Graphics card manufacturers’ obsession with multi-GPU boards continues this month. The Asus HD 3850 X2 brings to market the novel formula of two ATi Radeon 3850 GPUs on one card.

It had little competition at this price, and it knocks Nvidia 8600 cards out of the race, but Nvidia’s 9600 GT trumps it.

Superseded by both Nvidia’s new 9600 card and ATi’s excellent HD 3800 series

Impressive performance for an affordable card, but the 9600 GT treads on its toes.

Disappointing gaming ability and a higher price than media-centre cards rule this one out of contention

Gaming enthusiasts won’t need to “clock up” these new video cards from PowerColor to squeeze the most performance out of them. The clock speed is factory increased to a sensible maximum.

A competent card with older games, but it can’t handle the new generation of games.

A mighty dual-GPU board that makes light work of even today’s toughest DirectX 10 games.

A mighty dual-GPU board that makes light work of even today’s toughest DirectX 10 games

New drivers introduce CrossFireX for Windows Vista and ATI Hybrid Graphics support for Windows Vista.

New card replaces 8600 GTS and aims for playable DirectX 10 performance without breaking the bank.

It may be affordable, but we’d rather spend a little more to guarantee some genuine gaming ability