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.

The Box

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.

In The Box

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.

The Bundle

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.

The Card - Front

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?

The Card - Rear

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 , 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......