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Now for the
final tests; how does this card handle when we start
overclocking the GPU and memory using Coolbits. If you
remember in my review of the Chaintech A-GT61, I was able to
get it up to 320/725, and I was hoping for the same, or
better, with the Abit. This was not to be the case,
unfortunately, as the system would become unstable at core
speeds greater than 310. I was able to get Quake 3 and
3DMark benchmarks with the card overclocked to 312/734, and
here are the results when also compared to the Chaintech GF4
Ti 4600 at default speeds.
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Overclocking The Abit Siluro GeForce 4 Ti 4200 |
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Where Sqeezing
Really Is Good To The Last Drop... |
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I have to admit I was somewhat
disappointed in these scores. As you can see, head to head
the Abit GF4 card was already anywhere from 6-15 frames
behind the Chaintech before we overclocked. Even after we
raised the core and memory speeds, it still did not match
the Chaintech, although it was close.
At least in this graph, the
overclocked Abit Siluro was better than the standard
Chaintech in all but the 1024x768 test. It?s really hard to
say why the performance did not match what we were
expecting, with the overclocked scores not even breaking the
10,000 barrier.
Those last tests really left
a sour taste in my mouth that was hard to remove. At stock
speeds, the Abit Siluro GeForce 4 Ti 4600 easily overmatched
two other cards, the Abit Siluro GeForce 4 Ti 4200, and the
Apollo Radeon 8500LE, but this was expected since these two
cards are priced at half the price of the Ti 4600, and are
marketed towards more cost-conscientious customers. When
placed head to head with another Ti4600, it fell behind,
even when overclocked. I should mention that this was only
one sample of the card, and it is entirely possible that
another card may overclock better. With the sheer power
already inherent in the GF4, one doesn?t even really need to
try higher speeds.
What, then, is there to sway
the customer into a purchase? Surely, the NV25 chipset is a
selling point in its own right, offering the most power in a
GPU. At $400 dollars, however, there needs to be something
special offered. The craftsmanship of the card was good, but
the GPU was not completely covered with thermal paste,
thereby leaving room between it and the HSF. This could have
caused problems after long use since proper heat dissipation
would not occur. While there was a helpful manual and
installation CD, there were no bonuses in the box to whet my
appetite. Based on the small difference in the scores
between the two Abit GF4 cards, it was hard to say that the
$200 difference in price was well spent. It?s still a great
card, but there is room for improvement, and my score for
the Abit Siluro GeForce 4 Ti 4600 will be a 7.5 on the
HotHardware HeatMeter.
Come
Get Some In The Hot Hardware PC Hardware Forum, Right Now!
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