NVIDIA GeForce4 440 Go

Name: NVIDIA GeForce4 440 Go
Item: NVIDIA GeForce4 440 Go
Author: Matthew Witheiler

by Matthew Witheiler on June 21, 2002 1:11 AM EST

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We were initially concerned with how the flip-chip MAP GeForce4 440 Go 64MB would be cooled, but NVIDIA ensured us that cooling on the bottom of the chip is not necessary. The entire GeForce4 Go line includes no connect balls on the bottom that help transfer heat from the core to the surrounding area. What's more, the 31x31 package that NVIDIA began to use in the GeForce4 Go line is going to be a standard adopted by NVIDIA, meaning that the next generation mobile chip will be the same size and have the same pin-outs as the current GeForce4 Go chips. This should make upgrades for OEMs easy, allowing them to upgrade older models to newer video technology without completely reworking the system. Looking for proof that NVIDIA is sticking to this configuration for a while? The current GeForce4 Go package includes pins for AGP 8X, meaning that as soon as the hardware can handle the new spec, so can the package.

The following table should prove to be useful in distinguishing the various breeds of GeForce4 Go chips, as each runs at a different clock speed and uses a different memory bus.

GeForce4 Go Chips
	GeForce4 440 Go	GeForce4 440 Go 64MB	GeForce4 420 Go	GeForce4 420 Go 32MB	GeForce4 410 Go 16MB
Package Size	31mm x 31mm	31mm x 31mm	23mm x 23mm	31mm x 31mm	31mm x 31mm
Package Type	Discrete	MAP	Discrete	MAP	MAP
On Chip Memory	N/A	64MB	N/A	32MB	16MB
Core Clock	220MHz	190MHz	200MHz	190MHz	190MHz
Fill Rate	880M texels/sec	760M texels/sec	800M texels/sec	760M texels/sec	760M texels/sec
Memory Bus	128-bit DDR	128-bit DDR	64-bit DDR	64-bit DDR	64-bit SDR
Memory Clock	220MHz DDR (440MHz)	200MHz DDR (400MHz)	200MHz DDR (400MHz)	200MHz DDR (400MHz)	200MHz SDR (400MHz)
Memory Bandwidth	7.0GB/s	6.4GB/s	3.2GB/s	3.2GB/s	1.6GB/s

As you can see, the GeForce4 Go chips run at different speeds depending on their package type. All the MAP solutions run at 190MHz/200MHz and are only differentiated by the amount of memory they incorporate and the memory bus width used. The discrete GeForce4 Go chips are clocked slightly differently: 220MHz/220MHz on the discreet GeForce4 440 Go and 200MHz/200MHz on the discrete GeForce4 420 Go. Since both discrete GeForce4 Go chips are clocked differently than their MAP counterpart, performance of the chip will differ depending on the chip package an OEM chooses to use. Not all GeForce4 440 Go and GeForce4 420 Go chips will perform the same: the discrete solutions should perform slightly faster than the MAP ones.

Below you can see pictures of the NVIDIA GeForce4 Go chip line, with the exception of the discrete GeForce4 420 Go. Keep in mind that this chip with its 23mm x 23mm package is smaller than the remainder of the line.