Verdict: Go on, sample Gainward's Gold

Testing graphics cards is a long and arduous process, so having to waste time reading the ridiculously long name of this Gainward card really doesn't help.

Amazingly, the name still fails to tell you that the card is based on the GeForce 6600 GT GPU. This card is aimed at people who can't afford a high-end card, but still want to see games running at maximum detail. High resolutions, such as 1,600 x 1,200, are out of reach of a card such as this, but at 1,280 x 1,024 with 2x AA and 2x AF everything looks sweet. This is also the sweet spot for anyone with 17-19in TFTs - in fact, if you can't run at 1,600 x 1,200 on your monitor, you'll see very little benefit from buying a faster card.

Some of this performance can be attributed to the excellent choice of GPU and memory chips. Some people might say (Gainward certainly does) that they're even golden samples. Instead of running at the stock speeds of 500MHz for the GPU and 500MHz (1GHz effective) for the memory, Gainward guarantees this card will overclock to 540MHz for the GPU and 575MHz (1.15GHz effective) for the memory, using its EXPERTool software. Depending on the resolution being used, this can give up to 10 per cent extra performance over a standard-clocked 6600 GT.

Just because this card is guaranteed to run at overclocked speeds it doesn't mean it won't go further. In fact, we managed to squeeze the GPU up to 575MHz and the memory to 620MHz (1.24GHz effective), which is no mean feat. On top of this, the Gainward-designed HSF is significantly quieter than the reference Nvidia design.

With twin DVI outputs and full ViVo support, this card is perfect for budding video editors, although you'll probably just chuck the 'Muvee' editing software in the bin.

At £172.43, this card is about £30 more expensive than the XFX, which performs similarly. What you do get for your money is ViVo and the ability to hear yourself think. It's up to you which you consider more important - cost or features. Just make sure that if you place an order you get the Golden Sample GLH version, as the standard Golden Sample has slower memory.

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