VGA Card Buyer's Guide 07/2003

Sparkle GeForceFX 5600 (SP8831DV/ 128 MB DDR), Continued

Sparkle does not offer any display or overclocking tools. It is annoying that the DVD player software (PowerDVD 3.0) is only available as a trial version on the CD.

The game bundle, on the other hand, is not half bad: the card comes with full versions of the games "Morrowind - The Elder Scrolls III" (2002), "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon" (2001), "Duke Nukem Manhattan Project" (2002) and a CD with demo versions of six games.

A colorful, 27-page manual explains the installation of the card and the driver settings.

Conclusion: If you can do without many software and hardware features and are looking for a low-cost FX 5600, there is no reason not to pick this card. The attractive games bundle is great.

+ TV-in & TV-out
+ Video cable (S-VHS, 2 m)
+ Great game bundle with current titles

- Meager software package (DVD player software only as a trial version)