Conclusion
If the OTES had allowed me to reach previously unattainable GPU clock speeds, I might be more excited about the product. Sadly, it didn't, so all I'm left with is a really noisy factory-overclocked GeForce4 Ti 4200 that takes up an extra PCI slot. Honestly, I don't mind losing a PCI slot, but I don't want to have to turn up my music just to drown out my graphics card's cooling system.

Noise complaints aside, it's nice to see a factory-overclocked card hitting the market. At $160 on Pricewatch, the Siluro GF4 Ti4200 OTES 64MB is about $20 cheaper than the nearest GeForce4 Ti 4400, but the Ti 4400 does have 128MB of memory. Currently, there aren't any 128MB OTES cards up on Pricewatch, so a more direct street price comparison with the GeForce4 Ti 4400 is impossible to make.

Don't get me wrong. I love the OTES idea, and it's something that I'm eager to see Abit further develop in future products. The cooling system has the potential to keep the GPU cooler than stock cooling solutions, which certainly bodes well for the longevity of an overclocked GPU. And, though I found this particular implementation far too noisy to justify the incremental boost in clock speeds and performance, I'm hopeful that future revisions can offer better performance with lower noise levels.

If your system already sounds like a 747 taking off, you'll probably be quite happy with the Siluro GF4 Ti4200 OTES, especially if you have a fetish for sexy video cables. Otherwise, it's probably better to go with a quieter GeForce4 Ti 4200, perhaps even Abit's own vanilla Siluro GeForce4 Ti 4200.