LOSTCIRCUITS

Summary

Discounting the "MX" varieties, the GeForce4 comes in three basic flavors, that is, the Ti4200, the Ti 4400 and the the Ti 4600. The latter offers the currently most powerful graphics combination, the 4400 is a gap-filler and the 4200 is serious business at a budget price. We have taken the ASUS V8420 Pure and the V8460 Ultra Deluxe and compared them to the ATI RADEON 8500 and the GeForce 3 TI 500 (ASUS V8200 T5). What it comes down to is pretty much a deathmatch between the RADEON 8500 and the V8420, especially since both cards are positioned in the same price range. So where are the winners and where are the losers? And let's not forget the "Best of Show" either.

Being one of nVidia's preferred partners bears with it certain burdens, particularly, a certain lack of freedom of choice, the source of some rather painful experiences at Hercules/Guillemot, just to mention one example. On the other hand, even being one of nVidia's loyal followers or partners still did not bear any warranty for success as e.g. the name Elsa has mostly historical value now. In other words, being in today's graphics business is like making a choice of which freighter you want to be on when they collide, the one carrying red paint or the one carrying brown paint and in the end, it doesn't even matter because both crews get marooned.

So why do companies still stay in the graphics business? It's low margins, low profit fast moving and still, it has one main advantage: compared to the mainboard, CPU memory or HDD business, it appears as if there is rather little in terms of tech support that needs to be done, ergo, a small overhead only with respect to maintenance. For many companies doing mainboards and other products on the side, it also helps to keep production lines filled since chances are that mainboard recession won't coincide with graphics card recession but then, you never know.

That's a bundle, or actually two. The V8420 (Geforce4 Ti4200) comes with a rather spartan quick setup manual, s-video out converter, LCD-to-CRT adapter, the driver and utilities CD and the ASUS DVD2000 software player. The bonus is the so-called QuadForce game bundle, featuring Aquanox, Midnight GT and a sampler CD with Comanche4, DeltaForce and a number of other freeware game demos. Above are the accessories for the V8460 still in the box, featuring a glossy manual, the same LCD-to-CRT converter / splitter, an s- and composite- video In and Out interface module and shutter glasses. If you ain't seen those, you ain't seen nothing yet. Patience, we'll get to them in a bit.

In the graphics sector cut-throat market , showing distinguished features instead of being the nondescript, plebeian foot soldier who is merely an expendable asset still appears the ticket to ride. Deluxe, UltraDeluxe are names only surpassed by Spanish Harlem Supermarkets like Xtra Super Jumbo and the strategy is the same although this is where the similarities end (and I won't go into details): create a dream first, then an image and a product awareness and have the decals and bundled features to go with the name.

Bundles are a very important buzz word that is thrown at the innocent bystander a.k.a. customer. We have 3D glasses, multiple monitor support, VIVO and TIVO and if you still believe that you are looking just for a standard graphics adapter, the embedded features like nView will convince you that your entire life until now has been the one of an unworthy dweep. But wait, you are just looking at a chance of being reborn, cleansed off the dirty legacy of sub-GigaHertz computing and ready to cast your eyes upon the latest step towards virtual reality. And you can do it all for a buck and a quarter in change, or not? You don't believe us? Just give us another minute and we'll have all the answers.

David and Goliath

We'll be looking at dreams today and we'll be pitting them against each other a la H.P. Lovecraft in "The Cats of Ulthar". So what dreams are we dreaming today? The non-Freudian answer is ASUS V8460 UltraDeluxe and ASUS V8420 and for viewing pleasure, we throw in the V8200 T5 (Ti500) and a retail RADEON 8500 for comparison.

Next Page:    => Forgotten Something? What About The Cards =>