Part One: Introduction

You may not be so familiar with eVGA cards but they, like some of the more recognized nV partners, have been making cards based on nVidia GPU's since the TNT chip. eVGA have been quietly building some great cards partially hidden from the mainstream by the hype surrounding the more established card makers. One thing eVGA have done well is constantly adapt to consumer wishes, particularly with reference to cooling solutions. They have constantly researched and adapted the cards heatsinks and fans thus ensuring the end user is receiving the best cooling for a GPU possible at their time of purchase. Take a peek at the main picture above. Yes that fan unit on the card is real and it really has to be seen to be believed! It's somewhat cartoon like appearance hides it's innovative approach to GPU thermal dynamics. We will investigate the unit further at a later point in this review. Let's refresh ourselves on nVidia's new MX range...

Part Two: 'When Is A Geforce 4 Not A Geforce 4....?'

...When it's a GF4 MX perchance? Yes indeed. You may already be well informed on the naming confusion, the 'MX' and 'Go' versions are in fact based upon the NV17 core i.e. the Geforce 2 range. This strange naming policy has lead a number of commentators to imply the MX range is nothing but a marketing strategy rather than true GPU advancement on the part of Nvidia. The only cards based upon the new GF4 based core are the Ti range of cards; namely the Ti 4400 and Ti 4600. While it's easy to be negative about this situation, in truth, the new MX range of cards are a huge improvement over the GTS, Ultra and even Ti based NV17 solutions. The FSAA is far more advanced and for the first time in a while, the MX can truly be considered a gamers card while still maintaining an attractive price point. As we will see later on, I have tested this very card in a number of demanding benchmarks and games and the results are surprising. This is the last thing I will say about the controversial naming policy; I certainly don't agree with it and I wish nV could have included the DX8 features we saw in the Ti200, it's slightly deceitful and certainly doesn't push the technology forward, the exact opposite of what we have come to expect from Nvidia. Right, that's my personal feelings out of the way, now I'd rather concentrate on evaluating the unit laid before me; The e-Geforce 4 MX 440. Lets see just what we get from eVGA and their innovative card....

Page Two: The MX 440
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