Tech Bitch

S3 Graphics has gone xenophobic on us Brits and released the S3 Graphics Chrome 430 GT desktop card in the U.S. only.The first of the S3 Graphics Chrome 400 Series to market, the Chrome 430 GT promises ‘advanced’ 3D graphics and ‘incredible’ 1080p HD multimedia performance with ‘extreme’ power-efficiency and rigidly low thermal specifications.

Based on the low profile PCI Express Gen 2 graphics card specification, the Chrome 430 GT is pitched at small form factor PC designs and energy-conscious PC users who wish to upgrade their PC to provide HD playback and the latest DirectX 10.1 graphics engine.

S3 said the Graphics Chrome 430 GT outperforms the current market leader in its class by over 20% in 3D benchmarks and rendered frames-per-second in the most popular DX 10 and DX 9 games - do you believe them?

Display connections allow dual-link DVI (DVI-D/DVI-I), VGA, and 1080p widescreen HDTV support.

It also utilises the ChromotionHD 2.0 scalable video engine for decoding MPEG-4/AVC (H.264), MPEG-2, VC-1, WMV-HD, and AVS video for Blu-ray and HD content. To further enhance operation for home theatre applications that demand cool-and-quiet operation, the Chrome 430 GT features PowerWise technology to minimise heat dissipation without compromising performance or features.

The S3 Graphics Chrome 430GT costs just $59 and is currently available online.

Another awesome graphics card for your consideration. Albatron has enthusiastically announced the dual GPU 9800GX2. Two heads are better than one as SLI pundits have proven, but with the 9800GX2, you don’t have to fumble with manipulating two cards into your case.

The 9800GX2 has two nVidia 9800 GPUs tucked into a sleek black case with a single PCI-e 2.0 slot connector. In addition, this card features the latest 65nm technology assuring the highest processing efficiency, lowest power consumption and the most optimal 3D gaming performance and HD Video playback – much like every other nVidia 9800 solution.

Each GPU contains 128 stream processors and boasts a 600MHz core clock. The shader clock is rated at 1500MHz with a texture fill rate of 76.8bn/s. This card comes with a whopping 1GB (512MB per GPU) of GDDR3 memory with a memory clock of 1000MHz using a 512-bit (256-bit per GPU) memory interface. The memory bandwidth is 128GB/s.

Is this card HD ready or what? The 9800GX2 has an HDMI connector which can pass pure uncompressed high-definition video and audio to your HD monitor. But, if HDMI doesn’t fit into your plans, this card also provides Dual-link DVI connectors with HDCP compatibility. Dual 400MHz RAMDACs can also support dual QXGA displays with refresh rates up to 2048×1536@85Hz. Simply said, this card rocks…

Leadtek is hot on the heels of MSI. The WinFast PX9800 GX2 combines the power of two nVidia GeForce 9800 GPUs in a single graphics solution and 256 screaming fast stream processors. This, it’s also the world’s fastest graphics solution. It too boasts nVidia HybridPower technology.

Powered by 65nm technology and nVidia multi-GPU technology, the WinFast PX9800 GX2 comes with 1GB of 512-bit GDDR3 memory. It is also designed for the new PCI Express 2.0 bus architecture, offering the highest data transfer speeds for the most bandwidth-hungry games and 3D applications. At the same time it maintains backwards compatibility with existing PCI Express motherboards for the broadest support.

With the latest Microsoft DirectX 10 with full Shader Model 4.0 support, PX9800 GX2 should deliver realistic film quality gaming effects, guaranteeing the best 3D graphics under Windows Vista. Furthermore, nVidia HybridPower technology lets you switch to the motherboard GeForce GPU when running non graphically-intensive applications for a silent, low-power PC experience.

Featuring second generation nVidia PureVideo HD technology engine, the PX9800 GX2 enables HD gaming at eye-watering resolutions of up to 2560×1600 pixels with all available in-game features turned on. Besides, the new card delivers hardware acceleration of HD movies and dual-stream picture-in-picture content for the ultimate interactive Blu-ray and HD DVD movie experience. Meanwhile, with an integrated HDMI connector, it allows you to send both high definition video and audio signals to your HDTV via a single cable.

The card comes bundled with Neverwinter Nights 2. No pricing has been announced, but it’ll set you back at least £400.

MSI is really stoked about its latest MSI N9800GX2 Series graphics card. And it should be.

Engineered for extreme graphics performance, the MSI N9800GX2 Series is an ultra-powered, dual GPU-based graphics card that provides a complete, high definition entertainment and gaming solution for the PC.With nVidia HybridPower technology, two on-board GPUs and a total of 1GB graphics memory built-in, the N9800GX2 Series will blow your head off.

nVidia said the card is up to 50% faster than the awesome GeForce 8800 Ultra. Yikes! MSI N9800GX2 Series comes with total 256 units stream processors and a combined 512-bit memory interface.

That’s not all. The card supports Quad SLI technology, which offers amazing performance scaling by implementing 4-way AFR (Alternate Frame Rendering), for the world’s fastest gaming solution under Windows Vista. This puppy is available now and costs a sweet £409.