<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Good Card, Despite What Others Have Said
Review: I'm going to start by setting the record straight on GeForce 4 MX cards. First off, they are BETTER than GeForce 2's. I have read reviews that say they aren't, but based on technical specifications and information found on Mad Onion, any GF4 MX card will outperform a GF2. But what about GeForce 3 and Geforce 4 Ti? Well, the GF4 MX is based on the NV17 core. GF3 is based on NV20, and so is more powerful (GF4 is based on NV25). GF4 MX cards also do not support DirectX 8 features (Pixel and Vertex Shader), though they are fully compatible with DX8 games. The GF4 MX 420 is about [X] cheaper than a GeForce 3, so it is probably easier to afford for most people. But how about performance? While frame rates can be beaten by a GeForce 3 or 4 Ti, I have still experienced good performance on my machine. My computer is quite powerful (it's an Athlon XP 1800+ w/ 512MB of RAM), but there is one game that can bring any computer to its knees if it's not totally dialed. And this game is: The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Don't be fooled by its minimum reqs (PIII 500 w/128 MB RAM and 32MB video card), it requires a LOT of horsepower to run. In fact, PC Gamer recommended an Athlon XP 1800+ w/ 256 MB RAM and a 64 MB GeForce 3 to run it smoothly at higher resolutions. ANd my computer with its GeForce 4 MX 420 got smooth frame rates at even the highest supported resolution: 1024x768. If it can run this game smoothly, then it can run pretty any game smoothly... well, except for Unreal Tournament 2003 in higher resolutions, which requires a nonexistent P4 3.60 GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM and (also nonexistent) a GeForce 5 overclocked so high that it's packed in its own mini-igloo, in addition to being cooled by liquid nitrogen!!! So, in summary, this IS a good card for gaming (plus, it has an S-Video Output, so you can watch yourself play games on your TV). If you have an extra [X] or [X], though, go for the GeForce 4 Ti 4200. You'll be happy you did.
<< 1 >>
|
