Print
Discuss
Send to friend
Generally speaking, the graphics chip tells you all you need to know about a graphics card's performance. A card based on an nVidia GeForce 4 Ti4200 chip should perform less well than those based on the more expensive 4400 and 4600 chips. Easy.
Abit has changed things with the launch of the Siluro OTES card. This is a Ti4200-based graphics card but special drivers mean it can be overclocked to provide better performance at no extra cost.
Overclocking means increasing the speed of a chip beyond that for which it was designed. This is usually safe up to a point but the chip will get much hotter. Unless it is cooled effectively, it will overheat and be permanently damaged.
The OTES system on the Siluro Ti4200 is Abit's cooling solution. It stands for Outside Thermal Exhaust System, which sucks in cool air and blows it from the back of the PC.
Unfortunately, the bigger size of the cooler on the card and its exhaust system mean that once the AGP graphics card is fitted, it takes up the space used by the PCI slot next to it, though not the slot itself.
The fan on the cooler is also extremely loud, so be prepared to start playing games with a set of headphones.
DETAILS
Price: £114
Contact: No UK number
www.dabs.com
See also:
All Graphics Cards
del.icio.us
Digg this
reddit!
