Performance of an MX400

MCS

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Feb 3, 2000
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I am putting together a mATX system which will run off of my TV. I need a graphics card that is cheap, has TV out and will run games reasonably well at low resolutions of say 640x480 or even 800x600. I am considering a MX400 64MB of some description. I appreciate that this is a budget/entry-level card, I have my main rig for hardcore gaming :)

I would just like to know how do these cards perform? Where do they fit in in the scheme of things? Will they run games at 640x480 relatively smoothly? What is the quality of the TV out like? Is it a good choice of card for my purposes?

Thanks!
 

DKNG

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Dec 28, 2001
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If your running games at only 640x480 all of your games should be smooth. The performance will be the same as the GF2 GTS or Ultra at this resolution. Its only when you put the resoluion at 1024x768 or higher then you'll see the MX slow down alot. I'm pretty sure that the TV-out quality shouldn't be that bad. I would say get the card since your only running at low resolutions.
 

MCS

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Feb 3, 2000
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Worth getting the 64MB version or stick with the 32MB version?
 

BFG10K

Lifer
Aug 14, 2000
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Stick to the 32 MB version unless the 64 MB version is only a bit more expensive.
 

Mem

Lifer
Apr 23, 2000
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<< Will they run games at 640x480 relatively smoothly? >>



I can run most games at 1024x768 with my GF2 MX 32mb card in my Win98 PC,of course it depends on the game in question but for your purpose you will be fine :).
 

MCS

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Feb 3, 2000
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Are the 32MB and the 64MB both the same other than the amount of memory? They are both DDR?
 

JeremiahTheGreat

Senior member
Oct 19, 2001
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OH PLEASE! Don't get a nVidia card if you want tv-out.. it really doesn't look very nice.

The difference between my old GF2MX and my new Radeon 8500LE is phenomenal.. so there are 2 choices if you value your TV-OUT quality -

1) Get a Matrox - never tried one but heard good things about it
2) Get a ATI Radeon - the Radeon LE is hella cheap and hackable to become standard radeons.
 

MCS

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Feb 3, 2000
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It's really that bad? Baring in mind I have never used TV out before so I wouldn't know good from bad.
 

Dark4ng3l

Diamond Member
Sep 17, 2000
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well tv out on voodoo3 was definately not great, and from what ive heard nvidia's is alot worse. My 3month old radeon 64DDR's tvout is great though, but I dont use it much.
 

MCS

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Feb 3, 2000
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I went for a 32MB MX400 in the end, I am confident it will play games at 640x480. I did not pay much for it so if the TV out really is appauling I can always replace it with something else. Thanks.
 

nemesismk2

Diamond Member
Sep 29, 2001
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www.ultimatehardware.net
Being in the UK you would be better off getting a videologic Kyro 2 64mb with tv out instead of that MX400 or the 32MB version of the Kyro 2 to save some money. I upgraded from an MX to a Kyro 2 and it was the best move I ever made. The Videologic Kyro 2 was voted best budget buy ahead of video cards like the MX400 etc in alot of UK PC magazines, the MX400 is a crippled video card which offers poor performance, the Kyro 2 however gives much better performance esp with FSAA enabled which is something with an MX you will NEVER use!

The 2D quality of the Kyro 2 is also excellent and TV quality is the best I've seen with ANY budget video card!
 

MCS

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Feb 3, 2000
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Interesting...I had read that the MX400 was the best performing budget card, and that the Kryo 2 could be potentially a lot better had it not been for a poor driver set. This is just what I read. I have not purchased the MX400 yet so I may do some more research - I had not even considered the Kryo 2 as it happens!
 

manly

Lifer
Jan 25, 2000
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From what I've read, the Kyro2 becomes a great value with increasing CPU performance, i.e. if you're pairing it up w/ a 1 GHz system or faster, it'll pull away from the GeForce2 MX series.

As for nVidia TV-out, you might try a util called TVTool.

Are you going to buy a new or used card?
 

MCS

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Feb 3, 2000
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I am going to buy a new card, the Abit Siluro MX400 64MB TVO. According to reviews, it is fast enough to cope with 640x480 gaming, or even 800x600. I probably won't need to use 32bit colour on a TV, but we shall see. I will be using a Duron 800Mhz.

Apparantly the Kyro (spelt it right this time), is rather buggy (graphic glitches) and does not have T&L feature. I can't excited over it for these reasons, but I will try and find some proper reviews.