Choosing between 3 TI4200 cards ??? need advice

[Soulkeeper]

either of these three cards:

Asus GF4 TI4200 128mb $165
Asus GF4 TI4200 128mb $230
Albatron GF4 TI4200 128mb $185

the good thing about the last two is they use the micro bga memory
i've always liked asus just cause they are good quality
what do you guys think about Albatron ?
how much of a difference is there between overclocks with non micro bga memory and micro bga memory ???
i'm not interested in the asus delux's features but i do want the dvi output on any card i get and the 128mb
the micro bga is just a plus


which one would you guys get and why ??

 

[TenEgg]

If you don't overclock, just get the cheapest one you can find. If you do, get the albatron turbo, haven't heard anyone not able to reach 4600 speed yet. I like asus too, but the deluxe is just a ripoff. It doesn't oc as well as the albatron and for that price you can get a 4600.

 

[AnAndAustin]

I agree, another card which delivers on 3.3ns BGA RAM is Suma Special Edition as this again tends to hit 300/700 (4600=300/650). If you go Albatron do check the code, on their website you can see the diffs but they do about 8 diff vers of 4200 so do check! It's the Albatron P Turbo 4200's that tend to hit 300/700. The Asus Deluxe using 3.3ns BGA doesn't seem worth it really, 300/620 is about all you get, a TI4400 or other enhanced 4200 is a better idea. Of course the standard and cheap 4200 cards are pretty fine anyway, avoid AOpen, EVGA and the standard Gainward 4200's and your'e cool! Standard 4200-64MB should hit 300/600 while 4200-128MB should hit 300/550, the 128MB does give a boost and IMHO is worth the extra cash.

How much is BGA is needed? Well it isn't really, certainly not to reach 300/600 as 3.6ns TSOP is very often capable of that. If you want to go faster then 3.6ns BGA is pointless as it offers virtually no gain over the TSOP implimentation, so 3.3ns BGA RAM is the next logical step and should get about 300/700!

As for Asus or Albatron, both are fine manus and neither is known to cheap out on their gfx cards so both are a fine choice.

 

[Soulkeeper]

How come i never heard of Albatron till a few months ago ??
have they been around in the vid card market for a long time ??

Also can you remove those ram sinks if you want ??
or are they epoxied on there real permanent like ??

 

[AnAndAustin]

From what I hear Albatron are a big and well established company. IIRC they changed their name to make it either more western or simply more commercial, from what I hear they make VERY good products and seel them at VERY competative prices. As for the RAM HS's on Albtron's 4200 cards if you don't get a reply here I'd start a new thread, I know there are a number of people who own them who I'm sure could easily let you know.

 

[Soulkeeper]

dang i was gonna place the order then they took my xp 2400+ outta my shopping cart
guess i'll hafta wait till next week to order all my stuff

damnit i tellya

 

[sep]

I have an Albatron ti4200p (non-bga) and it's awesome. It's currenlty clocked at 300/570. I will stay at the 300Mhz GPU core, but I'm going to inch my way higher on the memory because it hasn't shown me any signs sofar of stopping...OHYEAH! It's now $141 shipped from newegg.

 

[pcmax]

I have the Albatron 4200P Turbo and really like it. Mine maxes out about 309/695. The ramsinks are epoxied on and actually are barely even warm to the touch, I suspect they are more for looks/marketing rather than having any major affect on the cooling or performance of the ram.

 

[Soulkeeper]

thanks everyone