The PixelView range of graphics cards share a sizeable proportion of the OEM market, with many of the small-to-medium PC vendors using them to outfit their PCs with inexpensive graphics solutions. Prolink does not have the same kind of presence in the retail market in Australia, but this is rapidly changing. As technology behind graphics chipsets becomes more complex, it requires more stringent adherence to the reference design in order to produce a 3D graphics card fit for sale. The crux of this is, there is much less to differentiate between a premium brand and one that has cut its teeth supplying the mass OEM markets. Whereas many might once have disregarded these second-tier Taiwanese manufacturers, they now produce competitive products that are demanding to be taken seriously by the market.
The Prolink PixelView GeForce2 Ti turned out the be the fastest in its class, topping the other GeForce2 Ti cards in every benchmark we ran. Apart from the card, there are no extras or software; only a driver CD and nominal installation guide. There is a TV-out port, offering a little extra in display options. But if youre on a tight budget and you want a cheap, fast and simple 3D card, it is difficult to fault the Prolink model.
This article appeared in the January, 2002 issue of PC Authority.
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