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Sharky Extreme :


Latest News


- Microsoft Rolls out the SideWinder X6 Keyboard and X5 Mouse
- Razer Fires up the Megalodon Headset and its Maelstrom Audio Engine
- OCZ Upgrades their Core Solid-State Drive Line to V2
- CoolIT Unleashes the Dual Drive Bay VGA Cooler for the Radeon HD 4870 X2
- Mushkin Launches a New Line of HP3-10666 DDR3 Low-Latency Modules
News Archives

Features

- SharkyExtreme.com: Interview with Microsoft's Dan Odell
- SharkyExtreme.com: Interview with ATI's Terry Makedon
- SharkyExtreme.com: Interview with Seagate's Joni Clark
- Half-Life 2 Review
- DOOM 3 Review

Buyer's Guides

- July High-end Gaming PC Buyer's Guide
- May Value Gaming PC Buyer's Guide
- March Extreme Gaming PC Buyer's Guide

HARDWARE

  • CPUs

    - AMD Phenom X4 9950 BE & 9350e Review

  • Motherboards

    - AMD 790GX Chipset Review
    - Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DS5 Motherboard Review
    - AMD 780G Chipset Review

  • Video Cards

    - PNY XLR8 GeForce 9800 GX2 1GB Review




  • Instead of going to the drivers for uniqueness, Gigabyte went to the old tried and true method of bundling games and software. The GA-GF2560 comes with a pretty darn good game bundle consisting of: Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit (the last good racing game in the NFS series), Superbike World Championship, Future Cop LAPD (third person action) and Populous: The Beginning (strategy). While none of these games are blockbusters, they'll keep most gamers happy for quite awhile.

    It also comes with a trial version of PowerDVD (a mediocre but mostly functional DVD playback) and a copy of PowerPlayer SE (a Windows Media Player replacement), but we'd rather see a full version of a better DVD playback program. Overall, the bundle is excellent but we'd like to see DVD playback software as well. If the bundle appeals to you, especially the games, then you should seriously consider the GA-GF2560.

    Several manufacturers are attempting to differentiate their GeForce cards from the products of other companies by bundling customized drivers with extra features. In this department, Gigabyte gives a little bit of effort. The GA-GF2560 uses slightly altered NVIDIA drivers. Essentially, they are the NVIDIA reference drivers with a few Gigabyte images scattered around and the addition of an overclocking slider. While the Gigabyte CD eases installation through a nice setup program, we still recommend you use NVIDIA's actual reference drivers just because you'll be assured of getting the most recent version. On our own personal systems, we usually do just that.





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