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The
Box:::...
Prolink's
box sticks faithfully with their corporate colour
scheme, and like a Soho adult shop, the windows gives
a glimpse of the goods on offer once you get inside.
If
that doesn't quite get you to take the bait, flipping
the box over sets out all the vital statistics, the
talents and the delights you're getting for your money.
This foxy lady wants you bad, and if I don't stop
with all the innuendoes I'm heading for trouble! This
is a family site after all.
In
terms of software the bundle is best described as
adequate. The price is kept down by bundling no games,
old or new, but there is a full copy of PowerDVD included
which I consider an essential inclusion for any video
card able to handle DVD playback. As you'd expect
from a video card with TV out, there are a couple
of cables in the box including an S-Video cable, an
S-Video to composite converter and a composite cable.
There's also a power splitter so you can provide juice
to the card without sacrificing a Molex connector.
Finally there's the literature which is sufficiently
detailed but unlikely to win any prizes.
Without
a doubt the star attraction is the video card itself.
Before you even plug it in and power it up you can
see there's something a little different going on.
The cooling fan and heat sink are encased in a full
sized shroud which also houses a multi-angle LCD display
which plus in to the top edge of the card using a
short data cable. I was a little surprised to see
that Prolink had made the LCD housing from transparent
plastic considering most of the publicity shots show
it with a metal housing.
A
definite weakness is that the housing has no back
to it. Why is this a weakness? well, because you need
quite a lot of pressure to operate the buttons on
the front which means steadying the back with a finger
as you press.
The
connectors are nothing out of the ordinary except
perhaps for the S-Video out. There's the usual pairing
of a VGA and a DVI out with a dongle supplied so you
can use it for a second analogue display should you
wish.
The
fan features a clear hub that displays the coils but
it's party trick only becomes apparent when it's powered
up.
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