Web Site: www.leadtek.com

Price: $399

It seems that every 6 months, we here at SharkyExtreme have this dilemma. It all started with the GeForce. We got our first GeForce, a reference board from NVIDIA, tested the hell out of it. We poked, prodded and twisted the board until we had a real clear idea of how fast it really was, and then we published our results for all to see. Then every board manufacturer on the planet sent us their GeForce based products and we went through the process again, ad nauseum.

Fast forward to the GeForce 2, and we see the same predicament: a slew of boards all based on the same graphics core, with similar features and similar bundles. In the end, we concluded that a GeForce 2 was a GeForce 2 in terms of performance, and you should pick the board based on the extra features, quality of the product, and price. NVIDIA threw us a bit of a curve with their Pro and Ultra versions of the GF2, but after the fall-out settled the story was even clearer: a Pro was a Pro and an Ultra was an Ultra.

So here we are with GeForce 3 based boards rolling in, and we find ourselves in the exact same situation. We have already taken a look at the reference design from NVIDIA and tested the pants off the bugger to give you a very clear idea of where the board stands in terms of performance. So when Leadtek's WinFast GeForce 3 TD arrived in our offices, we took a harder look at what was different from the reference design, in an effort to better inform you about what made this board stand out.

After some investigation, we are pleased to announce that the Leadtek board does differentiate itself from the rest of the GeForce 3 boards we have seen in a number of different ways. As we take you through these features, and some performance tests (no SharkyExtreme review would be complete without a look at speed), we ask that you take the same approach that we did to reviewing this GeForce 3. We approached this card from the buyer's perspective to see just what (if anything) would make the WinFast GeForce 3 TD stand out in the crowd.

Right off the bat, we have to offer you the standard list of features for the WinFast GeForce 3 TD. Most of these features are common to all GeForce 3 products, but you will find a few that are specific to the Leadtek board.