GeForce2 GTS or Pro.

Unfortunately, ABIT orients itself to nVIDIA’s memory specifications, so they use 5.5 ns SDRAM memory. Here, it’s pretty clear that the margin for overclocking is unimpressive. 5.5 ns memory usually cannot be operated at clock speeds faster than ~195 MHz without making the graphics adapter unstable – this is exactly what I could get out of the Siluro MX400.

The GPU is furnished with a passive cooling device, which also does not provide ample room for overclocking. After attaching a fan ….. However, this kind of overclocking is a bit ineffective, since the memory remains at a maximum of 240MHz.

Ultimately, though, ABIT does not target overclockers but people who want a 64 MB board. The Siluro GF2 MX400 will likely be available at attractive prices. There could also be a version with TV out, since the PCB is designed to implement this hardware.

More information about this card on ABit’s website:

• http://www.abit.com.tw/english/product/multimedia/mx400.htm
• http://www.abit.com.tw

Cardex/Gainward GeForce2 MX TwinView Vivo

GPU Clock: 200 MHz (240 MHz in Enhanced Mode)

Memory Size: 32 MB

Memory Speed: 4 ns @ 166 MHz (240 MHz in Enhanced Mode)

The card from Gainward is unique in several points, the most prominent of which is the fast memory chip with a cycle time of only 4 ns. These chips are produced by EtronTech, a company that already made headlines several years ago when they shipped the fastest single-cycle EDO-DRAM chips (only 25 ns cycle time).

Just as the other cards, the default clock speeds for GPU and memory clock are 200 MHz and 166 MHz respectively. However, to take advantage of the fast memory chip, Gainward provides a so-called “Enhanced Mode” within their driver set (XPERTool Performance Tuning Utility). If selected, the clock speed increases to 240 MHz for the GPU and for the video memory, resulting in much better benchmark results. Because this mode is officially supported by Gainward, it is likely to be a strong argument for buying the card, which is why I include benchmarks for ‘Enhanced Mode’ as well.

As you can imagine, the GeForce2 MX TwinView Vivo supports two monitors. But that’s not all: You also get two video inputs and video outputs, plus VideoStudio 4.0 from Ulead Systems, for which an electronic manual is provided on the program disc. These features together make the graphics card a good choice for everybody who wants to become acquainted with video editing.

A printed version of the VideoStudio manual is not included, but only a PDF file on the program disc.

More information about this card on Gainward’s website:

• http://www.gainward.com

MSI StarForce 826

Default GPU Clock: 175 MHz

Memory Size: 64 MB

Memory Speed: 6 ns @ 166 MHz

The first thing I noticed is the GPU clock speed, which is only 175 MHz. Actually, this is the standard MX clock speed, but the StarForce 8826 uses the MX400 chipset. For the benchmarks, I left all cards at the factory default clock speeds, so at a default 175 MHz, it’s not surprising that the MSI card could not keep up with the others. Hopefully, the revision that is supposed to be sold will run at 200 MHz by default, since neither the chip nor the card had any problems at this speed.

There are two games included: V-Rally 2 and Rogue Spear. Besides that, the package includes two other CDs containing drivers, utilities and a DVD player program as well as an S-Video cable for the TV-out of this graphics board.

Though the graphics memory has a size of 64 MB, the cycle time of 6 ns isn’t particularly exciting. Yet the memory chips ran smoothly at 205 MHz which is more than you can expect from 6 ns chips. I guess those Hyunday chips are simply technically better than the validated 6 ns.

More information about this card on MSI’s website:

• http://www.msicomputer.com/products/detail.asp?ProductID=177
• http://www.msi.com.tw

PixelView GeForce2 MX400 (NVMX400A)

GPU Clock: 200 MHz

Memory Size: 32 MB

Memory Speed: 4.5 ns @ 183 MHz

The PixelView board comes with a memory speed of 183 MHz by default, making this card slightly faster than its competitors in all 3D benchmarks. In addition, the NVMX400A is equipped with a TV-out, including both a composite and a S-Video connector. Inside the box we found a driver CD, a short manual and a composite video cable.

Thanks to the 4.5 ns chips, it was no problem to overclock the graphics memory to 235 MHz This, together with the faster chip clock speed, makes the PixelView board almost as fast as the Gainward card in ‘Enhanced Mode’ at 240/240 MHz.

Suma Platinum GeForce2 MX 400

Memory Size: 32 MB

Memory Speed: 5.5 ns

It has only been two weeks since we reviewed the GeForce2 MX400 chip. At that time, Suma was the first company to send us their final board for review. This time, we take a closer look at their card, rather than just the graphics chip. Just as the ABIT card, the Platinum is designed for TV-out, but the version we received does not feature it.

Suma’s Platinum series differs visually from the others with its black PCB and golden slot cover and heat sink. ABIT also has a black board, but they only used a standard heat sink. The Suma board comes with an active fan which allowed us to run the chip at up to 230 MHz. Of course this alone won’t boost performance as long as the memory bandwidth remains low. On this card, there are only 5.5 ns chips, where faster chips would give you more room for overclocking. We got the memory running to only 200 MHz. At 205 MHz, there were some dropouts. Inside the nice plastic box there is a driver CD, a comprehensive manual and a quick installation guide which makes the installation of this card rather foolproof.

Leadtek WinFast GeForce2 MX SH-MAX400

GPU Clock: 200 MHz

Memory Size: 64 MB

Memory Speed: 6 ns @ 166 MHz

Inside the box we found a splitter cable for the TV-out plus each one S-Video and composite video cable. There is also a quick installation guide plus a short manual as well as a driver CD and a software DVD player.

Being equipped with 6 ns memory chips, you should not expect the graphics memory to run much faster than the default 166 MHz, even though this card clearly differs from nVIDIA’s reference design. We got the board running 185 MHz, which is definitely not worth risking system stability.

The big cooler made it possible to run the MX400 chip at 250 MHz. That’s an excellent overclocking result, but you cannot get much more 3D performance out of this card without reasonably fast memory.

The box came with a splitter cable for TV-out, plus an S-Video cable and composite video cable. There is also a quick installation guide and a short manual, as well as a CD with the driver and DVD player software.

Test Setup

Benchmarks – SYSmark 2000

As the benchmark results do not differ, I decided to drop the SYSmark chart. For all who want to know: Using the test setup described one the previous page, the system scores 175 SYSmark points in Windows 98 and 195 points in Windows 2000 Professional.

Quake III Arena

At 640×480, the differences between the cards are pretty small. At 800×600 and above, the Gainward card in Enhanced mode (240 MHz chip and memory clock) clearly takes the lead. At 1280×1024, this card is 20 fps faster than the competition. The PixelView card also runs faster than most other boards (183 MHz memory clock). MSI’s card is set to 175 MHz core speed by default; which has a negative impact on the benchmark results: MSI is slowest in Quake III.

Mercedes Benz Truck Racing

MBTR is CPU-intensive, so the results are generally similar. Again, the StarForce 826 cannot keep apace with the others, and Gainward collects more points with its ‘Enhanced Mode’, which clocks the GPU and the memory much faster.

Aquamark

Aquamark is one of the most demanding benchmarks, so again, the differences are pretty small. MSI’s StarForce 826 is the only board which fails to achieve 10 fps at 1280×1024. In ‘Enhanced Mode’, Gainward is unable to surpass the competitors at 640×480 or 800×600, but at 1024×768 and 1280×1024, the higher memory bandwidth has a very positive impact on performance.

Mad Onion 3DMark 2001

Last but not least, the 3DMark 2001 shows results that are pretty similar to Quake III, MBTR and the Aquamark benchmarks. Most cards are even, with only the MSI board showing slower performance due to its low GPU clock speed. Gainward’s MX TwinView Vivo in enhanced mode is the only board which is able to stay clearly above 2000 points at 1280×1024.

Conclusion

The cards from ABIT, Suma and Leadtek provide good performance combined with different add-ons: The ABIT board does not include any special add-ons except for the generous 64 MB of graphics memory. Unfortunately, the 5.5 ns chips cannot be overclocked very much. Suma’s board is also quite simple, being equipped with only 32 MB, but the black PCB and the golden metal parts make it look good. Also, the fan lets you overclock the GPU at least. Leadtek equips their WinFast GeForce2 MX SH-MAX400 with 64 MB SDRAM, a GPU cooler and fan and a TV-out. All cables plus a software DVD player are included.

The StarForce 826 from MSI, suffering from its 175 MHz default GPU speed, is unable to keep up with its competitors. MSI does provide a utility called 3D!Turbo 2000 which lets you alter the frequency settings, but inexperienced users will probably prefer to let these settings remain as they are.

The two winners of this review are the PixelView and the Gainward boards. PixelView runs the 4.5 ns memory at 183 MHz by default, enabling better performance. With TV output, excellent conditions for overclocking and an attractive price, the PixelView MX400 provides great value as well as performance.

In the end, Gainward’s GeForce2 MX TwinView Vivo still manages to top the rest of the cards, using 4 ns SDRAM memory and providing official support for an enhanced mode, which runs the GPU and the memory at 240 MHz. In addition, the board is equipped with a second D-SUB15 output for a second monitor, and you will get two video-in and two video-out ports plus Ulead’s VideoStudio 4.0 and a DVD player. I guess there is not much more to say: Congratulations to Gainward for winning this competition!