NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4400/4600 Roundup - April 2002

Gainward GeForce4 Ultra/750XP

Before we get to the many strengths of Gainward's Ti 4600 we have to point out a serious issue with their card nomenclature. While their GeForce2 & GeForce3 based cards prominently displayed the name of their GPU in the name of the cards themselves, the same cannot be said about Gainward's GeForce4 and GeForce4 MX line. The first problem we had with the naming system is that both the GeForce4 and GeForce4 MX cards carry the same "GeForce4 PowerPack!" name with the only difference between the two lines being that the MX is called a "Pro" while the regular 4 is called an "Ultra." As if that weren't misleading enough, the numbers following the Pro/Ultra have no correlation to the shipping clock speeds of the cards themselves. For example, the Ti 4600 based card is called the Ultra/750XP but the number has no real meaning behind it. The entire community already has issues with NVIDIA's GeForce4/GeForce4 MX naming but Gainward actually further complicates the situation although we're sure that it does help sales a bit.

Having said that, Gainward's card is clearly the most feature-filled Ti 4600 in the roundup. This is the only card with two Silicon Image 164 TMDS transmitters that drive the card's two DVI-I outputs. In order to offer the greatest flexibility Gainward bundles two DVI-to-VGA adapters with the card to allow for two DVI, two analog VGA or one of each type of monitor to be used.

Gainward also uses the Philips video encoder chip and provides all the appropriate cables to allow for both video output and video capturing; and don't worry, all the necessary software is there too. A set of 3D glasses come with the card as well.

As an interesting addition to the bundle, Gainward packages a 3-port Firewire (IEEE-1394) card and a cable with the card. This little gem is presumably to offer a "DV input" for those with DV cameras but in reality you can use the Firewire card for just about anything.

All of these features come at a price and it's a steep one; you'll end up paying around $80 more for this Gainward card than you would a bare GeForce4 Ti 4600 but if you want dual DVI outputs it's the only way to go, short of buying a Quadro4 XGL. Don't forget that for the extra $80 you also get a Firewire card if that's something you can see yourself using.