Is S3’s Chrome 440 GTX Worth a Look?

ATI and NVIDIA… that’s who usually comes to mind when we think of graphics processors, and it’s obvious why. Both companies offer sensational products when compared to the competition, and unless Intel’s Larrabee really does kick the serious ass that they are claiming it will, then the GPU reigns will remain with both ATI and NVIDIA.

But what about S3? They’ve been unable to take over either the green or red side, but it’s hard to when their products are all of the value nature. techPowerUp takes a look at their new 440 GTX, but don’t let the name fool you. GTX might usually represent a standout card, but the 440 GTX falls well below even the Radeon HD 3850 in terms of overall specs, and comes in at $69.

So, how did it perform? Well, not so bad actually, but it’s still going to be a hard decision to choose it over the competition. For $70, you can get a comparable ATI or NVIDIA card with better driver support, but if you must simply own something other than ATI or NVIDIA… your choices are already a bit limited, right?

The card has one analog VGA, one DVI and one HDMI port. This configuration is certainly the optimum for a card in this segment. VGA to allow CRT users to use this card without going through the hassle of an adapter. Dual-link DVI for the LCD users and HDMI for all media PC scenarios. Just like ATI, S3 has integrated an audio device on their card, so your big screen will receive an audio stream from the graphics card without the needs of an external audio in cable.