   |
|||
|
|||
| :
News : Reviews : Editorials : About : Contact : Advertising : Privacy : Links : Forums
|
|
Albatron GeForce TC 6200 Q |
|
|
The Little Card that Could |
|||
|
|
|||
|
by Josh Walrath |
|||
|
A simple box with a woman on the front looking like she is saying, "Heeeeeyyyyyyy" For years NVIDIA has offered some fairly controversial products for the budget sector. We all remember the initial fuss of the GeForce 4 MX and its naming scheme, and we also distinctly remember the GeForce FX 5200 and its promised DX9 gaming abilities. While in each area these were not terrible parts, they certainly did not endear themselves to many who consider themselves budget gamers and users. Sure, these products had fair 3D gaming abilities at the time, but the GeForce 4 MX did not reflect the DX8 abilities of its other GeForce 4 brethren, and of course the GeForce FX 5200 faired slightly better at DX7 and DX8 gaming, but could hardly muster anything resembling DX9 gaming. It appears as though NVIDIA has finally heard the calls from users, and now have introduced a part that can easily game with older titles, and still allow the user a very solid gaming experience with many of the latest titles. The 6200 TC was designed from the beginning to be a budget part that could accommodate a good amount of gaming. Not only that, but it was designed to effectively utilize small amounts of onboard memory along with addressing the computers main memory for many of its 3D and texturing functions. The introduction of PCI-Express has allowed computer component manufacturers to more adequately and efficiently address main memory. PCI-Express is a low latency, high bandwidth interconnect technology that should allow different computer components to interact with each other in a much more direct and efficient manner. The PEG (PCI-Express Graphics) portion allows a massive amount of bandwidth between the system controller and the video card. PCI-E 16X allows 8 GB/sec of bi-directional bandwidth (4 GB/sec up and 4 GB/sec down). When combined with an Intel based chipset, the video card has access to either 6.4 GB/sec or 8.2 GB/sec of memory bandwidth, depending on if the chipset supports PC3200 DDR or PC4200 DDR-2. On the AMD side, things work a bit differently. Since the Northbridge does not contain the memory controller, it links up with the 939 pin Athlon 64 via a 1 GHz HyperTransport bus. This bus provides 8 GB/sec of bi-directional bandwidth as well, which then goes to the dual PC3200 memory controller on the Athlon 64. In the case of a Socket 754 PCI-Express product, this bandwidth is down to 6.4 GB/sec for the HyperTransport bus, and the memory bandwidth of the 754 chip is only a single PC3200 memory controller.
A simple, yet unexciting bundle. Not unexpected considering the price though. Having a printed manual is very nice though, especially considering the customer this product is aimed at. The overall physical design of the 6200 TC allows the use of less memory, a 32 or 64 bit onboard memory interface, a simpler PCB design with fewer layers, no external power connector, and far fewer power components on the board. The NV44 chip that makes up the 6200 TC is approximately 80 million transistors, and is produced on TSMC’s 110 nm process. The core is usually clocked at 350 MHz, and due to its very low power draw and heat production, a simple heatsink with no fan will more than adequately cool the chip.
If you have found this article interesting or a great help, please donate to this site.
Copyright 1999-2005 PenStar Systems, LLC. |
|||
