nforce4
- Thread starter chillmeow
- Start date
I've never heard of a HyperTransport 2.0. Is this meaning the increased HyperTransport speed to 1Ghz? Nforce 4 won't be much faster, its main claim to fame is that it supports PCIe and SLI. So gamers only pretty much. If you are pleased w/ your current video card, get nforce3 and then you can keep it. If you are getting a new one, you might as well get a PCIe since it should last longer.
xeenrecoil
Distinguished
- Jan 7, 2003
- 842
- 0
- 18,990
heya chillmeow;
If you got the cash then wait for the NForce4 SLI, is there really any question? :tongue:
<b><font color=blue>Co-Founder and Administrator of Toms Hardware IRC</font color=blue></b>
<b><font color=red>
Server: hub1.oddnet.net
Channel: #Tomshardware
</b></font color=red>
If you got the cash then wait for the NForce4 SLI, is there really any question? :tongue:
<b><font color=blue>Co-Founder and Administrator of Toms Hardware IRC</font color=blue></b>
<b><font color=red>
Server: hub1.oddnet.net
Channel: #Tomshardware
</b></font color=red>
Quote from <A HREF="http://www.Anandtech.com" target="_new">http://www.Anandtech.com</A>
The performance also breaks no new ground, nor did we expect it to. The nForce3-250 was very fast and the nForce4 is just as fast, but not really any faster than the nF3 Ultra at this point.
The major new features, PCI Express and SLI, are the real sizzle here. It is difficult to argue with what appears to be a very successful move by nVidia to PCI Express, even if there is really no current performance advantage that we could find to a PCIe video card compared to the same card in AGP clothes. Certainly, the potential for better performance is there, and nForce4 certainly protects the end-user for a while longer from video card obsolescence.
However, nForce4 is exciting mostly because of the incredible performance potential of SLI, which combines two top nVidia video cards into a monster video performance engine. It's not for everybody - SLI is undeniably expensive - but the prospect of a 40% to 85% leap in the performance of the most demanding games that you can run today will be too much for some enthusiasts to resist. No, you don't absolutely need SLI, but it sure is cool! Consider nForce 4 an evolution and refinement of the progress that nVidia realized with the nForce3 Ultra, and that's a very good thing indeed.
The performance also breaks no new ground, nor did we expect it to. The nForce3-250 was very fast and the nForce4 is just as fast, but not really any faster than the nF3 Ultra at this point.
The major new features, PCI Express and SLI, are the real sizzle here. It is difficult to argue with what appears to be a very successful move by nVidia to PCI Express, even if there is really no current performance advantage that we could find to a PCIe video card compared to the same card in AGP clothes. Certainly, the potential for better performance is there, and nForce4 certainly protects the end-user for a while longer from video card obsolescence.
However, nForce4 is exciting mostly because of the incredible performance potential of SLI, which combines two top nVidia video cards into a monster video performance engine. It's not for everybody - SLI is undeniably expensive - but the prospect of a 40% to 85% leap in the performance of the most demanding games that you can run today will be too much for some enthusiasts to resist. No, you don't absolutely need SLI, but it sure is cool! Consider nForce 4 an evolution and refinement of the progress that nVidia realized with the nForce3 Ultra, and that's a very good thing indeed.
Renegade87
Distinguished
- May 19, 2001
- 175
- 0
- 18,680
I gotta agree with pjordan. It all depends on how much you want to $ spend and how long you can wait. The hype machine will never stop, so there'll always be some great new hardware/technology upgrade on the horizon. If your a millionaire/trust fund baby then you can afford to upgrade every 6 months to 1 year, but for the other 99.99% of us we need to choose wisely. You're doing the right thing by doing your homework. Check out the reviews online. Anandtech has several great atricles on the socket 939 options.
Personally, I have an MSI NForce3 Ultra based system I'm very happy with:
MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum BIOS 1.3B6
AMD Athlon64 3500+ CPU
Swiftech MCX6400-V Heatsink
WD Raptor 740GD 74GB SATA
WD Caviar WD273BA 27.3GB ATA66
BFG GeForce 6800GT OC 256MB AGP8x
2x 512MB Crucial Ballistix PC3200 DDR (2-3-6-2)
ModRight X-Connect 500W Ultra Modular Blue UV PSU
2x LiteOn SOHO 1213S 12x DVDRW Drive
SoundBlaster Live Value
Hauppage WinTV PCI
Thermaltake Tsunami Dream Aluminum Case
Compaq P110 21" Monitor
CSW Four Point Surround 2000 Digital
WinXP SP2
DirectX 9.0c
"Nuke em till they glow, shoot em after dark"
Personally, I have an MSI NForce3 Ultra based system I'm very happy with:
MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum BIOS 1.3B6
AMD Athlon64 3500+ CPU
Swiftech MCX6400-V Heatsink
WD Raptor 740GD 74GB SATA
WD Caviar WD273BA 27.3GB ATA66
BFG GeForce 6800GT OC 256MB AGP8x
2x 512MB Crucial Ballistix PC3200 DDR (2-3-6-2)
ModRight X-Connect 500W Ultra Modular Blue UV PSU
2x LiteOn SOHO 1213S 12x DVDRW Drive
SoundBlaster Live Value
Hauppage WinTV PCI
Thermaltake Tsunami Dream Aluminum Case
Compaq P110 21" Monitor
CSW Four Point Surround 2000 Digital
WinXP SP2
DirectX 9.0c
"Nuke em till they glow, shoot em after dark"
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram