NVIDIA GeForce DDR Roundup (March 00)

ASUS V6800 Deluxe - Card Specs

V6800 Deluxe Specifications
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Memory	32 MB Infineon DDR SGRAM 6 ns
Cooling	Heatsink/Fan Combo
TV-Out	Chrontel 7005C
TV-In	Phillips SAA7113H
Drivers	ASUS custom and Smart Doctor
Highest Overclock	158/346 MHz
Overclocking Utility	None
Software/Gaming Bundle	ASUS DVD, Unlead Video Studio SE, Darkan, Rollcage, and ASUS Video Security
Estimated Street Price	$339
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The first thing that jumps out about the V6800 Deluxe's specifications is its extremely high price. In fact, the price given here is the MSRP as suggested by ASUS. A quick search on the internet shows the card selling for significantly more than this, with some retailers reaching the high price of $370. The retail price hikes are a result of lack of supply on ASUS's part; as demand goes up, so does price. Disregarding this fact, one may still be left questioning the high MSRP of the card. As is customary in the computer industry, the ASUS V6800 Deluxe's increase in price is a result of an increase of features. Not only is the V6800 Deluxe the only card reviewed that includes built-in hardware monitoring via the Winbond W8371D chip, it is also the only card to include powerful video-in and video-out features, as well as VR gaming. While VR gaming seems to be more of a gimmick item than a useful feature, the video-in is a feature which can not be understated. Not only can you now place home movies on your computer, the included Video Security software will monitor the security of your home or office for you. The ASUS V6800 Deluxe is also the only card reviewed that strays from NVIDIA's reference design, an aspect of the card which was essential to fitting in all the advanced features.

The drivers used here are unified for the V6x00 series, meaning that ASUS had time to add a few features and change a few cosmetic points, but the fact of the matter is that the drivers are based on the NVIDIA reference ones. The card also comes with the highly useful Smart Doctor utility which provides hardware monitoring via the onboard Winbond W8371D chip. Temperature, voltage, and fan speed are all tracked in an easy to use utility. Also worth mention is the V6800 Deluxe's ability to dynamically overclock, meaning that the card will automatically underclock when the graphics card is not being used to any great extent. The speed jumps right up to normal levels when stress is placed on the GPU.

Pros: Video-in features, hardware monitoring, cool running, widely available, dynamic overclocking

Cons: High price, hard to find, VR is somewhat of a toy, video-input may show some interlacing