Date: March 7th, 2003
Article by: Nathan Glentworth
(Owner, Head Editor & Hardware Reviewer)
Product was donated by: Albatron
ALBATRON CORPORATE PROFILE
Since its founding in 1984, Albatron began by providing large screen
multimedia monitors, rear projection systems and multimedia plasma displays
by using the brand name "Monivision". Albatron is the leading manufacturer
in corporate presentations, education training, video conferencing, and
public information display and flight information industry right now.
( find more about Monivision at http://www.chun.com.tw ) From this year,
Albatron will not only provide large screen display product but also computer
industry specific products. In March of 2002, Albatron released Intel
and AMD processor based motherboards that adopted products of the world's famous
chipset manufacturers. Meanwhile, we will launch high-end graphic cards
designed to create a dynamic display.
PRODUCT INTRODUCTION
Face the facts, not everyone out there has a deep wallet for computer
gear. Some videocards on the market now are going for a lot of money and
are filled with more features than you can really list, but do you really
need all the features? Maybe you want a videocard which performs well
and allows you to play recent games with no problems and will leave some
money in your pocket for that memory upgrade or even a new case. After
a week of testing I think I have a great option for you. Albatron's MX
variety of cards have been reviewed here before and were quite a surprise
in the dollar/performance ratio due to their great overclocking abilities.
The MX440 was reviewed HERE
in September and in essence is the baby brother to the card I will be
reviewing today. The one difference which sets these two card apart is
that the MX480 is capable of running at 8X AGP which seems to be the standard
in the computing world of today. Oh, and as a kicker, Albatron splurged
and packed on some nice 3.6ns BGA memory onboard just to make the overclocking
even more successful. So, does this card measure up? Let the review begin.....
PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS
Ok, what could Albatron squeeze into a videocard that is worth US$90
bucks. Well....
MX440-8X (NV18) chipset
• AGP 8x • Memory interface 64MB DDR
• Memory bus 128bit • GPU clock speed 275 MHz
• Memory clock speed 513 MHz
• Memory Bandwidth 8.2 GB/sec
• Fill Rate (texel/sec) 1.1 billion MX480 Chipset Features
1. AGP 8X Provides double the bandwidth of AGP 4X, X2. 1GB/sec. vs. 1.1GB/sec.
AGP 8X enables more complex models and detailed textures, creating richer
and more lifelike environments. Uninterrupted data flow allows for smoother
video streaming and faster, more seamless game play.
2. Video Processing Engine (VPE) Integrated high-definition Video Processing
Engine delivers the highest quality DVD, video, and display output available
in the market today. Integrated hardware MPEG2 decoder reduces CPU utilization
for DVD playback to provide a longer viewing experience.
3. Accuview Antialiasing (AA) The Accuview Antialiasing subsystem with
advanced multisampling hardware delivers full-scene antialiased quality
at performance levels never before seen.
4. Lightspeed Memory Architecture II LMA II boosts effective memory bandwidth
by up to 300%. Radical new technologies including Z-occlusion culling,
fast Z-clear, and auto pre-charge effectively multiply the memory bandwidth
to ensure fluid frame rates for the latest 3D and 2D games and applications.
5. nView Display Technology The nView hardware and software technology
combination delivers maximum flexibility for multi-display options, and
provides unprecedented end-user control of the desktop experience. nView
allows end-users to select any combination of multiple displays, including
digital flat panels, analog CRTs, and TVs, and to modify the display properties
using an intuitive software interface.
Specification are given to you courtesy of Albatron's Website.
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