Leadtek is not a familiar name in the UK, but the company has entered the market with a splash by going straight for top 3D performance, via Nvidia's GeForce 3 chip. This graphics processor sits at the heart of the card, covered by a huge heat sink and cooling fan, while the 64MB of DDR memory is also covered by heat sinks. Leadtek is certainly not going to take any chances with over-heating on this card.

As you'd expect, the card performs well, with performance results that are all in the same range as those of the other GeForce 3 cards we've tested on this site. For both DirectX and OpenGL games, that equates to stunningly fast and visually rich 3D scenes.

Leadtek has made full use of the card's back plate. There's the usual D-sub VGA graphics output, of course, but there's also a DVI connector, which can be used to send digital output to a suitably-equipped LCD monitor. Not all LCD displays will handle raw digital input, but for those that do, the resulting image benefits from not having gone through the digital-to-analogue and analogue-to-digital conversion process that otherwise occurs.

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To complete the set, there's also an S-video TV output connector, so that the keen gamer can enjoy the latest 3D titles from the comfort of their sofa, assuming their mouse and keyboard cables are long enough. The CD comes with the necessary drivers, along with all the relevant documentation, because printed documentation is conspicuous by its absence.

A relative newcomer to the UK graphics card market, Leadtek has started in style by going the GeForce 3 route. Ultimately, time will tell whether it can compete with the more established brands who are offering similar cards.