Trivia: What graphics chip did NVIDIA unveil in March 2001? If your answer is "The GeForce 3" you’re right, of course … What else! Well, actually…

With all the hype surrounding the GeForce 3, it’s no wonder that the concurrent re-launch of the MX in its new incarnations, the MX200 and MX400, were completely eclipsed and went all but unnoticed. Besides, one could argue that the MX200/400 isn’t truly a new chip but only a "re-specified" MX. The 400 version of the MX is now specified to run at a core frequency of 200MHz and uses a 128Bit SDRAM interface. The 200 still runs at 175MHz but is limited to a 64Bit DDR RAM interface. To complicate things further, some companies are shipping their MX400 boards with the core "underclocked" to 175MHz instead of the specified 200MHz.

The MX design differs from its sibling the GTS in several points. In an effort to reduce costs, the number of texture units was halved to two, resulting in a considerable performance disadvantage compared to the GTS in multi-textured games. The T&L unit, however, remains untouched and fully functional. The chip’s functionality is also extended to include TwinView capabilities, allowing the use of a second monitor, similar to Matrox’s DualHead or ATi’s HydraVision. Of course, although all versions of the MX support this feature, it is up to the manufacturers to actually include the second connector. Feel free to read up on the MX in our RIVA Station GeForce 2 MX article.

The bottleneck that plagues all MX cards is their limited memory bandwidth. NVIDIA isn’t allowing the cardmakers to use 128Bit DDR RAM on their boards – obviously to keep them from getting too close to the GTS/PRO models. Additionally, NVIDIA is keeping close watch to ensure no MX boards ship at a higher speed than specified and has been known to put pressure on those that don’t comply. The speed limit, so to speak, is set at 200MHz core and 166MHz memory frequency for 32MB cards and 200/200 for 64MB cards. MX based cards are especially sensitive to memory clockspeeed and therefore greatly profit from memory overclocking. Gainward, for example, uses extremely fast memory. The 4ns chips found on the 32MB ViVo Golden Sample successfully overclocked to 265MHz, a full 60%! Nonetheless, 6ns 128Mbit DDR RAM would make a lot more sense, performance wise as well as where cost is concerned. But that’s politics for you. You wouldn’t want to compete with your own products either, now would you?

Copyright: 11.08.2001 -   RIVA Station 2001 - Lars Weinand
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