S-Media GeForce 4 MX 440
Ameya Dalvi, May 23, 2003 0000 hrs IST
The S-Media GeForce 4 MX 440 is a low-end high performing AGP Card.
Good performance, Well priced, Good build quality
The GeForce 4 MX chipset is on its way out
The Indian market is flooded with AGP cards based on the GeForce 4 MX 440 chipset and its variants. The price of these cards generally ranges between Rs. 4000 to Rs. 8000 depending on the make and the specifications. We had reviewed quite a few of them in our Mega AGP cards roundup and even before that. Just as we thought that we had enough of the GeForce 4 MX cards, we received this GeForce 4 MX 440 sample from S-Media. With the GeForce FX cards on their way to our Test labs, I was a touch reluctant about reviewing this one. But considering the fact that this is the cheapest MX 440 card available here, I went ahead with the tests to explore what it had to offer and was pleasantly surprised.
The Card and the Package
This is a 4X AGP card and as I mentioned before the card is based on nVidia's GeForce 4 MX 440 chipset. The 256-bit GPU core runs at 270 MHz and is fitted with a heat sink and fan for proper heat dissipation. The card has 64 MB of 128-bit DDR RAM onboard with an effective clock speed of 405 MHz. Though the memory speed mentioned on the box is 400 MHz, its 5 MHz higher than that. Well, there's no reason for anyone to complain about that as every little bit of increment in the clock speed can lead to improvement in performance. The RAM chips are manufactured by Hynix. Other than the standard VGA connector, it also features a S-Video out connector for connecting your PC to a TV for big screen gaming or presentation.
The build quality of the card is pretty good. The edges are quite smooth and you don't get the impression of it being a cheap card. The package comprises of the card, a driver CD, an S-Video to Composite converter and a 5 feet long composite video cable. Now lets get down to the tests and see how it performs.
Test Bench:
Following is the configuration of the system that we used to review this card:
- CPU: Intel Pentium 4 3.06 GHz with Hyper Threading Enabled
Motherboard: Intel D850EMV2 (i850E chipset)
Memory: Samsung 512 MB (256 x 2) PC1066 RDRAM
Hard Drive: 40 GB Samsung 7200 RPM HDD
Case: ADCOM Lg. ATX Tower with 300W Power Supply
Operating System: Windows XP Professional
- DirectX
3DMark 2001 SE
Serious Sam: The Second Encounter (Demo - Little Trouble) (4 Modes)
Unreal Tournament 2003 Demo (Botmatch - Antalus) - (4 Modes)
Unreal Tournament 2003 Demo (Flyby - Citadel) (4 Modes)
Aquamark (Multi-resolution) (4 Modes)
- OpenGL
Quake III Arena (Demo - demo1) (4 Modes) (Multi-resolution)
Return To Castle Wolfenstein (4 Modes) (Multi-resolution)
I ran the tests in four different AA (Anti-Aliasing) and AF (Anisotropic Filtering) modes to test the capabilities of the graphics card across various games.
The Benchmarks
3DMark 2001 SE
Aquamark
Quake III Arena
Return To Castle Wolfenstein
Unreal Tournament 2003
Serious Sam: The Second Encounter
Performance revisited
The MX440 SE is a scaled down version of the GeForce 4 MX 440 chipset. This card being powered by the MX 440 chipset easily manages to beat the MX440 SE-based cards and also the Radeon 7500, which falls in the similar price bracket. It also manages to outperform the card based on the proper MX 440 chipset from a reputed brand like Gainward. When compared to the MX 440 8X AGP cards, it generally draws the shorter end of the stick, which is understandable. As we can see from the benchmarks, the performance of this S-Media card lies right between the standard MX 440 4X AGP cards and the 8X ones which is quite commendable considering that it is a 4X AGP card.
Conclusion
As I mentioned before, this is the cheapest MX 440-based AGP card in the market. It is priced at Rs.3800. Considering its performance and the price at which it's selling for, I have no hesitation in recommending it for anybody planning to buy a new AGP card for under Rs.5000. This would serve the gamers well for another year or so. However if you are looking at a serious gaming performance, the MX-based cards is not the ideal option. The GeForce 4 MX technology is on its way out. The MX cards would soon be replaced by variants of the long awaited Geforce FX cards. None-the-less, this S-Media card is the fastest and the cheapest GeForce 4 MX 440 4X AGP card that we have tested here and that makes it a great value product for today's applications.
Test Unit Sourced From: Xserve India Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore.
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hi guys can anyone tell me the latest price of this card?Also is there any difference in performance between 64 and 128 mb geforce4 MX 440 SE
vaibhav | mumbai | 11/02/04 08:23 PM | Report abuse Reply
are u nuts isn't there a difference between 10 horsepower engine and a 20 horsepower engine, thats the actual difference, and if u don't understand what i meant, u need medical attention.
kamalaryan | lko | 08/04/06 12:29 AM | Report abuse
GOOD CARD,and STABLE this got many negative comments from the press but this card ROCKS
bloodbrother | -- | 13/04/04 01:55 PM | Report abuse Reply
hi guys can anyone give me the rates of the latest and CHEAPEST Graphics cards of 64 128 and 256 Mb memories.which are good.
badboy | tcr | 02/04/04 11:16 AM | Report abuse Reply
Yoohhhooo dudes im in urgetn need of the price of S-Media GeForce 4 MX 440
Haggy | Banglore | 16/02/04 11:12 PM | Report abuse Reply
hi SMEDIA MX 440 for 3560 contact smedia at info@xserves.com
Atul | mumbai | 16/02/04 11:20 PM | Report abuse
I got a Geforce4 MX 440 SE PCI and it looks like it plain sucks O_o i dont have a AGP slot so i can't get any thing better but it seems to work alot better then ur tests says it does, it works just fine on need for speed underground no lag or anything its perfict i dont see how it can have such a low frame rate then the other cards
kevin | Des Moines | 14/01/04 10:45 AM | Report abuse Reply
hi there i would like to buy this card so could u tell me where to contact for this card and what would be the price be and one thing what do you mean by "The GeForce 4 MX chipset is on its way out" thanks
Atul | mumbai | 14/12/03 01:15 PM | Report abuse Reply
Please suggest a Graphics card with NVIDIA 64 MB GeForce MX460 (8X) module
srikanth | bangalore | 09/12/03 11:32 AM | Report abuse Reply
what is the price now . Now what is available for less than say Rs. 4000
Krishna | Chennai | 14/11/03 11:15 PM | Report abuse Reply
Krishna...as in Mumbai, it costs from 3100-/ to 4400-/
nIRMAL-------HA | Mumbai | 30/11/03 01:38 PM | Report abuse
Hi, This question of mine would look silly to you, but because this is the best place to get info, I feel like asking you people. I just want to know whether this thing works on a Pentium3 800MHz. Since the card has DDR Rams,I felt its not compatible with P3. Please let me know.
Tauseef Jamalud | Hyderabad | 27/05/03 05:00 AM | Report abuse Reply
yes it will work..but normally it depends on the mother board not on the cpu..and normally a p3 motherboard will easily run a ddr..
andy | delhi | 17/08/03 12:06 AM | Report abuse
what is the price of this card and smedia geforce fx 5200 at present and from where can i get it?
vinit | goa | 30/07/03 02:40 PM | Report abuse Reply
Hi, are you Vinit24 from Baazee??
Anonymous | Mumbai | 30/07/03 06:15 PM | Report abuse
hello sir,i am gurmeet i want e-geforce 440 se pci graphix card with sd ram . if you have this then please contact me.
gurmeet singh | ludhiana (punjab) | 28/05/03 12:33 AM | Report abuse Reply
Pls write in a mail at info@xseves.com to get complete information.
Test Labs | Techtree | 28/05/03 01:51 PM | Report abuse
can u tell me the price of the asus gforce4 mx460 64mb ddr card and which card is better mx 460 or 440
Chandan Panjwan | Mumbai | 27/05/03 03:45 PM | Report abuse Reply
Hi, I am interested in buying this card. Can I get it delivered in Jamshedpur?
Anuj | jamshedpur | 24/05/03 12:26 PM | Report abuse Reply
Hi Anuj, You can contact Ms. Bhavna at her mail on bhavna_gupta@xserves.com.
Test Labs | Techtree,Mumbai | 26/05/03 11:06 AM | Report abuse
Hi Anuj, you can send in your queries to info@xserves.com to know more about it.
Bhairavi | Techtree,Mumbai | 26/05/03 12:29 PM | Report abuse
Hi, I am interested in buying this card. can i know the price
tanmay | calcutta | 25/05/03 12:50 AM | Report abuse Reply
Hi Tanmay, You can mail to bhavna_gupta@xserves.com to get all the information.
Test Labs | Techtree,Mumbai. | 26/05/03 11:03 AM | Report abuse
Hi Tanmay, you can send in your queries to info@xserves.com to know about the prices.
Bhairavi | Techtree,Mumbai | 26/05/03 12:25 PM | Report abuse
I hv tried all such brands.. I found the Digicolor brand to be a little better of the rest..
J. Dalmiya | Mumbai | 24/05/03 03:52 PM | Report abuse Reply
Balanced review
Kaushik Valambh | DAR-ES-SALAAM , TANZANIA | 24/05/03 01:06 PM | Report abuse Reply