ABIT Siluro GF4 Ti4200 OTES Review September 25, 2002 Chris Angelini

Introduction

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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.



SIDEBAR: ABIT GF4 Ti 4200 OTES Product page

Specifications

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The GeForce4 Ti 4200 is identical to the Ti 4600 in all regards other than operating frequency. It delivers the same DirectX 8.0 functionality through programmable pixel and vertex shaders. Obviously, the Lightspeed Memory Architecture II and Accuview anti-aliasing features are also included. As previously mentioned, the only difference is clock speed – 250MHz for the Ti 4200, 275MHz for the Ti 4400 and 300MHz for the Ti 4600. The Ti 4200 doesn’t require the same power circuitry as the faster 4400 and 4600 cards, so the board design differs slightly, yet the NV25 remains the central feature.

There are currently two versions of the GeForce4 Ti 4200. One sports 64MB of DDR memory effectively operating at 500MHz and the other houses 128MB of DDR running at 444MHz. Of course each design has its own strengths and weaknesses. Since the 64MB card features slightly faster memory, it is usually able to outperform the 128MB variant. However, as the quantity and quality of cached textures increases, 64MB of memory proves insufficient. So if you anticipate frequent video card upgrades, a 64MB card will best suit your needs. Conversely, the 128MB version will work well for the long haul.

ABIT plans to offer the Siluro GF4 Ti 4200 OTES in both 64 and 128MB configurations, though the card we are looking at today comes with 64MB. Rather than adhering to NVIDIA’s reference design, ABIT uses 3.6ns Hynix memory modules rated for operation at 555MHz. Consequently, NVIDIA’s design calls for a 250MHz core and 500MHz memory clock, but ABIT has superceded that level of performance with a core clocked at 275MHz and a memory speed of 550MHz.

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Sowing the OTES

Under normal circumstances, increasing the core and memory frequencies would be a difficult task. NVIDIA guarantees the core will run at a given speed, so surpassing that limit introduces the possibility of product failures and inevitably, warranty returns. ABIT’s secret is an innovative cooling method dubbed OTES (the acronym stands for Outside Thermal Exhaust System). The base of the ‘exhaust system’ is a large, conductive copper plate that removes heat from the GeForce4 GPU. A liquid-filled, copper heat pipe is soldered to the conductive base running a constant condensation-evaporation cycle, theoretically removing heat faster. As heat is absorbed from the GPU, the liquid begins to boil forcing hot vapor to the other end of the pipe. Then, heat is released from the upper part of the cylinder after being exposed to cooler air. The liquid returns to the bottom of the pipe (generally under the force of gravity) where the cycle begins anew. ABIT uses a copper fin heat sink in conjunction with a 7200 RPM ball-bearing fan to accelerate the process. The plastic covering the fan purportedly creates a sealed environment so that all of the fan’s air output is directed through the heat sink. As you can see, ABIT completely covers the GPU with thermal compound to ensure rapid heat transfer.

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Bundle

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All That and a Bag of Chips

Because the OTES cooling system consumes so much room on the board’s surface, ABIT extended the mounting bracket to accommodate a 15-pin VGA output and an S-video connector (a single DVI-I output is located below the VGA port). Keep this in mind before you upgrade, as the first PCI slot on your motherboard will probably be inaccessible.

ABIT also bundles the cables necessary to interface with each external connector. In fact, the box includes an S-video cable, an RCA cable, an S-video to RCA adapter and a DVI-I to VGA adapter for use with a second analog display. With the exception of InterVideo’s WinDVD, there isn’t much in the way of software. Also note that the bundled version of WinDVD only supports two-channel audio output, though it does feature digital S/PDIF pass-through. Basically, if you’ve got a 5.1-channel surround system connected to your sound card through analog outputs, find another DVD player. But if you’re using an external decoder, WinDVD will work just fine.

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System Setup

Intel Pentium 4 2.8GHz

ASUS P4T533-C

512MB PC1066 RDRAM

ABIT Siluro GF4 Ti 4200 OTES 64MB (275/550)
ABIT Siluro GF4 Ti 4200 64MB (250/500)
PNY Verto GeForce4 Ti 4400 128MB (275/550)
Detonator Driver Version: 40.41

30GB IBM Deskstar DTLA 307030 ATA/100 Hard Drive

Windows XP Professional

DirectX 8.1

Desktop resolution 1024x768, 32-bit color, 75Hz refresh

All power saving options were turned off, as were the Automatic Update and System Restore services. Graphics options under the ‘Performance’ tab were all disabled for maximum performance.

Benchmarks

3D Mark 2001 Second Edition Build 330 – 32-bit color
Quake III: Arena version 1.31 – ‘four’ demo
Serious Sam: The Second Encounter – Beyond3D Maximum quality script, 32-bit color, Grand Cathedral demo



SIDEBAR: The GF4 Ti 4200 OTES is an AGP 4x card, though it will still work in an AGP 8x motherboard.

3D Mark 2001

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3DMark 2001 - DirectX 8

Notes

In its default form, the Siluro GF4 Ti 4200 OTES easy outperforms the standard Ti 4200 board by a margin of four percent at 800x600 and up to seven percent at 1280x1024. That number jumps to 14 percent as the OTES system settles at 310/600MHz overclocked. Even more interesting, the GF4 TI 4200 OTES card is right on par with the standard GeForce4 Ti 4400. Moreover, it nearly overclocks to the same level as a reference GeForce4 Ti 4600!


SIDEBAR: ABIT claims that normal cooling fans spin at 5400 RPM, compared to 7200 RPM for the OTES system.

3D Mark 2001 – Frame Rates

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3DMark 2001 - Car Chase

3DMark 2001 - Dragothic

3DMark 2001 - Lobby

3DMark 2001 - Nature

SIDEBAR: The GeForce4 Ti GPU is comprised of 63 million transistors – 44 million less than the RADEON 9700 Pro.

Serious Sam 2

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Serious Sam 2 - OpenGL

Notes

Once again, the GF4 Ti 4200 OTES performs alongside the GeForce4 Ti 4400 and bests the reference Ti 4200 design. Low resolutions yield a four percent improvement, while 1600x1200 delivers an extra nine percent. Overclocking provides an extra 11 percent, allowing the new ABIT card to outdo the GeForce4 Ti 4400 by 10 percent.


SIDEBAR: At 600MHz, the 128-bit memory bus is able to deliver 9.6GB per second of bandwidth to the overclocked GeForce4 Ti 4200 core.

Quake III

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Quake III - High Quality

Notes

Again, ABIT’s OTES card is nearly able to pace the more expensive GeForce4 Ti 4400. Although both cards are clocked identically, the Ti 4400 has a lot of extra circuitry controlling power and memory timing so it would seem that at high resolutions the 4400 is running more aggressively. With a bit of overclocking, though, the GF4 Ti 4200 OTES easily surpasses the Ti 4400. At default speeds, the newer ABIT card is about ten percent faster than the previous ABIT Siluro GF4 Ti 4200.


SIDEBAR: The M16’s cyclic rate of fire is 800 rounds per minute.

Ballistics Report

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Pros

OTES Cooling: The most obvious feature of ABIT’s offering is the Outside Thermal Exhaust System. At default speeds, the active cooling solution helps the GeForce4 board stay cooler than ABIT’s older Ti 4200 card and even the reference GeForce4 Ti 4400.

Clock speed: Whereas most Ti 4200 cards operate with a 250MHz core and effective 500MHz memory clock, the GF4 Ti 4200 OTES ships at 275/550MHz. At high resolutions, this can turn into a 10 percent performance increase. Even more impressive is the card’s overclocking headroom – our board was perfectly stable up to 310/600MHz.

Stability: Even if you don’t plan to overclock the GF4 Ti 4200 OTES, the added cooling is a boon to stability. Even after a long session of gaming, the card won’t overheat. ABIT also suggests that the extra cooling will help the card last longer.

Philips Encoder: You can’t see it with the OTES system in place, but the Siluro also features Philips’ SAA7104E encoder, which results in a sharper output image.

Cons

Mounting bracket: Given the card’s large size, ABIT really had no choice but to expand the mounting bracket. The GF4 Ti 4200 OTES does offer dual-monitor support through the VGA and DVI-I ports, but it will likely cost you the first PCI slot on your motherboard.

Price: For roughly $180, the GF4 Ti 4200 OTES is one of the most expensive 64MB Ti 4200 cards available. Fortunately, it resembles a Ti 4400 more than anything so the price is arguably justified.

64MB: For the time being, 64MB of memory is sufficient. However, as new applications (think Doom III next year) surface, the need for 128MB may very well become evident. The GF4 Ti 4200 OTES 64MB will perform well in current applications, but future titles may expose this minor disadvantage.



SIDEBAR: ABIT is also planning a 128MB version of the GeForce4 Ti 4200 OTES

Final Verdict

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FiringSquad says:

The first Siluro Ti 4200 card we saw from ABIT was of average fare. It ran at NVIDIA’s recommended operating frequencies and featured a large heat sink, but was certainly not enough to ring anyone’s bell. This is ABIT’s second time around with the Ti 4200, though, so we’d naturally expect more features and more performance. Fortunately, ABIT doesn’t disappoint.

To begin with, the card is just as fast as a GeForce4 Ti 4400. Can you imagine if you went to buy an Audi A4, only to discover the car had aftermarket upgrades and could outperform the bi-turbo S4? If ABIT hadn’t included any other feature, this would remain an extremely strong selling point for the card.

However, the Ti 4200 OTES also features an effective means of active cooling, which kept temperatures low throughout testing. Two drawbacks accompany the OTES technology. First, as a result of the cooling implementation, the card’s mounting bracket consumes two slots, and second, the 7200 RPM fan is fairly loud. Regardless, the copper heat sink assembly is truly a sight to be seen.

ABIT has definitely gone out of its way to cover the details – 3.6ns memory is provided, the GPU is fully covered in thermal compound, and adapters are included for TV output and a second analog display. Even the mounting bracket is comprised of copper.

With ATI’s RADEON 9700 Pro dominating the high-end and the RADEON 9000 Pro cleaning up the mainstream market, ABIT has done an excellent job of providing a product that can take care of the enthusiastic gamer on a budget. For now we can only dream about what ABIT can do with the GeForce4 Ti 4600, or even the upcoming NV30.



SIDEBAR: Is the ABIT GF4 Ti 4200 all you had hoped for? Are you against loud cooling fans? Please, let us know!