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With every
revision of the GeForce line from Nvidia, there seems to
be more and more variations, each fulfilling a certain
need in the graphics card market. First released in the
GeForce 4 line were the Ti 4400 and Ti 4600 models, which
undoubtedly provide the most power, but at a considerable
cost. Now, we are starting to see Ti 4200 models, which
will be priced a bit more moderately, for the mainstream
consumer. They are still based on the NV25 core using the
new technologies that make it a Gamer?s dream but the core
and memory clock speeds are slower than its cousins,
topping out at 250MHz for the GPU, and 500MHz for the
memory.
While the GeForce 4 Ti 4600 cards command a hefty price
(~$370-400), the GeForce 4 Ti 4200 card is expected to
sell for less than half of that price on the street. Does
that mean we will get half of the power? Of course not,
but is it really worth the expense of a new upgrade,
especially for current GeForce 3 users? That?s what we?re
here to show you. So, let?s find out.
The first retail-ready card to hit our labs, comes to us
from Abit, a company well steeped in a history of quality
hardware. They have been around for some 15 years or so,
and have a well-earned reputation for producing high-end
motherboards and video cards, especially when it comes to
the fine art of overclocking. This card arrived to us as a
?preview? model, sans any manuals or other goodies, so we
won?t be able to comment on that. However, Abit?s bundles
usually come stocked with an informative manual, cables,
driver CD, and one can always hope for a game or two.
Let?s look at what we do know about the Abit Siluro
GeForce4 Ti 4200:
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Specifications and Features of the
Abit Siluro GeForce4 Ti 4200 |
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A lot of power for
less than you would imagine? |
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CLICK ANY IMAGE FOR AN
ENLARGED VIEW.
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Abit GeForce4 Ti 4200
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250MHz GeForce 4 Ti GPU
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15-pin VGA, S-Video In/Out, DVI-I
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256-bit Graphics Architecture
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AGP Interface ? 4x/2x support
NVIDIA nfiniteFX II Engine:
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Dual programmable Vertex Shaders, faster Pixel Shaders
Lightspeed Memory Architecture II:
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With 128-bit DDR Lightspeed Memory Architecture II
provides nearly double the memory bandwidth of
GeForce3.
Accuview Antialiasing Engine:
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High-performance and stunning visual quality at high
frame rates.
Output Jacks:
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Standard 15-pin VGA
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S-video jack
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DVI-I port
Cooling solution:
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on-board active heat-sink cooling fan
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Specifications:
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Controller: NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4600
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Memory 64MB DDR SDRAM
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Core Clock 250MHz
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Memory Clock 500MHz
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350MHz internal RAMDAC
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API Support Direct-X, Open GL ICD for Windows
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Connectors VGA, DVI, S-Video In/Out
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4 Billion Texels/sec Fill Rate
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113 Million Vertices/sec
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8 GB/sec memory bandwidth
Features at a Glance:
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AGP 4x compatible with fast writes
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256-bit 3D and 2D graphics accelerator
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NVIDIA nView display technologies
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Lightspeed Memory Architecture II
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Accuview Antialiasing
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High Definition Video Processing Engine
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TV Out connector
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DVI connector
Package Contains:
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This was a pre-release
product, supplied with no packaging materials.
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We would usually comment on
the bundled software and accessories included with a
product in this section of a review. The Abit Siluro
GeForce 4 Ti 4200 we received was not quite ready for
retail shelves just yet though. The hardware itself
is a final revision, so specifications will not change,
and the quality and performance levels we have seen should
carry over into the retail box. If Abit is true to
form, the Siluro GeForce 4 Ti 4200 should ship with the
video cables and adapters necessary to take advantage of
the TV-Out feature, a DVI-to-Analog adapter and a bundle
including DVD playback software and drivers.
Setup and
Screen Shots
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