__What flavor GF4's... BGA memory?__

[Blain]

How far up the GeForce4 food chain do you have to go before getting BGA memory chips?
4200... 4400... 4600?
Are there only certain maufacturers that use them on their boards?

 

[moolman]

All 4400 and 4600 use BGA.

All 4200 use TMOS.

Alex

 

[AnAndAustin]

I think you mean TSOP. Essentially BGA isn't actually required, 4200s with 3.6ns RAM hit 620mhz with great stability and consistency from what I hear and read. You can get some 4200's which use BGA instead of TSOP but it nearly always proves pointless, it is the cost-cutting measures the 4200 uses which make it such a bargain. If you really need BGA then you can get it on any 4400 or 4600, just bear in mind that 4200 using the slowest 4.0ns RAM o/c to 4400 stock levels, while 4200 using 3.6ns TSOP o/c as well as most 4400 even though they use BGA. If you care about your wallet then the 4200 is a very sweet card, if you want perf then the 4600 or Rad9700 are the only sensible ways to go.

 

[hans007]

some of the asus 4200s use bga also.

 

[Blain]

Is there any need to heatsink the GeForce4's BGA chips? I'm assuming, from what I've read about BGA that they run cooler.

 

[AnAndAustin]

Some 4200's do use BGA, but it is pointless as I pointed out above. A TSOP 4200 o/c's exactly the same as a BGA 4200 so the ONLY benefit is faster default clocks. To get any higher you need to impliment the 4400/4600 card design (BGA, longer PCB, 2 extra layers, more onboard power regulation etc) and this hikes the price to unreasonable levels, just buy a true 4400 or 4600! Even a 4200 with BGA and a 4400/4600 design doesn't always o/c much better, only the Suma SE from all of the reviews I've seen. RAM HS are also pointless for 4200 cards, they do nothing for o/c, the same goes for super HSF designs, they make VERY little, if any diff and aren't worth paying extra for. Do yourself a favour and buy the cheapest 4200-128MB and only pay extra for 3.6ns RAM or particular features or bundles. Way up how much extra you're paying and see if the perf gain is worth it.