NVIDIA GeForce3 Roundup - July 2001

MSI StarForce 822

MSI StarForce 822 Specifications
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Memory	64MB EliteMT DDR SDRAM 3.8ns
Cooling - Core	Oversized fan/heatsink combo
Cooling - Memory	21 fin interlocking RAMsinks
Temperature - Core	138 F / 58.9 C
Temperature - Memory	125 F / 51.7 C
TV-Out	S- Video and Composite Philips SAA7108E
Video-In	Composite Philips SAA7108E
Drivers	NVIDIA Reference with 3D!Turbo 2000
Highest Overclock	250/515MHz
Overclocking Utility	3D!Turbo 2000
2D Image Quality	5 (worst)
Software/Gaming Bundle	Ulead Video Studio 4.0 SE, Idea Box, MSI DVD
Average Online Price	$345.00
Click here to see the full review

For this roundup we choose only to include the mass shipping MSI StarForce 822 GeForce3 card, not the initial version that made it out in limited quantities (which we looked at here). The new revision offered many needed improvements to the initial version of the card and now features a VIVO module standard.

The cooling solution found on the MSI StarForce 822 is the same one on the ASUS V8200 Deluxe card. Like the ASUS card, the heatsink/fan solution is bonded to the GeForce3 core with thermal grease. MSI does one up the ASUS by using thermal tape to bond the memory heatsinks to the memory chips. Unfortunately we found that the MSI StarForce 822 was actually the hottest running card we tested, ringing in at a 138 degree F core temperature and a 125 degree F memory temperature.

The hot core certainly did not hold back the card from overclocking. Although the core temperature at the shipping speed was hotter than anything else we tested, we were able to get the MSI StarForce 822 up to the highest core speed we have seen on a GeForce3 yet: a full 250MHz. On the memory side, we were not as excited to find that the MSI StarForce 822 would only reach the average memory speed of 515MHz. Regardless, the 250/515MHz overclocked card is anything but slow.

The MSI StarForce 822 comes in only one configuration that includes the VIVO daughter card. MSI chose to include both s-video and composite outputs on the card but only took advantage of a composite video-in port.

Were were disappointed with the MSI StarForce 822's 2D image quality. The card received comments such as "blurry" in our tests, leaving it along the same lines as an older GeForce2 MX card.

The MSI StarForce 822 offers quite the bang for the buck. The card comes with VIVO features standard and is still less expensive than the competition in many cases. Overclocking was also a success. We do have to wonder if MSI cut costs by using lesser quality video filters for the VGA out, as the card will likely leave you with a slight headache if you plan on running your desktop at a high resolution. It was not horrible, but we would want a bit more image quality out of a $300 plus card.