Conclusion
Creative Labs has once again released an excellent product that offers high-end performance for the masses. It doesn't come with all the bells and whistles but it does come with a reliable board that's backed by the Creative name and providing you with drivers that support some of the leading edge features (Glide wrapper, support for Stencil buffer to create shadowing effects). The Annihilator is an excellent 3D performer that offers an average GeForce board at a decent price. Although the list price of this card is at $249, it's available in a variety of stores at a lower price (as low as $210).
Leadtek brings us the WinFast GeForce 256 equipped with more features, silightly faster memory-modules at faster timing and a somewhat larger software package. I was a bit disappointed that my review board didn't clock as high as I hoped it would. The faster memory didn't prove much to me, although it's arguably a touch faster when clocked the same speed as the Creative board. The TV-out feature can prove very practical however, particularly for DVD-playback on your television, and it cannot be found on the Creative Labs product. If you should be looking to get a flat panel next year sometime then you'll also appreciate the DVI connector. The Leadtek board is a bit harder to get a hold of and the pricing is pretty solid at $249, which makes it a little more expensive than the Creative GeForce solution, but you get a better equipped board that's slightly faster than Creative's Annihilator.
My decision is pretty solid here. If you want a 'no-bullshit'-GeForce based board without any special features besides kick butt 3D performance, go pick up the Creative board at the cheapest price available. You can probably pick it up easier and at $20 less than the Leadtek. However, if you aren't decided between both boards, grab the Leadtek if you can find it. For a slightly higher price you can pick up the added software bundle and have video out that you might find useful in the future. Being able to pump video through your TV to show off DVD movies or MPEG clips can be useful and with flat panels coming around the corner, you might regret not getting a card with the DVI connection. Stay tuned for a GeForce round-up and a review of S3-Diamond's Viper II review next week. I wish all our US readers a Happy Thanksgiving!
