That Good ol' MX440

[TGHI]

Let's just face it. I am too cheap to buy a new video card, so I am trying to squeeze every last bit of performance out of my crap Geforce4 MX440 (AGP 4x) (by Xtasy). I am currently running at:

Core: 330 Mhz
Memory: 502Mhz (effective)
AGP Bus: 67Mhz
Aperature: 256MB
3DMark 2001 SE Score: 9006 (640*480, 32-Bit)

Stock Settings (as you MX440ers already know):

Core: 270
Memory: 400Mhz (effective)
3DMark 2001 SE Score: 8461 (640*480, 32-Bit)

Oddly enough, pushing my AGP bus higher (67, 68, 69) hindered performance. Obviously I am hitting a bottleneck. I haven't tried pushing core/memory any higher, but I just might some day. By the way, if you have passive cooling (like mine did), I would highly recommend putting a fan on that heatsink before trying to push a decent overclock (my card has actually warped from being so hot - then only at 290/490). Has anyone else OCed to produce better results? If so, how? I am always looking to push more out of that bloody card (and it's on warranty, too).


TGHI

 

[nick1985]

you broke 9k with a 440? :Q

**EDIT** i see you are running crap resolution...nm

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: nick1985
you broke 9k with a 440? :Q

**EDIT** i see you are running crap resolution...nm

Yeah... run it at 1024x768 like the default setting is and see what it scores

 

[TGHI]

I was not trying to show off how many points I got...I know *most* cards can beat the poop out of mine...I just wanted to know what kind of performance other people can get out of their MX440s. However, for most people to laugh, I'll run the test at 1024*768 later on tonight. I know that @ 800*600, I get around 8150, however...so I'll probably get around 7200.



TGHI

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: TGHI
I was not trying to show off how many points I got...I know *most* cards can beat the poop out of mine...I just wanted to know what kind of performance other people can get out of their MX440s. However, for most people to laugh, I'll run the test at 1024*768 later on tonight. I know that @ 800*600, I get around 8150, however...so I'll probably get around 7200.



TGHI

7200 is still adequate for most games (for the casual gamer)... depending on your use of AA and AF

 

[TGHI]

In Max Payne 2 i can run full detail at 1024x768 with 2x AA - I was quite surprised.

 

[Soulkeeper]

i'm impressed
people underestimate the value of these cheap solutions from ati and nvidia
they overclock very well

nice oc

 

[TGHI]

Well...it returns to my attention that this card is still under warranty - so I'm gonna push it some more....

 

[TGHI]

Christ! I got 7634 3D Marks at 1024*768. Card is now set at 340/520 ! I can't believe this thing!

 

[TGHI]

Christ! I got 7634 3D Marks at 1024*768. Card is now set at 340/520 ! I can't believe this thing!

 

[dealseaker]

how do you overclock it? software? i had a 440, now i have a fx5200, my 440 got hot, i put a fan on it to cool it off, 40 x 20 fan

 

[Soulkeeper]

i use powerstrip to overclock my video cards
i overclocked an fx5200 over 20% on the mem and core
that card overclocks pretty good too

 

[slaves123]

i've got a 440SE that's running on 450Mhz memory (it can do even 550Mhz but i hate the artifacts) and 370Mhz Core, fully stable, these are good chips

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: dealseaker
how do you overclock it? software? i had a 440, now i have a fx5200, my 440 got hot, i put a fan on it to cool it off, 40 x 20 fan

You're looking for Coolbits, the card overclocker that's built into the nVidia drivers. Here's the link.

 

[TGHI]

Yeah, I am using coolbits. Well, the final analysis is in:


Final O/C of the Xstasy Geforce4 MX440:

Core: 350Mhz (33% overlock)
Memory: 530Mhz (effective) (25% overclock)
AGP BUS: 67Mhz
AGP Voltage: + .1V (1.6V)
3D Mark 2001 Score: 7694 (1024*768 32-bit)


I have one question after all is said and done: WHY WON'T THIS CARD DIE!? The above overclock is (seemingly) completely stable with no visible artifacts. The only reason why I stopped pushing it was because the performance gain per megahertz overclock took a nosedive, meaning that it looks like I might have finally found the highest peak of performance for this card. That, and the RAM was averageing 40 Celcius - but all in all, I am VERY impressed by how frickin' far this card went.



TGHI

 

[myocardia]

Actually, it sounds as if you finally got your video card faster than what your processor and ram can push through it. Not bad for a $39-49 card, huh?

 

[TGHI]

Ha, I highly doubt that the rest of my computer is the bottleneck. And about the price, I paid $300 CDN for that piece of garbage when it first came out!

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: TGHI
Ha, I highly doubt that the rest of my computer is the bottleneck. And about the price, I paid $300 CDN for that piece of garbage when it first came out!

That's okay, I paid $239 for a 32MB TNT2! Besides, 7694 at 1024x768 isn't bad at all for an MX440.

 

[TGHI]

Yeah, fie on the price of technology! I used to have the TNT2 as well - it was a great card, wasn't it? I am REALLY impressed with the overclockability of this MX440 unfortunately the TNT2 didn't handle it all that well .

 

[batmanuel]

PIcked up a Mad Dog MX440 for $30 AR last Christmas as a video card for the Shuttle SFF I built for my wife's gandmother. Overkill, yes, but I didn't quite trust the S3 integrated graphics and wanted to beef up the graphics a bit just in case any of the other grandchildren wanted to play a reasonably new game on her new machine. It was a really nice card. Loved the TV-out quality. Not a bad card by any means, so long as you stay away from the AA.

 

[OpTiX]

Nice OC on that video card

 

[pspada]

Originally posted by: myocardia

Originally posted by: TGHI
Ha, I highly doubt that the rest of my computer is the bottleneck. And about the price, I paid $300 CDN for that piece of garbage when it first came out!

That's okay, I paid $239 for a 32MB TNT2! Besides, 7694 at 1024x768 isn't bad at all for an MX440.

That's okay, I paid about $250 for one of the first 4Mb Maxtox Millenniums. It's still painful to think of :disgust:

 

[TGHI]

Originally posted by: batmanuel
... Loved the TV-out quality. Not a bad card by any means, so long as you stay away from the AA....

Unfortunately, my card doesn't have TV-Out . It has dual VGAs, though, which, as far as I am concerned is a waste because I'm not a particualr fan of dual monitors...ah well.


TGHI

 

[batmanuel]

Originally posted by: TGHI

Originally posted by: batmanuel
... Loved the TV-out quality. Not a bad card by any means, so long as you stay away from the AA....

Unfortunately, my card doesn't have TV-Out . It has dual VGAs, though, which, as far as I am concerned is a waste because I'm not a particualr fan of dual monitors...ah well.


TGHI

Dude, that Mad Dog card had it all. VGA, S-Video and DVI. They were even kind enough to throw in a DVI-to-VGA adapter as well, along with a S-Video to composite video cable. The card was on a big ol' PCB as well, plus they had a really nice gold-colored fan on the graphics chip, with matching RAM-sinks. That was a heck of a package for $30 AR. I was impressed. If the Doom3 engine is as biased towards the FX series as the preliminary benchmarks show it to be, I may have to pick up one of their cheap FX 5200 cards on sale to tide me over until I can afford something better.

 

[TGHI]

The FX5200 is probably what I am going to get after I burn this card out and they replace it for me!