Contestants: Leadtek WinFast GeForce2 GTS
I already know what you're thinking, "Look at the size of that heat sink!" All of the Leadtek WFGF2 boards will come with this cooling solution as a basic feature; this is not a special version. This heat sink is 220% larger than your typical GeForce2 setup. Initially this board with video out, software DVD player and miscellaneous color adjustment software will be selling for $349. A video-less board will sell for $10 less and a DVI version, at an undisclosed price, in the coming weeks. This package is pretty basic but overall it offers more than the rest of its competition for the same price.
The TV output tested just fine (although you do have to adjust the desktop resolution to 800x600 or less first unlike the AOpen PA256) as I used it to play Quake 3 and watch a few minutes of a DVD movie. The picture quality was just as good as the AOpen board during my quick death match session and the DVD movie played without any obvious visual defects. The only concern I have is that the board didn't offer quite as many video output modes as the AOpen offering had. The NTSC modes available (J and M) might not be enough for anyone out of the US. Unfortunately I don't have the ability to test this but be warned if you need any other modes.
