The V6800 didn't encounter a single problem on any of the i820, Athlon or BX-based systems. It should be noted that Athlon users would still want to use the 3.62 Detonator drivers in order to minimize stability problems associated with the AGP mini-port driver.

We are so used to seeing "remakes" of NVIDIA's driver set that ASUS' redesigned controls took us as a bit of a surprise. Complete with all of the options NVIDIA provides by default, the V6800 Deluxe also includes settings for the VR glasses. Gamma correction controls for video playback, D3D, OpenGL, and the Windows desktop are supplied independently as to offer the best color settings.

Although the VR glasses that come with the V6800 Deluxe could possibly be mistaken for novelty designer specs (somebody please ask Gucci or Oakley to make VR shades -Ed), we don't recommend you wear them out on the town (the attached cord would attract too much attention). The VR-100s, as branded by ASUS, work by opening and closing shutters, alternating between right and left, at half of your display refresh to increase a game's depth. Because of this, we recommend a display refresh of 140Hz (140/2 = 70Hz) to prevent eyestrain while using the shades. Although previously the VR glasses only supported D3D titles, OpenGL functionality has also been incorporated into the latest driver set.

Many exciting hours can be spent with the glasses if used properly, however, if your monitor can't muster a decent refresh rate, you will develop a headache. If your main passion is first person shooters, these shades will not improve your aim or depth perception. What are we trying to say here? If you play Unreal Tournament or Quake III to win, you're better off using your natural eyesight.

In order to get a good idea of how the V6800 Deluxe performs across different platforms, we dusted off a few of our test beds and let loose with hours of benchmarking glee.

• Processor: Intel Pentium III Coppermine 733Mhz
• Memory: 128MB PC100 SDRAM
• Motherboard: ASUS P3C-E
• Hard Drive: Western Digital 5.1 GB HDD
• Sound Card: Creative Labs Live! Value
• OS: Windows 98 SE with DirectX 7