S-Media GeForce 4 Ti 4200

S-Media GeForce 4 Ti 4200

Ameya Dalvi, May 29, 2003 0000 hrs IST

The S-Media GeForce 4 Ti 4200 is a scaled down version of the Ti 4600 that supports DirectX 8.

Good results in UT 2003 tests, Good build quality

Significant performance drop with AA and AF enabled

A few days back we tested the GeForce 4 MX 440 AGP card from S-Media. It had a very attractive price tag and an equally impressive performance. Today we will have a look at what their GeForce 4 Ti 4200 has to offer.

The Card and the Package
The GeForce 4 Ti 4200 is a scaled down version of the Ti 4600. But unlike the GeForce 4 MX chipset, the Ti 4200 supports all the DirectX 8 features supported by its elder brothers including Pixel Shaders. When I say scaled down, I mean in terms of speed. The Ti 4200 is based on exactly the same architecture as the Ti 4600 but with a lower core and memory clock. The number of rendering pipelines is also the same.




This S-Media card sports a 4X AGP bus and is equipped with 128 MB of 128-bit DDR RAM manufactured by Samsung running at 460 MHz. The 256-bit GPU core runs at 250 MHz and is fitted with a heat sink and fan, which is a replica of the one present on nVidia's reference design. Other than the standard VGA connector, it also features a DVI-Out and 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 package comprises of the card, a driver CD, an S-Video to Composite converter and a 5 feet long composite video cable. Now lets see if this card can hold its own against the competition.



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
The benchmarks were split in two categories: DirectX and OpenGL.
    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)
We 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 Demo





Serious Sam: The Second Encounter





Performance revisited
As we can see from the benchmarks, the performance of the card is not really consistent. It rides the crest when the Anti-aliasing and Anisotropic Filtering is turned off and hits the trough when they are enabled. This pattern is observed throughout most of the benchmarks. Also, it puts up a great show in the Unreal Tournament 2003 tests even surpassing the 8X Ti 4200 card from MSI and at the same time gets comfortably beaten in the Return to Castle Wolfenstein tests by similar or lesser cards. How's that for inconsistency! The Indian Cricket team finally has some serious competition... just kidding.

The above inconsistencies highlight the poor implementation of the GPU on the card. A bit more attention to detail by the card manufacturers would have produced better results and would have seen this card top the benchmarks. Unfortunately it's an opportunity missed.

Conclusion
Going by the price of the S-Media GeForce4 MX 440, we were expecting something special again in terms of the price but it was not to be. The price of the card is Rs. 11484, which is at par with the competition. At that price it's a decent buy though not a great one. As I mentioned in the review of the MX 440, even this card would be replaced by the GeForce FX variant which is already available for a few thousand rupees more. We will soon be reviewing the FX series of cards. If you have a budget of around Rs. 10K to 15K, I would advise you wait till we review the FX and then make a buying decision.

Test Unit Sourced From: Xserve India Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore.



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USER COMMENTS

hi, i have this card but am unable to connect my tv for some reason. i seem to have done everything by the book, in fact frigged around alot with it, all to no avail. Any kind soul got any tips?
** Message edited by moderator **

Anonymous | . | 28/01/05 05:36 AM | Report abuse Reply

hi there i am looking for geforce4 card with 4x compatability specification with atleast 64mb memory. Any links!!!

vinieet nair | calcutta | 11/09/03 03:07 PM | Report abuse Reply

Hi have one which I want to upgrade, just bought in sept 03 Asus 8170 DDR(SE) with 64 mb RAM willing to for aprox. 3000/-

dr_dac | Mumbai | 17/03/04 09:50 PM | Report abuse

I have a ASUS A7V KT133 SOCKET A motherboard with AGP PRO slot. will a 4X AGP card like s-media geforce4 4200 work on it?

SHARUKH BHARUCH | MUMBAI | 05/07/03 08:53 PM | Report abuse Reply

i would like to know the price of 512MB PC 1066 RD RAM, Samsung make.Where can i get it.

sarat | Bangalore | 30/05/03 09:22 AM | Report abuse Reply

you will find hardware in Bangalore in S.P Road

Jim | Techtree Test Labs | 07/06/03 08:38 PM | Report abuse

IM intersted . Would like to know price.

marko | mumbai | 07/06/03 03:17 PM | Report abuse Reply

hi Marko, the price is given at the end of the review. its approx 11.5k. if u r lookin at buying a new AGP and have a budget over 10k, wait. the fx series is just launched here. the prices shud fall soon.

Neo | Techtree Test Labs | 07/06/03 06:28 PM | Report abuse

depending on the price , the features seem good . interesting.

marko | mumbai | 04/06/03 08:40 PM | Report abuse Reply

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