nVidia launches GeForce4s

Graphics card maker nVidia launched the GeForce4 family yesterday in a bid to give ATI a run for its money.

But with its release coming just a few months after the GeForce3 line, those who shelled out for the GeForce3 TI500 have a right to be somewhat put out by the announcement.

After meeting tough competition from ATI's Radeon 8500, the GeForce3 is already old news.

But early reviews show that the crown jewel of the GeForce4 line, the TI4600, sets nVidia in place to reclaim the laurels of the graphics card market.

The TI4600 and 4400 use nVidia's nFininteFX engine for enhanced anti-aliasing, but the main feature being pushed by the nVidia team is multi-display technology for output to multiple monitors.

The cheaper MX460, 440 and 420, are directed more at the mainstream market than the enthusiast, while the 440 Go and 420 Go offer high speed graphics with anti-aliasing support for a mobile platform.

The GeForce4 makes use of Lightspeed Memory Architecture II, a 128bit Double Data Rate memory interface and 'Z-occlusion culling', a hardware technique that only renders the parts of the objects that are visible, which maximises memory bandwidth.

The GeForce4 MX is already shipping in original equipment manufacturer (OEM) machines, and retail boards will be on the shelves in the next two weeks.

OEM systems featuring the GeForce4 TI will be available in 60 days, with retail boards available in 30 days. GeForce4-based notebook computers will be available in February.

Read vnunet.com's review of the GeForce4 TI4600 here.