There are a lot of GeForce3 cards on the market at the moment, with not an incredible amount of difference between them. This is indicative of the somewhat heavy-handed tactics of NVIDIA when setting down reference designs.

Despite similar performance, the major factors that differentiate GeForce3 cards are looks, quality, overclockability and software. The Morpheus GeForce3 card features some serious RAMsinks and a chipset cooler, with a standard 15-pin D-Sub output as well as S-Video output.

The RAMsinks and cooler are particularly noteworthy. The usual way to squeeze a little bit extra out of a video card is to overclock it, running both the core and memory speeds faster than standard. Running at higher speed generates more heat, which in turn needs better cooling or the display will start to corrupt. Using RAMsinks and a decent-quality cooler for the core makes it more overclockable. The physical act of overclocking the Morpheus is simple, and entirely software based, but involves a degree of comfort with the GeForce3 driver.

We tested the card using a 1GHz Athlon processor. In 3DMark2001 Pro , it scored 4,745 3DMarks at 1,024 x 768 resolution at 32-bit colour. This dropped marginally to a very playable 3,380 3DMarks at 1,600 x 1,200.

The accompanying software bundle stands out in a sea of mediocrity. Inside the wooden box that the card ships in are three games and a driver CD. The driver CD comes packed with added extras, such as a video showing how to install the card and WinDVD .

The bundled games include Dronez, MDK2 and No One Lives Forever. The CD also includes access to a service called Software Choice, through which you can order one more game for the cost of shipping, or purchase up to two others at a discount.

If you are after a GeForce3 that keeps up with the competition while providing a host of quality extras, then the Morpheus is a very attractive proposition. If you add a sense of daring, then the overclockability of this card means youll be rewarded with unsurpassed levels of performance. In a market overflowing with highly similar products the Morpheus definitely stands out from the rest.

John Gillooly