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In
The Box:::...
Decked
out in NVIDIA corporate colours I really liked the box design,
not just for the artwork, which to be fair isn't the greatest
we've seen, but because of the way it's done. The artwork
and text are slightly raised and have a gloss finish while
the box itself has a matt (flat) finish to it. This gives
a slightly embossed look and feel that works really well
I reckon.
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The
Box
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Inside
the box it was nice to find the card wasn't just free to
slide around as is sometimes the case. Nor was it relying
on a semi-effective cardboard platform to keep it safe,
instead Club3D have opted to use genuine, bone-fide foam
to keep the little blighter from harm.
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In
The Box
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The
bundle won't win any awards but the supplied game is at
least a very high quality one which, unless you hate driving
sims, will not only show off the power of the card, it will
also provide months, maybe years, or quality, adrenaline-filled
gaming action.
More
good news is the inclusion of InterVideo's WinCinema which
bundles two apps, one for watching DVDs and one for creating
them. DVD software is a must for cards that boast fancy
hardware acceleration features in my opinion, yet so many
companies don't bother.
Also
in the box are a combined driver and utility CD, "Y"
type auxiliary power cable, DVI to VGA dongle, S-Video cable,
composite video cable and a case badge.
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The
Bundle
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The
card itself has no real distinguishing features beyond those
found on the reference design, none other than its blue
PCB that is, which makes a refreshing change from green.
The only Club3D branding I could see was a round sticker
over the fan hub which is about as much use as an ejector
seat in a helicopter. I mean who's going to be able to read
that when it's spinning? I suggest that if Club3D want to
get the admiration of LAN party-goers and other interested
parties, they get some kind of classy looking branding happening
on top of that cooler somewhere, not on the fan.
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The
Card - Front
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The
back of the card is your standard kit too with just the
black "X" shaped cooling retainer on show. I'd
have bet good money that some company would be making a
modified version of this little bracket by now, perhaps
with two or four threaded arms on it to take a 60mm or 80mm
fan to cool the rear of the card.
Illuminated of course! And I know it wouldn't make a huge
difference, but since when did that ever matter?
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The
Card - Rear
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VGA,
DVI and S-Video out are all catered for as is now the norm.
I wonder how long it will be before we see the VGA connector
starting to vanish? There are already a few models with
dual DVI connectors on them so maybe the day is nearer than
we may think. Dongles at the ready guys, or get saving for
a compatible display.
And
of course the usual 4-pin Molex connector to feed in all
that extra juice that's required from such high-powered
pixel engines. Which reminds me, who thinks Pixel Storm
is a great name for a company or a brand of card? Just wondering
because I was originally going to use that name instead
of 3DVelocity, and now I've mentioned it I can claim bragging
rights if any company decides to use it in the future :)
I thought it sounded cool anyway!
Onwards
and upwards......
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