Mainstream Runners: 5 Allround Graphic Cards with nVIDIA's GeForce2 MX

MSI StarMAXX 32 (MS-8816)

Micro Star International (MSI) is one of the top motherboard manufacturers. Like many of their competitors they have started to sell graphics cards as well. We got their StarMAXX 32 for review, consisting of the GeForce2 MX graphics engine and 32 MB SDRAM memory (single data rate). This board is not equipped with a second RAMDAC chip; still the layout is prepared for that.

MSI did not spend much money on the basic board, as "only" 6 ns memory is used. That's of course just enough, but does not give you any margin for big overclocking projects. Unlike the Platinum card from Suma, MSI's model is not cooled by a fan but with a simple heat sink. Again that is of course not the best basis for someone who wants to overclock her or his graphics board.

Considering that MSI should be selling most of their graphics cards to OEM customers, the standard memory and cooling is the right decision in order to beat down production costs.

6 ns SDRAM memory is enough to meet nVIDIA's specs, but not satisfactory for overclockers

After Tom's latest review of four high-end computers , people should be glad to obtain a GeForce2 MX card like this one instead of the outdated TNT2 M64 hardware. There is in fact no other graphics chip that provides as much 3D power as the MX at such a low price. The MS-8816 (that is MSI's product number) is also equipped with a TV out.

We received a retail box which included a S-video cable as well as a short manual and two game demos.