Making Themselves Heard: 11 GeForce4 Ti4400 and Ti4600 Cards – THG.RU

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11 GeForce4 Ti4400 and Ti4600 Cards” –>

Introduction

Probably the single most fast-paced sector within the computer industry is the graphics cards market, especially where high-end products are concerned. It was only just last fall that ATi was able to catch up with NVIDIA’s GeForce3 Ti series thanks to its new RADEON 8500 line, even besting it in some cases. ATi didn’t get to enjoy this situation for very long, though. Upon its introduction in the first quarter of this year, the GeForce4 Ti was able to retake the speed crown for NVIDIA, uncontested. The only card a GeForce4 Ti needs fear is the home-made competition.

At this point it’s time for the obligatory warning about the GeForce4 MX version, which, aside from the name and the misleading “4”, has nothing in common with the Ti boards. From a technical viewpoint, these cards are still built on pre-GeForce3 technology, and it shows in their performance. They lack both pixel and vertex shaders. All in all, it’s fair to say that the GeForce4 MX is nothing more than a modernized GeForce 2 chip with a new memory interface, hardware support for anti aliasing, and a second RAMDAC.

We already had a chance to test three early GeForce4 Ti boards a few weeks ago. If you’d like to see how your own card stacks up against the newer cards, feel free to have a look at our VGA charts.

You can read up on the GeForce4, its 3D features, and the changes from the GeForce3 in one of our earlier articles, found here.

nView

All GeForce4 Ti boards ship with dual monitor support. NVIDIA has designed a second RAMDAC into the chip for this purpose.

DVI-I to VGA adapter (Gainward)

Next to the standard VGA interface, all Ti boards also come equipped with a DVI-I connector, which can also be used with a second analog monitor with the help of an adapter. Disappointingly, not all manufacturers are including said adapter in their bundles, reducing the dual view options to an analog and a digital display simultaneously. Gainward is the only company to deviate from this standard design, equipping its Ultra/750 XP with two DVI-I connectors. Thanks to the two included adapters, this allows for dual display modes using either two digital or two analog monitors, or even one of each.

nView (sounds almost like envy to you, doesn’t it?) is the name of NVIDIA’s new multi-display software, which allows for very comfortable management of multi monitor modes. For example, the utility lets the user define which display should show pop-up dialogue boxes. Beyond that, it’s possible to choose and save settings individually per application. Even several desktop arrangements, including shortcuts and background images, can be saved. Now every member of the family can customize his desktop to his heart’s content without making it unrecognizable to the others – at least that’s the idea.

A wizard that resides in the Windows Control Panel guides the user through the steps for setting up the individual display modes. A more detailed explanation of nView as well as some Flash animations illustrating its features can be found on NVIDIA’s nView demo site.

ViVo and Image Quality

In our last roundup of 21 GeForce3 Ti cards, we criticized the poor TV-output offered by these boards. Unfortunately, this situation has not improved with the GeForce4 family. As before, a black border frames the output on PAL TVs. The reason is that NVIDIA’s drivers still offer no overscan options for changing the output size, even though the encoder chips found on the cards would support such a feature. Also, the output quality isn’t on par with what we’re used to seeing from notebook chips, for example. At least the GeForce4 Ti boards can now output images to both the monitor and the TV simultaneously using different refresh rates, thanks to the second RAMDAC. Again, nView comes in very handy in this mode.

The recording capabilities of cards with Video-In functionality are quite good. During our tests, each of the boards was able to record a four-minute video with sound at 640×480 without dropping frames or parts of the sound.

The image quality offered by some cards shows a very different picture altogether, though – quite literally. On our reference monitor, an Iiyama Vision Master Pro 511, the output of a few of our review samples lacked the crispness and clarity one would expect from a card of this caliber at a resolution of 1600×1200 at 85Hz. Some even showed shadows and ghosted images. This is unacceptable for any card considered to be a high-end product. NVIDIA is aware of this problem and has promised to address it through stricter reference design requirements.

The following table lists our subjective ranking of the cards’ image quality on our reference monitor:

Rating from 1 (very good) to 6 (worse); Those results may differ on other Monitors!!

What’s That Noise? It’s Your Fans!

Until recently, an extensive cooling solution was considered a make-or-break feature of any card. After all, the right amount of cooling allows users to squeeze those last few MHz out of the chip. Today, cooling has become more of a marketing and design issue than one of performance, at least for graphics cards. Leadtek’s flagship models are prime examples of this philosophy. Not only do they carry one heatsink each on the front and the back of the card – there are also two fans working in tandem to keep the chip cool.

Yet not everybody needs such an extensive cooling setup, and most will prefer a slightly less effective but much quieter solution. What good is the fastest gaming machine if you can’t even hear the game dialogue or sounds over the din of those high-speed fans? So how much noise does a graphics card actually make? That’s easy to discover: let’s take some measurements!

That, however, is more easily said than done. Finding a meaningful way of measuring a card’s noise level while still making the results comparable to others is a complicated, almost impossible task. For one thing, the cards are installed into a case with the fan facing down. For another, the distance at which the measurements are taken is of crucial importance, since the volume drops with each centimeter of distance. After much deliberation we decided on the following testing set-up: we put the card in a box with acoustic insulation and set up our measuring device 42cm away from the box and 10cm to the side.

Before every acoustic measurement, the voltage of each of the cards’ fans was determined exactly. Although all fans are designed for 12V operation, this proved to be a mostly theoretical value. Gainward’s card is the most extreme example. Although the fan header provides exactly 12V, this drops to a mere 8.6V when the fan actually starts spinning. Whether this is by design or by accident – the fan spins quite slowly and is consequently very quiet. When provided with the full 12V (from an external power supply) the card suddenly takes on the acoustic characteristics of a blow-dryer. The remaining candidates provided almost the exact required 12V, some of the Ti4400’s were even right on target. The Ti4600 cards showed a spread ranging from 11.6V to 11.9V.

With these values established, we were ready to move on to the measurements themselves. This doesn’t necessarily make the results meaningful though – they can only show us a trend. The two VisionTek cards illustrate this perfectly. Although both cards use the exact same fan and operate at identical voltages, the 4400 is a good 5db (A) louder, which results from a whirring sound not present with the 4600 card. We then took a look at the PNY card, also using the same fan, for comparison, and were surprised to find that it ranked somewhere between the two VisionTeks. This lead us to conclude that this family of fans is subject to varied quality. Lastly, let us reiterate that, despite our measurements, it isn’t said that the fans actually run at the voltage we determined.. A variation of even +/- 0.1 volts can have a huge impact.

So was all this measuring and testing for nothing? Not quite. At the very least it should let us determine a trend. The subjectively quietest card of the group was ABIT’s 4400 board, whose fan barely produced more than a murmur. It is followed by the PNY and the two VisionTek boards. Towards the middle of the field we find Gainward, ASUS, and Chaintech, whose card was characterized by a very unpleasant whirring sound. The second to last place is held by Leadtek’s tandem-fans. The dubious honor of most noticeable card, in the negative sense, goes to MSI’s entry. Producing almost 50db (A), this card can drown out even high-speed CPU fans.

The Cards

ABIT Siluro GeForce Ti4400

This model is a first for the Taiwanese company ABIT, in that it is the first time a solution based on a new, recently introduced chip is being offered. In the past, ABIT would only pick up a chip after it had been on the market for a few months. For this review, ABIT sent us a Ti4400 board, which woos the buyer with its elegant looks. Very promising silver heatsinks cover the memory and the GPU, while the board itself is covered in a black finish.

Memory Coolers on the backside

The card’s feature list continues this good impression. ABIT bundles it with a DVI-VGA adapter for use with a second analog monitor. Two 2m video cables are also included, one for composite and one for S-Video, so hooking up a TV or VCR to the card’s TV-output should pose no problem. A manual takes you through the installation routine. The software bundle is a little slimmer, though. It consists only of a software DVD player based on InterVideo’s WinDVD. The ABIT Ti4400 also scored points for its fan, which was the quietest in the field.

ASUS GeForce4 Ti4400 & Ti4600

ASUS V8460 (GeForce4 Ti4600)

In the past, this Taiwanese company’s Deluxe boards were the ones to beat on features – they set the standards and could always be certain of rave reviews and testing triumphs. With the introduction of this new family of cards, ASUS is shifting to a lower gear, it seems, introducing “only” a standard card. Not to worry, though – a Deluxe card with all the usual bells and whistles is also in the works and has already been announced.

ASUS V8440 (GeForce4 Ti4400)

The “Pure” versions we tested in this review, which are identical save for the chip and memory frequencies, offer neither hardware monitoring features nor the familiar 3D shutter glasses. While both cards are equipped with TV-out, neither has a TV-in connector. ASUS continues this minimalist approach by not including a video cable. The card does come with a short cable splitter for S-Video and composite video output. The inclusion of a DVI-VGA adapter with the cards allows dual monitor modes even with two analog displays, partially making up for lack in the ViVo department. A quick-start guide helps first-time buyers by explaining how to install the card into a computer.

Gold contacts

The gaming bundle consists of Aquanox, Midnight GT and a demo CD called “Game Showcase.” A software DVD player as well as the usual ASUS tweaking utility complete the bundle. Visually, the dark purple boards make a positive impression. A large, elliptically shaped and pleasantly quiet fan keeps the GPU cool. Neither board carries memory heatsinks.

Chaintech GeForce Ti4600 Special Edition

The word is out that stylish cards sell better, and it seems Chaintech got the message. Its card sports gold-colored memory heatsinks that exude an aura of high quality. A large, aggressively shaped, yet quiet GPU heatsink/fan, the gold-colored back plane, and the gilded VGA connector also do their part to add to the overall good impression. The card offers both TV-input and an output, but, lacking a composite video input adapter cable, can only be connected to S-Video devices. The S-Video cable is a bit on the short side, measuring only 1.2m. A DVI-VGA adapter is included as well, allowing a second analog display to be used.

Goldy slot bracket

A look into the card’s box reveals the driver CD in a DVD case, containing InterVideo’s WinDVD and EColor’s 3Deep color correction tool. In addition, there are also two games, Aquanox and the slowly aging MDK 2. Sadly, a video editing tool didn’t make it into the bundle. A large manual explains the installation procedure in three languages (English, German, French).

Gainward GeForce4 PowerPack! Ultra/750 XP

As usual, Gainward is advertising its GeForce4 Ti series with its high frequencies, dubbed as “Fast Clock.” For its “Golden Sample” line of cards, Gainward guarantees an especially high overclocking potential. Unfortunately, this once again turned out to be nothing more than simple software overclocking through the EXPERTool display utility. In the current v2.84 revision of the tool, a message pops up upon activation and warns the user about instability that can occur when the card is overclocked. For this reason all tests were run with the standard clockspeeds as defined in the card’s BIOS. Gainward’s top of the line model, the Ultra/750 XP, doesn’t use faster memory chips than the competition. Consequently, it doesn’t offer more overclocking headroom than its competitors, either. Visually, the card follows the typical Gainward style and comes in the company’s trademark red. The GPU fan is remarkably quiet, which is primarily due to the fact that it runs at a reduced voltage of only 8.6V.

Memory Cooler

From a feature perspective, no other board can hold a light to the Ultra/750XP. It comes bundled with the following: two DVI-I connectors (and the corresponding DVI-VGA adapters); TV-in and TV-out; 3D shutter glasses; and, as a bonus, a separate IEEE 1394 (Firewire) PCI card with two 1.8m IEEE 1394 cables. Two adapter cables, one for composite video or and one for S-Video, offer connectivity to a VCR and/or a TV.

3D Stereo Shutter Glasses

The software bundle isn’t bad either, consisting of InterVideo’s WinDVD, WinProducer / WinCoder, and the driver CD. A short quick-start guide offers installation tips. The only thing we missed out here in the THG Europe labs were instructions on the use of the 3D glasses, which currently only work with English-language versions of Windows, due to an error in NVIDIA’s drivers. Lastly, the slightly aged game Serious Sam offers some entertainment.

PCI IEEE 1394 Firewire Card

Leadtek WinFast A250 TD

Leadtek’s two flagship models A250 TD and A250 Ultra are cooled by two fans, which sit atop a massive heatsink. This monolith covers not only the GPU but the BGA memory chips as well, providing cooling for both. The flip-side of the card is dominated by another, slightly smaller heatsink. As a result, the card is anything but a lightweight. It would therefore be a good idea to check that it is sitting tightly in the AGP slot whenever transporting the computer in which it is installed. The fan-duo’s bearable noise level is also appreciated.

Massive heatsink on the back

Aside from the exclusive design, the Leadtek card offers only standard fare, meaning the driver CD complete with the WinFox 2.0 utility suite, WinDVD and the games Gunlok and DroneZ. The TV-output accepts connections either via S-Video or composite video. Sadly, the included cables are very short, measuring only 1m (composite) and 1.1m (S-Video). The DVI-VGA adapter is also absent from the bundle, reducing the dual display options to the analog/digital combination.

Massive heatsink with 2 fans

Leadtek also provides a quick installation guide for its cards, detailing the installation into a PC. The hunt for Leadtek’s current drivers proved quite an ordeal, since the localized homepages for each country seem to offer a different and sometimes outdated version. The only page currently offering the newest drivers is the English language homepage.

MSI GeForce4 Ti4400 & Ti4600

MSI GeForce4 Ti4600

MSI’s shipping boxes stand out by sheer weight alone, a result of the company’s decision to pack these cards with every feature available, and then some. Unfortunately, this also extends to the fans – the loudest in the entire line-up. Fortunately, this proves to be these cards’ only downside.

MSI GeForce4 Ti4400

The feature list leaves nothing to be desired. A detailed manual helps beginners with the installation of their new card. The TV-in connectors accept both composite video and S-Video cables, and a 2m S-Video cable ships with the card. Both of our review samples reached us without a DVI-VGA adapter for the connection of a second analog monitor, but MSI has promised to include these with all boards in the future.

The software bundle is nothing short of impressive, consisting of no less than eight CDs and a DVD, all of which come in flat plastic CD cases. The gaming part of the bundle includes the titles No One Lives Forever (2 CDs), Aquanox, Sacrifice, and one CD with game demos. The application software bundle is comprised of InterVideo’s WinProducer/ WinCoder along with the Professional Users Pack (MPEG4 & VCD authoring functionality HTTP://www.intervideo.inc), a software DVD-player, the driver CD and the MSI “Multimedia Value Package” DVD.

PNY Verto GeForce Ti4600

Aside from the purple color, the Verto GeForce4 Ti4600 from the American manufacturer PNY corresponds to NVIDIA’s reference design 100%. The card’s feature list is quite short. The DVI-VGA adapter is absent from the bundle. Also, the TV-out only works with S-Video cables, since a composite video adapter is not included. The quiet effective GPU cooler deserves special mention, though. PNY decided to do without memory heatsinks, which isn’t a real loss, since their effect on performance is questionable anyway.

The lack of a software DVD player is truly irritating, though. The driver section of PNY’s homepage points directly to NVIDIA’s driver download area – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, considering that most manufacturer’s drivers are derived from the reference release anyway and differ only in the embedded logo. The US version tested here ships with the game Star Wars: Starfighter. In Germany the card will be bundled with Aquanox as well as two blank PNY CD-R media. This may differ in other countries. Once again we found a short installation guide detailing the steps of the card’s installation.

VisionTek GeForce4 Ti4400 & Ti4600

XTASY GeForce4 Ti4600

PNY’s main competitor in the United States is VisionTek. Both its XTASY boards follow NVIDIA’s reference design completely, including the very quiet fans. These even bear the NVIDIA logo. The cards offer different features, though. The “little” 4400 only comes with a TV-output via Conexant CX25871-14 encoder chip, which, lacking a composite video adapter, is limited to S-Video devices. The only software bundled with the 4400 is Cyberlink’s PowerDVD XP 4.0.

XTASY GeForce4 Ti4400

Unlike its little sister, the big 4600 also comes with a TV-input, although it, too, is limited to S-Video sources for the same reason. In addition to PowerDVD, a limited version of Cyberlink’s Power Director 2.0 software ships with the card.

As with all other cards before it, we found an installation guide, this time in the form of a folded leaflet. A nice little detail can be found on the driver CD – a short video actually demonstrating the correct way of installing the card. A few NVIDIA tech-demos can also be found on the driver CD. Neither of the cards ships with a DVI-VGA adapter, though.

Test Setup

Benchmarks

Max Payne

Star Wars

3D Mark 2001 SE

Overclocking

Although overclocking tests are exciting, they are only of limited relevance to the real world. The problem is that, even within a family of cards, the spread is too big to allow us to draw any real conclusions. Extensive cooling through huge heatsinks and large (loud) fans may look impressive, but seldom has a tangible effect on overclocking endeavors. These overclocking results should therefore be seen more as a trend of what should be possible. There is no guarantee that any card, even from the same company and of the same family, will reach these speeds as well.

Conclusion

So which GeForce4 is right for you? That decision is based on quite a few factors. The 4600 models offer the highest performance, but carry a hefty price tag that requires more than just a little enthusiasm from the prospective buyer. The 4400s, on the other hand, are much less expensive and only slightly slower.

The next factors might be appearance and feature set. A close look at the feature lists should be a great help there. While MSI bundles its cards with everything a user could wish for and more, this may be irrelevant if you already have everything you need. On the other hand, if you have a case window or just want a good-looking card, you may want to opt for one of the more elegant designs. Lastly, a card’s noise level may end up tipping the scales in a favor of a certain product.

The competition in the shape of ATi has been relegated to playing performance catch-up for the time being. Although cards based on the RADEON 8500 are much cheaper than the big GeForce4 Titanium boards, they will soon find themselves competing with the smallest member of the GeForce4 Ti family, the 4200. This card will offer only slightly lower performance than its big siblings at a highly competitive price. Yet, as always, the competition isn’t just sitting on its thumbs. Matrox has just announced its Parhelia, and within the next few weeks we should see some more announcements of new and very promising products.

In closing we would like to comment once again on the poor TV-output quality still offered by these cards. This is definitely a problem NVIDIA needs to address. The VGA signal quality also could also use some improvement, as it is nowhere near what one should be able to expect from cards of this price category. Let’s hope that NVIDIA makes good on its promise of stricter reference designs.