ASUS V7700 GeForce 2 GTS

Conclusion

So, you are on the market for a new video card. As far as you are concerned, only the GeForce 256 DDR and the GeForce 2 GTS are processors capable of powering your intense gaming addiction. Swaying towards the GeForce 2 GTS due to its insane speed and new release, you are shocked by the availability of GeForce 2 GTS based cards. The question remains: which card to pick? As little as one week ago, the decision would have been easy: the ELSA GLADIAC simply due to the fact that it was the only GeForce 2 GTS card out there. Now, with GeForce 2 GTS products coming almost weekly, the decision on one card is only getting harder. Unfortunately we are here to tell you that the entrance of the ASUS V7700 did not make the decision any easier.

With a sticker price of 349.99, the V7700 is priced along side with its main competitor, the ELSA GLADIAC. The software bundle of the V7700 is a bit weak, featuring the same 2 games and software DVD decoder as found in the earlier V6600 cards. These games remain for the most part useless for such a powerful video card. In addition do not let the "12 game titles" tag on the box fool you: these are 12 game demos. 2D image quality is what we expect of a GeForce card, meaning that it is roughly equivalent to the ELSA GLADIAC 2D wise.

What the V7700 lacks in software bundle it makes up for with hardware monitoring. By embedding a Winbond chip to an unused portion of the card, ASUS has produced a power computer user's dream. No more guessing how hot your chip is running using your finger or estimating the RPM of the fan by counting the number of times it spins per second. All this information and more can be found at the very useful SmartDoctor utility. Also included with this utility is a dynamic overclocking option which clocks down the core and memory speed when idle and cranks the speed back up when it is needed.

The choice of which GeForce 2 GTS card to get now is a tough one that depends on your personal preferences. If you plan to keep your video card for a long time and would like the reassurance of a 6-year warrantee, the ELSA GLADIAC is the card for you. In addition, the custom software bundle is good for those who are lacking 3D games now. On the other hand, if you are a power user who wants to be able to experience the greatest level of tweakabilty and information, the ASUS V7700 is your best bet. A tough decision, and one that will only get harder in the upcoming weeks with so many GeForce 2 GTS cards on the way.