VGA Card Buyer's Guide 07/2003

ASUS V9520/TD, Continued

The TV-out functions are processed by the TV encoder built into the 3D chip. You connect the cable directly to the card (S-VHS). The only way to connect composite devices is by using the two-meter-long S-VHS-> composite cable that ships with the card. Considering how short the cable is, it would have been better to include a standard S-VHS-> composite adapter.

The software bundle contains several tools: ASUS Tweak (overclocking), ASUS SmartDoctor (hardware monitoring), ASUS Video Security, Digital VCR and ASUS Live Update. Add to that Medi@Show SE 2.0 (slideshow creator) from Cyberlink, the ASUS DVD XP v4.0 player software and VR Aquarium (http://www.vrfish.com.tw/vrfish_web/index.htm).

The game bundle contains the cutting-edge titles "Morrowind - The Elder Scrolls III" (2002), "Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six - Rogue Spear - Black Thorn" (2001) and "Worms Blast" (2002). There are also demos of "IL2 Sturmovik" and "Battle Realms."

Conclusion: ASUS' V9520/TD is a decent package that contains the most important components and some interesting games to boot. The quiet fan is icing on the cake.

+ Hardware monitoring
+ TV-out
+ Quiet fan
+ DVD player software
+ ASUS tools collection
+ Good game bundle

- Composite video sources can only be connected using the included 2 m cable