Introduction

Today's video market

When ATI released the fully DirectX 8.1-compliant RADEON 9000 Pro, NVIDIA’s GeForce4 MX line was instantly relegated to the bargain bin. Who needs a rehashed piece of DirectX 7 hardware when a faster, more modern card can be had for a few dollars more? NVIDIA was quick to remind mainstream gamers that the GeForce4 Ti 4200 easily outperformed the RADEON 9000 Pro at a marginal price difference. Since then, prices on the 9000 Pro have fallen, making the card an exceptional value for well under $100.

So with the release of its RADEON 9000, ATI began a methodical march that has allowed the Canadian graphics firm to command attention in the mainstream, mobile, enthusiast, and most recently, workstation markets. As a result, several third-party board manufacturers have taken up the ATI banner by selling cards centering on the RADEON 9700 Pro and RADEON 9000 Pro processors. An even larger percentage is remaining faithful to NVIDIA and the GeForce4 moniker, though. Most of these manufacturers are still waiting with baited breath for NV30, NVIDIA’s answer to the RADEON 9700 Pro.

While it may be true that GeForce4 Ti is no longer the fastest chip on the block, it is definitely an undeniable performer. And, considering the price premium commanded by ATI’s flagship, there is still plenty of room on the market for less expensive graphics hardware. The GeForce4 Ti 4200 illustrates this point perfectly. Cards based on the 64MB DDR design can be found online for just over $100, complete with programmable pixel and vertex shaders. 128MB variants of the same card can generally be had for an extra $30. Furthermore, the overclocking community has demonstrated that most Ti 4200 cards run reliably at the same core and memory frequencies as the GeForce4 Ti 4400. It’s no wonder that the “budget” GeForce4 Ti card is such a strong seller – it embodies the compromise between brutally raw speed and the painful reality of price.

A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

Rather than wait for NVIDIA’s next generation graphics technology, ABIT has spent some time improving the already value-packed GeForce4 Ti 4200. The official result is a Ti 4200 core that comes from ABIT clocked comparably to a Ti 4400 card. With the addition of an extravagant cooling solution, the Siluro Ti 4200 OTES also runs cooler than the more expensive Ti 4400. As if the deal could get any sweeter, we’ve already found the card for less than $180 online.