The GeForce4 Ti 4600 and 4400 have been very successful releases for NVIDIA, and have helped the company virtually take over the high-end of the 3D video market. Even so, ATI provides excellent price-performance with their Radeon 8500 and 8500LE, and a few other companies are starting to make waves. After a bit of an enforced delay, the GeForce4 Ti 4200 has emerged to give NVIDIA a real presence at the upper mid-range performance level, and has become an instant hit with enthusiasts.
It's not hard to see why, as the GeForce4 Ti 4200 provides high-end GeForce4 Ti performance, but at a lower price than previous Ti 4400 and 4600 models. The feature list remains unchanged with the GeForce4 Ti 4200, as it includes the same nfiniteFX II Engine, Lightspeed Memory Architecture II, and Accuview Anti Aliasing enhancements of its big brothers, the GeForce4 Ti 4600 and 4400. As with other NVIDIA card lines, the GeForce4 Ti models are separated by their core and memory speeds, along with the Ti 4200 bringing with it a low-cost 64-MB version.
VisionTek has covered their assets by offering their new Xtasy GeForce4 Ti 4200 in both 64 and 128-MB configurations. These two models are a bit different than previous NVIDIA releases, as the GeForce4 Ti 4200 64-MB ships at 250 MHz core and 500 MHz memory, and while the 128-MB model does feature a 250 MHz core, its DDR memory runs at only 444 MHz. This creates something of a give and take atmosphere for the GeForce4 Ti 4200, and leaves many buyers undecided as to the right model for their individual requirements.
The card we are featuring in this review is the VisionTek Xtasy GeForce4 Ti 4200 128-MB, and along with providing a detailed look at the card, its features and options, the highlight has to be our all-out performance battle between the Xtasy GeForce4 Ti 4200 128-MB and a NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4600 64-MB board. This particular review works on a great many levels, and in addition to providing a detailed look at the Xtasy GeForce4 Ti 4200 128-MB, we hope it will shed some light on the question of which GeForce4 Ti 4200 design is right for you.
