The MSI G4Ti4600-VTD follows the NVIDIA beat and ships clocked at the standard 300 MHz core and 650 MHz DDR memory speeds. Also included is a full 128-MB of high-speed DDR and a MSI-branded heatsink-fan on the GeForce4 Ti chip. This HSF is slightly different than the reference design, with a silver heatsink, clear plastic covering and a slightly-faster active fan.
Compared to most vendors, MSI has taken a slightly different angle with their G4Ti4600-VTD. Most products are differentiated into pure gaming cards, or those offering professional/home entertainment-level configurations with all the VIVO extras. MSI has taken both design philosophies into consideration with the G4Ti4600-VTD. Not only does the board include high-end gaming performance, along with serious cooling and potential overclocking, but the G4Ti4600-VTD also features VIVO options and a break-out connector. This combination approach filters down to the software level, as MSI includes a wide range of game and A/V software with their retail product.
Our review G4Ti4600-VTD board featured the standard 128-MB of 2.8 ns Samsung BGA DDR memory, but it should be noted that the MSI-enhanced HSF design provides excellent airflow and coverage of the memory chips. The newer BGA memory does run cooler than the older PGA format and the MSI cooling design has us excited about potential overclocking results.
There are few design issues present with the G4Ti4600-VTD. The inherent GeForce4 Ti 4600/4400 problem of card length and its affect on smaller cases is naturally still a concern, as is the old capacitor interference present on select motherboards (like the EPoX 8KHA+). Other than those standard challenges, the only improvement we can think of relates to the HSF. The fan is fast and puts out a bit more ambient noise (though the issue has been - no pun intended - overblown) but we'd like to see a bit more substantial heatsink. It looks great, cools well, but it feels like some sort of composite alloy rather than pure metal. It may be personal preference, but we like that cold feel and extra heft of metal any day of the week.
The MSI G4Ti4600-VTD has potentially the most fully-featured hardware and software selection of any GeForce4 Ti 4600 board. The retail box contains a dizzying array of components, and in addition to the G4Ti4600-VTD card itself, MSI has also added hardware extras such as an extended line S-Video cable, a DVI-to-VGA adapter, and a VIVO 4-port (S-Video/Composite, in/out) breakout connector.
From a hardware point of view, MSI has certainly covered all the bases and the cables ensure full user satisfaction with its VIVO and nView technology. The MSI G4Ti4600-VTD user manual is also very detailed for a 3D video card, and explains all the relevant install and setup procedures, along with including several very useful diagrams of the VIVO, nView and TV-out functionality. For those who like to show off your high-end hardware, MSI also includes a "Geared by MSI" metallic case sticker.
The software side of the equation is even more robust that the included hardware, and MSI has heaped a virtual mountain of CDs inside the box. We're not kidding about the size either, as there are nine individual CDs, each in its own slim line plastic case. We're not easily impressed by software bundles, but the jaws started loosening once we took a gander at this selection.
We have always felt that including at least one full-version game is a good call with any expensive 3D card. It not only ensures that the buyer will have at least one game to try out on their 3D hardware (especially important for newbie buyers) but it is also the cherry on the top of the 3D sundae. MSI has taken this sage advice a few steps further and included three full retail games: No One Lives Forever, Aquanox and Sacrifice. While all of these games have awesome 3D visuals, the real gem is No One Lives Forever, and if you haven't had the opportunity to try it out, the MSI game bundle will be especially satisfying. Along with the retail game selection, there is also a CD including seven game demos.
But like some carnie salesman on the shopping network, MSI doesn't stop there, and sweetens the deal with a wide selection of A/V and multimedia software. The key ingredient is InterVideo WinProducer 2 and WinCoder 2 software, which makes the job of importing, editing and then outputting to file or DVD/VCD/etc. formats incredibly easy. It can also import video source data directly to MPEG formats and even burn VCDs directly from the application. We're usually a bit hesitant when it comes to "full version" bundled software (especially for what is essentially a $100-$150 package), but in this case all the features are available and it stood the test when we compared it against a more limited "trial version" of WinProducer we downloaded to another PC.
MSI also includes a copy of their branded version of InterVideo's WinDVD, along with a nice selection of MSI applications and utilities. About the only issue we had, and it was a small one, was due to the registration codes being on the CD themselves. Be sure to jot these down on a piece of paper before starting the actual install.
