ASUS V3800 TVR TNT2

Who would’ve thought that a motherboard manufacturer would become a very popular force in the mainstream graphics card industry? Normally you associate Taiwanese motherboard manufacturers with cheaply made products that you can find at your local techie store (not a big Fry’s or a Best Buy, but a small almost mom ‘n pop store), and for the most part, that association seems to unfortunately reign true. The case is a bit different with ASUS, when it comes to motherboards ASUS’ philosophy has always been (and still is) that stability should be the top priority. About two years ago ASUS was experimenting with a new jumperless design for their upcoming 440LX based board, the P2L97. Although jumperless designs were in great demand and would definitely guarantee ASUS more sales for the product, ASUS noticed a stability problem with the solution and immediately canceled production of all jumperless P2L97 parts. With a dedication of that nature, there is no way ASUS would stand by and let even the most insignificant graphics card pass without their seal of approval.

Unfortunately, most end users don’t realize that although two companies may have seemingly identical products, the reliability and quality assurance testing that went into each board could hold worlds of difference. In ASUS’ case, they had the reputation, but no product to target gamers. Their big break came with the TNT based V3400. After a stellar review of the product by Tom’s Hardware, it seemed as if, all of the sudden, ASUS had a new calling, graphics cards. Needless to say, after the incredible amount of sales the V3400 generated (which was indeed a very nice card), ASUS is ready to rise to the top once again with the TNT2 based V3800.

Taken from www.asus.com

• nVidia TNT2 graphics processor
• AGP 4X/2X/1X interface pipeline or sideband support
• True 128-bits graphic engine
• Twin-Texel architecture
• Activ Cooling Fan Onboard
• Anisotropic filtering (better than Tri-Linear MIP-mapping)
• Built-in 300 MHz RAMDAC with gamma correction
• Multi buffering (Double, Triple, Quad buffering) for smooth animation
• Free Software bundled - HereticII (Full version), published by Activision; Free ASUS Live3800 Video Capture driver bundled (to capture true 30fps Video)
• *Crystal TV-Output - Dual View for TV and CRT screen, NTSC & PAL Video System support, Complete S-VHS & Composite Video Ports support (for TV-Out models only)
• *Sharp Video input - Support NTSC/PAL standard signal input, True real-time 30fps video capture support by ASUS Live3800 Video Capture driver (for Video-in models only)
• *LCD Panel Support - Up to 1280x1024 resolution for LCD display, Standard VESA Panel-link LCD display support (for LCD Panel models only)
• Extend Your Application - Fully extend the application of ASUS' excellent graphic boards, Fully compatible with the ASUS TV-BOX, ASUS Virtual Reality 3D Glasses Kits, and ASUS software DVD pack - ASUSDVD.

Available Models

AGP-V3800: VGA
AGP-V3800 TVR: VGA + TV-out + Video-in+ ASUS Virtual Reality 3D circuit +video capture
AGP-V3800 TVR Deluxe: VGA + TV-out + Video-in+ ASUS Virtual Reality 3D Glasses +video capture
AGP-V3800 Ultra Deluxe: VGA with TNT2 Ultra Graphic Engine + TV-out + Video-in+ ASUS Virtual Reality 3D Glasses +video capture

* ASUSDVD, ASUS TV-BOX, and ASUS Virtual Reality 3D Glasses are optional.