NVIDIA GeForce3 Roundup - July 2001

Absolute Multimedia Morpheus

Absolute Multimedia Morpheus Specifications
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Memory	64MB EliteMT DDR SDRAM 3.8ns
Cooling - Core	Circular fan/heatsink combo
Cooling - Memory	15 fin RAMsinks
Temperature - Core	120 F / 48.9 C
Temperature - Memory	109 F / 42.8 C
TV-Out	S- Video Conexant/Brooktree Bt869
Video-In	N/A
Drivers	NVIDIA Reference
Highest Overclock	230/515MHz
Overclocking Utility	None
2D Image Quality	3 (moderate)
Software/Gaming Bundle	Dronez, MDK2, voucher for No One Lives Forever, plus one Software Choice Title, WinDVD
Average Online Price	$349.00

The Absolute Multimedia Morpheus is actually manufactured by 3DPOWER but sold on the retail market under the Absolute Multimedia brand name. The card, like all but one GeForce3 card included in this roundup, is based off of NVIDIA's GeForce3 reference design. For TV-output, Absolute Multimedia chose to place a Conexant/Brooktree Bt869 chip on directly on the board PCB and not on a separate daughter card, likely saving a bit of cost.

The heatsink/fan combination used on the Morpheus GeForce3 is similar to the circular ones we have seen on many video cards. The setup, attached with a proper amount of thermal grease, was actually able to keep the card running at the lowest temperature of all cards included in this roundup. The heatsinks on the memory also seemed to do a good job. Connected with thermal tape, the RAMsinks cooled the Morpheus' RAM to 109 degrees F, second lowest of all cards tested. Unfortunately, we were not able to overclock the card as much as we would have liked to. The card was only able to hit a 230/515MHz, suggesting that yield has a lot more to do with overclocking success than cooling methods do and making it a game of luck.

The software package included with the Morpheus GeForce3 is one of the strongest ones we have seen to date. The box comes loaded with 3 games (Dronez, MDK2, and No One Lives Forever) as well as a voucher for a fourth game to be selected from an online selection of somewhat aged games. Also included is WinDVD, a perfect match for the video-out capabilities of the Morpheus GeForce3.

The 2D image quality of the Absolute Multimedia Morpheus was surprisingly good. We noted that at 1600x1200x32 at 85Hz the card produced a sharp image while at 1800x1440x32 at 70Hz the 2D image was very slightly blurry but better than others we had looked at.

Unfortunately, not many retailers are selling this card, keeping prices perhaps a bit higher than they need be. The company claims that the card is available at 5 online e-stores, but the easiest place to find it is right on Absolute Multimedia's own store. The price is the same regardless of who you shop through, and by going with the Absolute Multimedia store the odds are very good you will get what you ordered, since they are actually the ones making the cards.