Introduction
MSI GEFORCE4 TI 4800SE
Seasonal updates are pretty common in certain sectors of the hardware world, especially in fast-paced environments. The motherboard and graphics card world are two such places where continuous development dictates that a certain chipset or GPU is out-of-date in a few months' time.
To counteract these measures, chipset and video card designers often opt to simply spruce up existing products with, say, a new name, new packaging, and perhaps the addition of a couple of minor features. Sometimes, however, the motive is simply to keep buyers happy until your new all-singing, all dancing product hits the store shelves.
That may well be the reason why nVidia, the U.S graphics card giant, is choosing to 'update' its present line of GeForce Ti-based cards before the imminent launch of its next-generation GeForce FX video card some time this spring. ATi, nVidia's chief competitor, has stolen the performance crown in no uncertain terms with its excellent R300 card. Now with lower priced models (Radeon 9500, Radeon 9500 Pro Radeon 9700) being positioned at the same pricepoint as nVidia's Ti cards, nVidia have got to be seen to be doing something.
Will the GeForce4 Ti 4800SE be anything special. What can it do against the mighty Radeon cards, and is it worth it ?. We'll find out by looking at MSI's card in detail.
