NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4200; which card for <$130

[AMDBOY]

Which AGP video card will yield best performance (O/C or not) for less than $130?? Newegg has these:newegg choices. Is it true that an NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4200 based card with 64MB of RAM can outperform a similar card with 128MB of RAM? If it's possible; 1)Is it the speed of the RAM? 2) If so, can't the Ram on the 128MB card be O/C as well??-- Need performance on a budget-- for an AXP 1600+ Agoia based rig. Have any of you had serious problems with any of these cards? Is there a GeForce4 Ti 4200 round-up that I missed? Computer Geeks has the ti200 ti200 for $79. Is there a big difference in performance between this and the GeForce4 Ti 4200?. $79 looks pretty hot. Thank you for any help & your experience.

 

[AnAndAustin]

Check the forums and it should be easy to find the info. Anyway ...

The standard clcoks differ:

4200-64MB = 250/500
4200-128MB = 250/444

This makes a perf diff of 2-3% between the cards. The 64MB ones nearly all use 3.6ns while 128MB nearly all use 4.0ns, here's the likely o/c's:

4200-64MB = 300/600
4200-128MB = 300/550

Again the 64MB card tends to lose a little perf even before the extra RAM on the 128MB card is actuallt needed. Once more than 64MB is needed the 4200-64MB at 300/600 will drop to about 4200-128MB 250/444 perf levels, better than a GF3TI500 or Rad8500 but not great for the near future coinsidering the price diff is usually under $20. Expect both the 4200-64 at 300/600 and the 4200-128 at 300/550 to be just ahead of TI4400 perf (unless the 64MB is breached). The 64MB version is still a great card and a good buy but it makes more sense to go for the 128MB version.

As for brand, it matters VERY little for GF4TI cards. Perf, o/c'ability, features, image quality etc are near enough identical so price and bundle tend to be the deciding factors. The only brands to avoid are:

AOpen 4200-128MB
EVGA 4200-64MB
non-Golden Sample Gainward 4200 cards (no definite on this but it's likely Gainward use nasty RAM on the non-GS to make the GS look better)

These cards all use cheaper slower RAM which will definitely impact o/c'ability significantly, and sometimes stability and actual clock speed can be affected too. So avoid these and you should be very cool!

GF3TI200 should o/c to about GF3TI500 perf which tends to be just below the GF4TI4200 at stock speeds, as soon as 4200 o/c they are way ahead and even more so the faster the CPU (eg AthlonXP). The GF3 cards also have much worse image quality, TVout, dual display, AA and they don't make the most of the faster CPUs either. Good if you are limited to under $100 but 4200 are defnitely worth the extra cash.

Tech-Report 4200 roundup
AnAndTech 4200 roundup
Tech-Report looking at the significance of 128MB vs 64MB (all cards at 250/500)

 

[AMDBOY]

AnAndAustin, Thank you so much.... I should have pulled my head out & dug around some more. You put the performance differences in a clear perspective. For O/C ing The 128MB 4200 seems to be best suited for my price range. I anxiously await putting my newbie O/C skills to test on this card. Thanks for the heads up on cards to avoid.Getting let down by crappy hardware isn't any fun.

 

[MusicSoundsBetterWithYou]

errr...if u didnt order it already get the leadtek!!

the 2d image quality is stuning, and it uses better filters than stock nvidia design cards....

 

[rogue1979]

For those with an adventurous spirit you can try the low pass filter capacitor mod on any GF2 or GF3. This is the only reason that various brands of Nvidia cards can be noticably lacking in 2D quality.

 

[AMDBOY]

got it ,thanks.

 

[AnAndAustin]

Everything I've read and heard to date regarding image quality certainly suggests that brand matters for GF2 and GF3 cards with Leadtek, Gainward and Visiontek being about the best. GF4 cards seem to hardly vary at all for image quality esp the TI cards and all GF4 are far better than even the best GF3. If you're in the market for a GF4TI4200 I'd avoid the brands which skimp on the RAM but other than that I'd let price and bundle be by far the most important factors.

IIRC isn't it those Leadtek Winfast cards which use a ridiculous and 99% useless cooling solution, Leadtek are a VERY well respected manu, I do like them and beauty is in the eye of the beholder but as said I wouldn't pay the extra cash for a particular brand in GF4 cards as it simply isn't worth it.

 

[AMDBOY]

Roger that on the brands. I'm gonna sit down tonight (when the wife is occupied) and do some serious shopping. I saw crapusa had a 4200 for $135 but only had 64MB of RAM. I know I can beat that price online. We all work hard for our money and I like to make mine stretch as far as possible(performance/value). This thread and these forums are a big part of my info, (like the hardware bible),lol. Thanks to AnAndAustin, and everybody for the help.