Got|Apex? Review: ASUS V8440/DVI Series GeForce4 Ti 4400 05/06/2002

[Leon]

Thanks for reading the review. Please post any questions or comments in this thread


http://www.gotapex.com/reviews.php?rev=8440/index.html

[Showtime]

nice review, but no oc'ing :P ?

[LPMiller]

I mention in there twice why I didn't. No ramsinks. I don't like frying stuff before I finish reviewing it! :P

[Showtime]

Oh, you mentioned it alright but from what this site was originally designed....... :eek:

How to(my way):1st get a temp sensor or you can physically feel for heat. Run your tests and take "temp measurements" at stock speeds.
Use Rivatuner/coolbits/etc and .........+10mhz....blahblahblah...etc..
than check temps again.

How to(the right way): Buy some Tweakmonster Ramsinks, paste, tweak, test.

How to(on my budget): Go to Frys etc, they had tt ram sinks/ heatspreader combo for like $5.99. Buy 2 sets. If you have access to some metal working tools or a dremel this should be easy. Measure your ram and cut the 4 ram sink pieces into 3 or 4 sections(each). A little sanding and arctic thermal paste(4ever!) and you got a highly oc'able(ramwise) card. Put the leftover heatspreaders on 2 sticks of your ram. They look great.

BTW I use those sinks on my lowly ti200. No cutting needed on this board just a little sticky tape on 1 row and i use the clips/t-paste on the front facing row. Crystal orb'd it runs at 225+/530. 50/130+ over stock.

You probably know all this stuff already. This is how I plan to trick out my next card. I'm thinking(quit laughing:D ), that a base ti4200 may come in at a substanial savings.
Hoping to have the sort of success I've had w/ the ti200.

[LPMiller]

Oh, I know how to do it. I review things based on how they come to me. If they come with a heatsink on there that needs new paste, thats how I review it. People should know what to expect out of the box.

Yeah, we cater to hardcore folks, but we also have a boatload of middle ground users, or those just not into the heavy tweaking. We try to cater to them too, since they are usually ignored.

[CrazyFingers]

I am rather dissapointed in your review of this product. I own an Asus V8440, and it runs rock-solid @ core 300 mem 650, Ti 4600 settings. I am rather confused by your excuse of not wanting to fry anything. Do you not follow standard OCing procedures of taking speeds up in small increments until the fastest stable speed is found? I have read numerous other reviews of this card, and every one of them included overclocking results, almost all hitting Ti 4600 levels with absolute stability. Your fear of overclocking a card with no ramsinks seems unfounded, as other brands of Ti 4400 based cards overclock very well with no ramsinks (ie. MSI and Visiontek) and achieve good stability. I have as yet read no reviews that reported failed overclocking attempts that resulted in anything more severe than needing to reboot the machine. I don't want to speculate on any reasons for your lack of even trying to overclock this card, but I suggest you at least give it a chance to show your readers what it is capable of. If you are still reluctant to try, at least link to other sites that aren't, such as

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.html?i=1613&p=1

http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/articles.hwz?cid=3&aid=415
Quote from review:It shows that there isn't a need to have fancy heatsinks and coolers to overclock. Just a simple heatsink will do.

[LPMiller]

1) yeah, I know how to overclock.
2) I don't know how many times I have to state it - my reviews are based on what you get in the box. I'm not going to take off heatsinks to redo paste, nor apply ramsinks the manufactuer didn't put there. I review the card as is. If it looks like it has potential - like the gainward - I'll overclock it, but it shouldn't, and isn't, the primary reason to buy a video card for most people. You spend 300 bucks, you outta be getting 300 bucks worth of performance without tweaking.

A quick look through our forums tells me only some of our readers overclock and tweak. I try to hit a middle ground. I review things from my perspective, and that's all I can do. The card may overclock fine, I chose not to test it, because I don't think it's intended for quite that market.

Frankly, I tire of sites that cater only to the hardcore. There is a whole wide world out there of people who want things to work out of the box, know enough but aren't into the tweaking scene, and I see nothing wrong with talking to them every so often.

You found other reviews that test the overclock...not sure why then you think mine has to do it as well. I'm not trying to copy every one elses work, I'm trying to do my own. I didn't read any other reviews of the card, I'd rather try to insure I have my own perspective on a product.

Plus, what would it prove? Say I overclocked it and got some silly number - doesn't prove anyone else will, and I don't want folks thinking they can, fry the card, and blame me.

I didn't overclock the Leadtek MX440 either when I reviewed it - because even if it does overclock high, that's really not the purpose of the card. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe Asus expects everyone to take the ram up to 700. Doesn't seem that way though.

But I understand and appreciate your perspective; I just don't agree with it in regards to this particular card.

Edited because I left out a modifier here and there. I hate laptop keyboards.

[Cantacuzene]

Terrific reply to the detractors LP. Personally I don't overclock even though I could and I too am sick of cards getting negative reviews because they dont OC well. If the card maker said, "this card was produced for teh sole reason to be overclocked easily" then I can see reviewing it with that in mind, but otherwise, review it as is.

Insofar as OC'ers count, they are "so hardcore" that they dont need people to tell them what they already know, so what does a review mean to them? Especially when 2 systems with identicle components can run totally different.