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3D Mark
2001 SE shows very little difference between PNY?s Verto and
ASUS? V8460. On the other hand, both GeForce4 cards
outdistance the older GeForce3 by nearly 24 percent.
Overclocking the GeForce4 becomes effective at 1280x1024,
where performance is increased by about five percent.
At lower resolutions, the overclocking gains are nearly
imperceptible.
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3DMark 2001SE Anti-Aliasing Performance |
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Stress testing
with AA |
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The effects
of four-sample anti-aliasing are devastating with regard to
performance, but the visual quality is nothing short of
amazing. Again, both GeForce4 cards performed
identically, while the 64MB GeForce3 wasn?t even able to
complete the tests at 1280x1024. The bandwidth demands
of such intensive anti-aliasing translates into bigger gains
for overclocking, and the V8460 is able to score 10 percent
higher clocked at 310/735MHz.
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Overclocking The V8460 Ultra |
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Does the Copper
Fan Sink really help? |
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As you've
undoubtedly already noticed, we have added scores for our
overclocked V8460 Ultra in all of our tests. With more
than 63 million transistors, it isn?t difficult to imagine
how complex the GeForce4 core really is. The result is
a product that unfortunately doesn?t offer much headroom for
overclocking, even on a .15-micron manufacturing process.
On the other hand, the 2.8ns BGA memory modules are a little
more lenient. Even though our V8460 Ultra was able to
operate with a 325MHz core and 745MHz memory clock, we found
that the card would only run stably clocked at 310/735MHz
(compared to 300/650MHz, stock). Apparently, the
Copper Fan Sink doesn?t do as much for overclocking as we
had hoped it would.
Chances
are, if you are in the market for a GeForce4 Ti4600, price
isn?t too much of an issue. If it were, you?d probably
be looking towards a GeForce4 Ti4200 or alternatively, ATi?s
RADEON 8500 LE. With that said, the ASUS V8460 is one
of the more expensive GeForce4 Ti4600 cards on the market.
If the software and accessory bundle is of value, then the
price is justified. Otherwise, you could save $40-50
on a competing board.
It would
have been great to see ASUS? engineers work their magic with
the high-end Ti4600. Similarly, we would have liked to
see more headroom in the overclocking department (especially
since ASUS claims that the Copper Fan Sink provides superior
overclocking). The GeForce4 is a complex card though,
and based on its current manufacturing process it doesn?t
have much headroom above and beyond 300MHz, so it is hard to
fault ASUS for not making the usual innovative improvements.
Let?s face it , at the end of the day, this is still the
fastest 3D card on the market.
If price
isn?t an issue, ASUS? V8460 Ultra is certainly an attractive
product. However, if you?d like to save some money,
there are a few other high-end GeForce4 Ti4600 cards that
can be picked up for less but you may not get the kind of
bundle Asus is offering here. If overclocking comes as
a second nature, a GeForce4 Ti4400 or Ti4200 will provide
competitive performance as well.
We're giving the
ASUS V8460 Ultra a HotHardware Heat Meter Rating of...
Come
get some in the HotHardware PC Hardware Forum, now!
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