14 DAY TRIAL // Releases of next-generation technologies always have at least two main effects. One is the raising of performance standards, which sets the stage for further advancements in the field, as well as in those sciences that rely on it. The other effect borders more on the unfortunate side, though. Specifically, when new devices are launched, and if they use more advanced components, the appeal and marketing performance of previous-generation products drop sharply. The graphics market is in no way immune to this phenomenon. In fact, the video-card segment is going through such a period right now.
Over the past few months, Advanced Micro Devices has introduced a complete line of DirectX 11 cards and even sold them in a significant number. More recently, NVIDIA also officially introduced its own high-end GeForce GTX 470 and GTX 480.
As they all use GDDR5 and more advanced GPUs, and with AMD already catering to the entry-level and mainstream markets, video-board partners find themselves in need of reducing their inventories of older cards and parts. In such situations, the method that manufacturers recur to is usually the same: they use the parts to make HTPC cards and those adapters good and cheap enough to appeal to consumers interested in multimedia.
Home-Theater PCs are a favorite among non-gamers because they take up very little space and can play back video files with no problems. The most recent video boards released for this segment were GeForce GT 220 versions from Zotac and MSI.
Now, ASUS has joined the bandwagon with its own model, codenamed Bravo220, which has a GPU clock of 525MHz, 1GB VRAM, a memory clock of 800MHz, shaders running at 1,360MHz and an interface of 128 bits. The adapter uses D-Sub, DVI and HDMI outputs to connect to most monitors and comes with the Splendid Plus technology, and image-enhancement suite that detects lighting conditions and automatically adjusts video content.
Already up for pre-orders, the ASUS Bravo220 is priced at 70 Euro.