Ever heard of a GeForce4 4600 8x thats NOT a 4800?

Anyone ever heard of a GeForce4 4600 with 8x? Alienware is sending me a replacement for my Geforce3 ti500 due to a failed fan. I just noticed that the one they're sending me has 8x added to the "Geforce4 4600". Now to my knowledge the only 8x models were a 4200 with 8x, and a model called the 4800 that was really just a 4400 with 8x. But then I found this:

eVGA GeForce4 4600 8x

When I first called in the warranty on the 20th of Jan. I was geeked when they said they were sending me a 4600 as a replacement. But then that one was delivered to a state other than my own, three days BEFORE they got me the tracking number... Tonight I noticed that the second model they're sending me has 8x tacked onto it, unlike the first "lost" shipment. Its still a fine free upgrade from my ti500 so I sure can't gripe (other than about Alienware's ridiculous customer service, Great products as long as you're willing to invest at least a half dozen phone calls per order) but I still am curious about whether I'm getting a 4600 or a 4400? The web has nothing on any actual 4600s with 8x AGP. Anyone heard of these models?

Only thing I see is just on Nvidia's site.

http://www.nvidia.com/view.asp?PAGE=geforce4ti

AFAIR the 4800 is exactly what you were told - a TI4600 with 8X AGP interface - so not a big deal - NVidia decided to not move most of the higher end cards to 8X as its mostly not worth the trouble anyway besides marketing but with the Geforce FX around the corner why introduce one more generation for just a couple of weeks - for the lower end cards it made sense (marketingwise) as those are supposed to be around longer even with the FX shipping - while one can expect the higher end TI cards to get replaced by the FX boards - does this make sense to you - oh and yes - based on the above the 8X 4600 named 4800 so only gets minor exposure and this is why you might not find anything about it - and its was never intended by NVidia to go retail but was only intended as an OEM solution - and the 4800 isn´t a 4400 8X but a 4600 8X - so I guess you got a higher value replacement and you can/should be happy about it.

Klaus

Like I said, it was a replacement for a ti500 so I can't really gripe, I just wanted to not gripe about a 4600 instead of a camouflaged 4400.

Because my motherboard is AGP 4x an 8x card really is not that attractive to me, especially if the 8x meant I was really getting a 4400. Since I'm pretty sure the first card that was delivered God-knows-where was a genuine 4600 I was going to be disappointed over the 100 or so additional framerates I could of had but for bad customer service like the obsessive geek that I am.

I think you're right about it being a 4600 though, the eVga card on the link above shows a gpu speed that matches the 4600, so I remain hopeful. You're also right about the card getting no real press exposure whatsoever. Now I'm seeing rumblings that the FX may be delayed (possible) or altogether canned (very unlikely) due to disappointing comparisons against the Radeon 9700 by some early reviewers.

MichiganMan,
The FX Ultra (500MHz core and 1GHz 128 bit memory) is toast, only the prepurchased ones will be shipped. Seems that having a video card that puts out 75 watts of heat with two fans screaming at 60dB to cool it down to 68C on the heatsinks is not something nVidia wants to do. They may have released it but it is only a few percentage points faster than an ATI 9700 Pro. Basically, the FX Ultra is a huge, hot running, sounds like a hair dryer, $400 failure (code named GeFlop)
They are now going to release a 400 core 800MHz 128 bit memory FX (non-Ultra) for $329. Yes, the 9700 Pro will eat it's lunch but nVidia had to release something. ATI's response is a Radeon that runs the .13 micron core (9700 is .15 micron) it's speeds will be 400MHz core and 800MHz 256 bit DDR. Looks to be a great year for ATi but one never knows what a few months will bring.
All I want is a 9700 Pro All in Wonder card for $150 This may take awhile.

Huh, good information, thanks. I should have suspected as much when I heard that Nvidia was sheepishly (IMO) recommending a minimum 400 watt power supply and then saw the rumors that the release was in trouble.

Wow, I'm betting some execs are really rethinking how cool they thought being part of the FX project was...

With each passing day I'm happier about this 4600 and am losing that nagging temptation to wait for the FX Ultra or pay for a Radeon 9700 Pro. With this free 4600 coming I really can't justify the ~$350 for a 9700. Of course I will still lust after that All in Wonder 9700 along with you. Been reading some good reviews on that one. Looks like ATI finally caught on that the folks that shell out for an AIW are the same uber geeks that want bleeding edge 3D performance.

Yup,

funniest reasoning I saw about the noise level was some NVidia official saying something like that the Ultra card was only targeted at hardcore gamers where the noise would be a non-issue as these guys are playing with head-sets anyway.



Klaus

There are heated rumors that the Radeon is more flaky than the GeForce, and even die hard Radeon fans admit that their favorite card probably needs a bit more attention in order for it to work properly with some games.

I love the fact that the Radeon 9500 Pro is direct x9, but has ATI worked out the stability issue? Go to any video card forum at a major computer web site (Tom's etc) and you will see multiple post on how to fix computers that keep crashing after the owner installed a Radeon.

Personally I'm torn between a Radeon 9500 Pro and a GeForce ti 4200 8x.

Performance verses stability.

Raven

Raven,

I don´t want to dispute Radeon vs Geforce with you as I have no relation with either company or product (Matrox user here) but let me just say that the guy working for Tom and doing the graphics card tests is and was a die-hard NVidia fan since day one - so whats written there might not be the ultimate source for a fair comparison.

I was just (and still am) highly amused about that horrible statement regarding the unbearable noise level which is in no way acceptable for anything which should be sold to the general public and used in home or office environments.

Klaus

Originally posted by Raven:
Personally I'm torn between a Radeon 9500 Pro and a GeForce ti 4200 8x.
Performance verses stability.
Raven[/QB]

Click to expand...

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Raven, why settle for a 4200? There haven't been any stability issues between the 4200 and 4600. I assume you have an AGP 8x motherboard to get use of the card?

Just got my replacement card installed. Turned out to be a BFG 4600 8x Haven't got a chance to research it online yet as the installation was... an educational experience.

I HATE educational experiences.

They make you think for a frantic half hour that you fried yet another power supply until you realize you disconnected the tiny power switch and reset connection wires when you relocated the hdd to make room for the big *** card. And they also teach you to make sure that when you go to delete the old cards Nvidia drivers you don't accidentally delete the Nforce drivers instead (you know, the ones that make the integrated NIC function so you can download drivers... drivers that you now really need. )Mind you, this is only like my 20th video card install, they shouldn't be this interesting anymore.

In any case, it rocks. My ti500 scored in 3dMark a consistant 8,500. This new card just pulled down 11,085. Woo-Hoo!