MSI FX5700 VTD256

On paper, things look good for MSI's VTD256, as it's based on an Nvidia FX 5700 with 256MB of DDR450 memory running at 400MHz. Performance was pretty much bang on what we'd expect, with a 3Dmark 2001 score of 12,493 and 2,599 in 3Dmark 03 on the standard settings. Scores drop off quite quickly once you start to dial in a few advanced settings, so it's not an ideal card if you want to play games at huge frame rates. That said, all modern games will be playable if you are sensible with the settings.

One thing that often pulls an MSI graphics card clear of the crowd is its bundle of goodies. Here, seven games give you something to do with your card, and MSI's Media Center Delux II management and playback application comes with a remote control so you can play movies or music from your armchair. A dongle plugs into the back of the card, adding composite video input and S-video output to the card's talents.

This is a very competent budget graphics card and, thanks to some thoughtful extras, it's flexible too. We can't easily recommend it though. If you can free up another £20, you could get yourself a FX5900XT-based card which will offer a faster chip married to a 256bit memory interface and, consequently, bundles of extra performance for a comparatively small extra outlay. Knowing that makes it difficult to recommend unless you see one at a super-knockdown price.

Contact: MSI
www.msicomputer.com

Specifications:

• 475MHz core
• 400MHz Ramdacs
• 256MB DDR-Ram 450
• VGA, DVI, S-video and composite video input
• DirectX 9-compatible
• OpenGL 1.4
• AGP 8x