Date: |
May 31, 2004 |
Price: |
$145 |
Sponsors: |
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Author: |
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Editor: |
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Score: |
8/10 |
Albatron FX5700P Turbo Video Card What's in the Box?
What's in the Box?
 We know a video card comes in the box, but what else
do you get to go with it? Well, you get a copy of WinDVD Creator (which
includes WinDVD), a driver CD with an electronic copy of the manual, a paper
copy of the manual, a component video cable, an S-Video to component video
adapter cable, Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project, and the Game Pack CD. Game Pack is
misleading, since there are only five game demos on the CD. Old demos, at that.
I would have prefered to see something a little more modern in the demo
selection. Something that would have highlighted the FX5700P Turbo's
capabilities. Even a DVI adapter would have been a welcome sight. Albatron
really needs to put some serious thought into upgrading their bundle, even if
it's just with newer game demos or full versions of older games. I know they do
this to keep the cost of the card down, but this borders on the ridiculous!
The Card Itself
 You aren't buying the box for the CDs and adapters
that come in it, right? You're buying the box because of the video card, the
other stuff is all gravy. So, let's see what you get when you open the box up!
At first glance, you see the expected anti-static bag that contains the video
card that will, hopefully, improve your gaming experience when compared to the
card it's replacing. What I didn't expect was the nearly form-fitting pocket of
cardboard that the FX5700P Turbo was nestled in. This little extra thought in
the packaging design will go a long way toward making sure the card doesn't
suffer needless damage while being shipped.
  Here's what the card looks like once you've removed the protective
bag. Look at that nice, big heatsink on the GPU! Actually, it looks very much
like a GeForce 4 heatsink in both size and pin configuration to me. If it keeps
me fragging, though, I don't really care too much. ;-) Also notice the heatsinks
on the RAM. Not just on the RAM on the front of the card, either! Albatron put
heatsinks on the RAM on both sides of this card. This is a nice touch and
goes a long way toward earning my forgiveness for including a Duke Nukem
game that doesn't have 'Forever' in the title.
  Here's what you get when you pull the heatsink off of the FX5700P
Turbo to see how much and what type of thermal paste was used. I'm a bit
disappointed that Albatron chose to use plain, old, silicon thermal paste on
this card, especially after they went to the trouble of putting heatsinks on all
of the RAM. I also don't like the fact that the paperboard space has been glued
to the heatsink itself, which would make lapping it a bit more of a chore. At
least Albatron didn't scimp on the amount of paste they used,right?
If you have any comments or questions regarding this review, please
post them in this thread on our forums.
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