Albatron GeForce4 128MB Ti4200 Review - Overclocking

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OVERCLOCKING:

Now here is the category that in my opinion separates the men from the boys.  When it comes to nVidia graphics cards the process is simple, nVidia ships their GPU to companies and they slap in on a PCB.  What that means is that GENERALLY (there are obviously exceptions) all cards that share the same GPU should have relatively close to the same performance in default benchmarking.  Where the variables come in is what features (DVI, S-Video, etc.) and what components the companies add to the reference GPU.  The biggest thing we as overclockers and performance PC users look for is memory speed.  At default speeds it doesn't matter if there's 1.7ns memory on a board, 550Mhz is and always will be 550Mhz.  Now how much HIGHER you can push it, THAT'S where the faster memory comes in.

The 128MB Ti4200 from Albatron we are looking at utilizes BGA DDR memory rather than conventional DDR.  The answer to what that means varies so greatly from person to person that its not even worth the argument to get into that here.  Let's suffice it to say that it's a smaller package and has a history (after a remotely rocky beginning) of being some fast memory.

The core also is something that we overclock, but generally speaking how fast it will run is dependant solely on the GPU, and like every other processor varies from chip to chip.  Two GPU's that roll off of nVidia's line one right after the other can perform drastically different.   one may max out at 270Mhz while the next one will hit 340Mhz, it's simply luck of the draw.  Ok, that said, let's get on with the show.

What you are about to see are the cards maximum STABLE overclocked speeds.  Since my definition of stable and YOUR definition of stable may vary greatly, let me tell you what mine is.  Stable means that it will run 3dMark2001 looped for 7hours and not hang up at all or give even the remotest indication of a visual anomaly.  There are absoltely NO ARTIFACTS.  If you see artifacts or your system drops out after 20minutes of gaming, that IS NOT STABLE!  So, here are the stable maximum speeds.

 

 

No, you're not stoned and I'm not lying to you, this card reached over 700Mhz on the memory STABLE!  This is more than impressive and I can't reiterate that enough!  This is a Ti4200 NOT a 4600, yet we're seeing speeds that are closer to that of it's big brother than other cards in its same product line.  The core was still a decent performer, but we've seen better.  Bottom line here is that if you get anywhere close to the memory performance from all of their 4200's, this just may shoot to the top of my "must buy" cards!

3dMark2001 Build 330:

I can't imagine a look at a video card without checking out the 3dMark by MadOnion performance of it.  This is a artificial benchmark, NOT a real world game or application, so you must take it's results as such.  That said, when you're braggin' to your bro's about your systems performance, 3dMark is BOUND to come up!

 

 

Hmm, not too shabby at all, but not the boost we were expecting to see.  The higher default speed by the Albatron is easily explained by it's higher default memory speeds, but we did expect to see more of a gain in the overclocked scores.  What this tells me is that the memory of the video card is not the bottleneck in this benchmark, rather the core is.  Considering this, the fact that overclocked they all saw a substantial overclocked increase, but at the same level makes a bit more sense.

I can say that when I push the P4 up to the 2.35Ghz range the Albatron does walk away from the competition, but it doesn't run.  The best score I've achieved with this card is 12,700 whereas with the 64MB Ti4200's I've looked at usually score in the 12,000 - 12,300 range.  Still, I would call these scores impressive and this card a good performer overclocked no doubt.

 

CONCLUSION:

This is actually one of the easier conclusions I've had the opportunity to write.  The Ti4200 GeForce4 is right now pretty much the only option available to the performance crowd not willing to shell out the $350+ for a Radeon 9700, so it sells itself.  The only thing I'm really left to judge here is the bundle that comes with the card and the head to head performance of it against similar products.

The software bundle I was pretty pleased with.  If I didn't already own Serious Sam it would have been a nice addition to my game collection, and Motocross Mania was flat out addicting, while looking absolutely gorgeous on this card.  Hardware wise it came with everything we've come to expect in a retail boxed graphics board.  The one thing noticeably missing was a DVI to D-Sub VGA converter.  To have nView be on the card and not include this doesn't make a great deal of sense to me, but hey, to each their own I suppose.

I was either impressed or satisfied in the performance of this card in all areas, never disappointed.  In both the benchmarks I've included in this review, and the real world usage of the card it never failed to reach the bar set by it's like featured competitors, and more often than not exceeded it.

This is my first look at an Albatron product and as a company I like what I'm seeing from them.  Their entry into the retail market is taking aim at the performance PC enthusiasts and they're hitting their mark from what I can tell.  Only time will tell if they can continue to deliver the mail but they are certainly starting out on the right foot.  If they can keep their prices as competitively priced as they have them, I can't help but to think we'll be seeing more and more of them in the community.

 

PRO'S

   * Good Performance

   * Priced Competitively

   * Stellar Memory Overclockability

   * Excellent Software Bundle.

   * Copper Stock GPU Cooler

 

CONS:

   * No DVI to D-Sub VGA Converter Included

  

 

That wraps it up from here I believe.  If you have any questions, concerns, props, or flames, feel free to drop me an email.  Thanks for checking out our look at Albatron's GeForce4 Ti4200P.  If you're looking to pick one up I suggest you go to Pricewatch and search on Albatron, I found several there under $190, under $150 for the non turbo version, and that's hard to beat.  Head into our forums to discuss this or check out the front page for more GooSH!™ from OCAddiction.

 

If you're looking to find competitive prices on all things PC, search for an item on the right hand menu price search box, good stuff!

 

DISCLAIMER: The content provided in this article is not warranted or guaranteed by Developer Shed, Inc. The content provided is intended for entertainment and/or educational purposes in order to introduce to the reader key ideas, concepts, and/or product reviews. As such it is incumbent upon the reader to employ real-world tactics for security and implementation of best practices. We are not liable for any negative consequences that may result from implementing any information covered in our articles or tutorials. If this is a hardware review, it is not recommended to open and/or modify your hardware.

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