Gainward CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!! 64MB

Conclusion

With our examination of the CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!! it became clear to us why Gainward has experienced quite a bit of success in the US market. From the features, to the quality, to the performance, we were very pleased with the CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!!.

Upon first glance, one may wonder if there is anything to the CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!! besides its red color. We found that there is quite a bit more to the card than its visual appearance. The cooling setup of the CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!! proved to be rather effective. Although we were a bit concerned with the somewhat small heatsink and its thermal pad, it turns out that the CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!!'s core could overclock to the same level or better than others.

The red RAM-sinks, identical to the NVIDIA reference RAM-sinks, performed their job well. We were able to overclock the memory to a rather high mark, but we have seen other cards with different heatsink designs go higher.

The features and options on the CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!! are a major part of its appeal. First off, for those looking for a "bargain" GeForce3, the "stripped" CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!! makes an ideal solution. We put the words stripped in quotes because the only features missing on the base CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!! are the DVI port and video-in functions. The base card uses the same cooling setup and includes the useful Expertool utilities. And at a price of $342, the CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!! is one of the less expensive GeForce3 cards available.

For those wanting a bit more out of their GeForce3, the loaded CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!! will not disappoint. For $33 more, the card comes with full VIVO functionality (something we are quite pleased to see on an NVIDIA card) as well as a DVI-out port. This brings the cost of the loaded CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!! up to $375, but even at this price the card is a deal considering what you are getting.

We had very few complaints about the CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!!, but that does not mean that the card cannot be improved. First off, it would be nice to see thermal grease replace the thermal pad on the underside of the heatsink. Although the thermal pad did work well, past experience tell us that thermal grease would work better.

We also would have liked to see Gainward take a bit of time to design an easy to use capture utility for times when the extra features of Video Studio 5.0 are not needed. Something along the lines of ASUS' Live utility set would hit the spot. And, although we have not looked keenly upon game bundles, some competing products are starting to bundle games people actually play. Our CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!! came only with WinDVD 2000 (a good program, especially for DVD TV playback) and a few demos. It would have been nice to see a good game in there somewhere but as long as it did not influence the price.

In summation, we were thoroughly impressed with the Gainward CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!! and recommend it as a great GeForce3 solution in both the base and VIVO packages. With this card, Gainward scores again.