This is not my first review of a Gainward product and so I had some high expectations for this PowerPack! Ultra/1800 XP. I was not disappointed. Gainward isn't likely a name brand that you'll see on store shelves as prevalently as some other brands (especially Gainward's "Golden Sample" versions). Don't let that fool you though, these aren't your typical video cards. We're talking the age-old quality versus quantity here. Golden Samples ooze quality.

Card Front

This is one slick looking piece of hardware. Beauty turns out to not be just skin deep either. The build quality of Gainward products is second to none. Also worth noting again is that Gainward innovated past the NVIDIA reference design by making this a single slot solution! So, rejoice all you SFF case owners out there!

Another Front View

Another decision that I applaud was the orientation of the Molex power connector (upper right corner of card). Gainward turned it 90° (just like ATI has been doing all along) which makes for a more graceful connection for all you wire management junkies out there.

Molex Connector Comparison

NVIDIA Gainward

The NVIDIA reference design calls for the Molex connector to be oriented perpendicular to the card which is kind of klunky. Also, not all vendors decide to add the metal support that wraps around the Molex connection as Gainward has. This give is an added bit of strength for those of you who plug/unplug these suckers about 15 times a week.

Around Back

The back side has what you'd expect in a heat sink covering the backside of the chipset and memory with one piece of aluminum. There's also the standard tension support bar to keep things nice and snug.

Wrapping up the physical aspects of this card are the lights. For those of you who like the BLING BLING...this is for you. There are three red LEDs housed in each fan which put out a good bit of light (it's enough to give my mid-tower case a healthy red glow throughout).

Light it Up!

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