GeForce 400MX versus GeForce 2 Ultra

SagaLore

Elite Member
Dec 18, 2001
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I had a GeForce 2 Ultra that at the time seemed like one of the best video cards out there. I may be getting a budget microatx board - nforce2 chipset with the builtin MX400 video. Will that work better than what I had?
 

ts3433

Platinum Member
Jun 29, 2004
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Your GF2 Ultra may be marginally better (the GF4MX is pretty much a GF2MX).
 

SagaLore

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Dec 18, 2001
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Originally posted by: ts3433
Your GF2 Ultra may be marginally better (the GF4MX is pretty much a GF2MX).

I'm going to be using dual channel with 2-2-2 timing. How much shared memory does the GF 400MX use?
 

ts3433

Platinum Member
Jun 29, 2004
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It can be set to up to 64MB. Dual channel will greatly improve performance on an NF2 IGP. FYI, 2-2-2 is a waste.
 

obeseotron

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Oct 9, 1999
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Anything using shared main memory is basically going to be slower than anything that doesn't. Geforce 4 MX's suck in general and onboard they're even worse, stick to the gf2 ultra.
 

SagaLore

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Dec 18, 2001
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I found this article about the GF4 MX4:

http://www.digit-life.com/articles/gf4mx/

Many years ago I found a review that compared the NForce onboard video to other GeForce cards, and the results were surprising. It had to do with the dual channel and high speed bus, but maybe the article was about overclocking. :confused: Didn't NVidia tweak the onboard video slightly, making it different than an actual MX card?
 

SagaLore

Elite Member
Dec 18, 2001
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Okay I'll go ahead and spend a little more for a better card. I'm looking at some of the GeForce 5xxx series, but their naming convention is messing me up. Which of those cards are the best performers, under $100?
 

Appledrop

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Aug 25, 2004
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Originally posted by: SagaLore
Originally posted by: Azzy64
tbh, for a budget of <$100, id only buy on ebay, 9700 Pro off ebay is your best bet. If you buy retail at that budget, you'll get ripped... 5000 are not good, and 9600s are weak. The 9700p will play any game out there at the mo

What about This Card?

no ..no no no no ..:l the whole 5xxx series is really not very good, and doesnt run DX9 properly, and the 5600 is one of the worst.. honestly,do yourself a favour and purchase a 9700pro off ebay.. there is no risk if you buy off a reputable seller like "Retek," whom i bought mine off, and was very pleased :)
 

SagaLore

Elite Member
Dec 18, 2001
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Originally posted by: Azzy64
Originally posted by: SagaLore
Originally posted by: Azzy64
tbh, for a budget of <$100, id only buy on ebay, 9700 Pro off ebay is your best bet. If you buy retail at that budget, you'll get ripped... 5000 are not good, and 9600s are weak. The 9700p will play any game out there at the mo

What about This Card?

no ..no no no no ..:l the whole 5xxx series is really not very good, and doesnt run DX9 properly, and the 5600 is one of the worst.. honestly,do yourself a favour and purchase a 9700pro off ebay.. there is no risk if you buy off a reputable seller like "Retek," whom i bought mine off, and was very pleased :)

There is a Geforce 4 TI4800SE for the same price as that 5600 card. I looked at some benchmarks and it outperforms the 5600 as well...

Maybe I should go ahead and splurge the $1000 and build my new comp with all the good stuff, including a 6600GT. I'm deciding whether to do that, or just reuse the processor/heatsink I have from my burnt board and get another socket A board which by now is very inexpensive - I'm looking at only $250 for decent (but outdated) parts. Although the new socket 939 board I was looking at was also AGP 8x, so I could get the 6600GT now, and then upgrade to the newer stuff 6 months to a year from now when it's cheaper. But then again, if I wait that long, I might as well wait for the PCIXpress boards and buy the 6600GT then, and just live with a cheaper socket A board using the onboard GF4 MX.

:confused: <--- me

I'm not a gamer, but I would like to start playing Everquest again or the WoW that everyone is talking about. I mostly use the computer for web design.
 

Jassi

Diamond Member
Sep 8, 2004
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Wow requires some GPU power to play smoothly. My systems at school use a MX440 (I believe) and it slows down to a crawl in busy areas (these are 2GHz p4s too). So, I would say get a 9700pro minimum to enjoy a lag free experience.
 

imported_Kiwi

Golden Member
Jul 17, 2004
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Originally posted by: SagaLore
There is a Geforce 4 TI4800SE for the same price as that 5600 card. I looked at some benchmarks and it outperforms the 5600 as well...

(...) I might as well wait for the PCIXpress boards and buy the 6600GT then, and just live with a cheaper socket A board using the onboard GF4 MX.

I'm not a gamer, but I would like to start playing Everquest again or the WoW that everyone is talking about. I mostly use the computer for web design.

The GF 4's were the best there was about two and a half to three years ago, with the 4800 Ultra as top of the heap, but the card everyone would buy was the Ti 4200, because at a reasonable cost, it could still be overclocked, into more or less Ti-4600 territory. When the 5th nVidia GPU series came out, the cards they were used in were overpriced and underpowered, for the most part. The FX card roughly equivalent to a Ti 4200 is an FX 5700, although the overclocking situation doesn't apply to it. The FX 5900 would be roughly equivalent to a Ti 4600, and an FX 5950 is more or less where the Ti-4800 was.

Now that you can get the 5700/5900 cards for more reasonable prices, their performance still lags behind various ATI Radeons from a year and a half ago. Generally speaking, the FX's fell short of the DX9 capability that the later model Radeons offered, but the FX's still in the retail channel now do tend to sell for less than the ATI- based cards of their own generation to which they more or less compare.


:roll:
 

SagaLore

Elite Member
Dec 18, 2001
24,036
21
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Originally posted by: Kiwi
Now that you can get the 5700/5900 cards for more reasonable prices, their performance still lags behind various ATI Radeons from a year and a half ago. Generally speaking, the FX's fell short of the DX9 capability that the later model Radeons offered, but the FX's still in the retail channel now do tend to sell for less than the ATI- based cards of their own generation to which they more or less compare.


:roll:

When is SiS going to come out of the shadows and beat NVidia and ATI at their own game? :D
 

SagaLore

Elite Member
Dec 18, 2001
24,036
21
81
Originally posted by: Kiwi
Originally posted by: SagaLore
There is a Geforce 4 TI4800SE for the same price as that 5600 card. I looked at some benchmarks and it outperforms the 5600 as well...

(...) I might as well wait for the PCIXpress boards and buy the 6600GT then, and just live with a cheaper socket A board using the onboard GF4 MX.

I'm not a gamer, but I would like to start playing Everquest again or the WoW that everyone is talking about. I mostly use the computer for web design.

The GF 4's were the best there was about two and a half to three years ago, with the 4800 Ultra as top of the heap, but the card everyone would buy was the Ti 4200, because at a reasonable cost, it could still be overclocked, into more or less Ti-4600 territory. When the 5th nVidia GPU series came out, the cards they were used in were overpriced and underpowered, for the most part. The FX card roughly equivalent to a Ti 4200 is an FX 5700, although the overclocking situation doesn't apply to it. The FX 5900 would be roughly equivalent to a Ti 4600, and an FX 5950 is more or less where the Ti-4800 was.

Now that you can get the 5700/5900 cards for more reasonable prices, their performance still lags behind various ATI Radeons from a year and a half ago. Generally speaking, the FX's fell short of the DX9 capability that the later model Radeons offered, but the FX's still in the retail channel now do tend to sell for less than the ATI- based cards of their own generation to which they more or less compare.


:roll:

I ended up getting a Sapphire Radeon 9600PRO 256mb. Was only $100. Should that suffice? I know it's only a mid-range card, but based on all of the reviews I have read and your very helpful replies, it looks like it beats any of the geforce cards at that price. I'm also trying to rebuild my system so it is quiet, and the Sapphire apparently is real quiet. And it has DX9 support. :D
 

imverygifted

Golden Member
Dec 22, 2004
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honestly, since your still using a geforce 2 i guess your not gaming so it wont make a difference at all just go with the cheaper option