MSI™'s FX5900-TD128 is based on NVIDIA®'s GeForceFX 5900 chip, a.k.a. NV35. The card uses 128 MB of 128-bit DDR memory. The clockspeeds follow NVIDIA®'s specifications (400/850 MHz). MSI™'s rather playfully designed 3D! Turbo Experience hardware monitoring tool runs in a browser window as a Flash application and offers overclocking options.

This card's cooling solution deserves special mention. The front of the card is covered by a huge copper colored heatsink, which carries a large fan. The back of the card also features a heatsink/fan combo. MSI™ fittingly calls this dual-fan construction "TwinFlow", and we were pleased to note that it is very quiet (36.5 dB). Be warned, though - due to the size of this cooler, there may be mounting and installation problems with certain motherboards.

The TV-Out functionality is handled by the on-chip TV-encoder of the FX 5900. The TV can be connected directly to the card in the case of S-VHS. Composite video output is also available using a short adapter cable. A 2-meter S-VHS cable ships with the card. The card also houses a separate Silicon Image panel link transmitter chip (Si1166C), which allows DVI output up to UXGA resolution (1600x1200).

The software bundle is very extensive and extraordinary. In addition to the aforementioned 3D! Turbo Experience tool, MSI™ ships a number of other utilities with the board. These are: Live Update 2 (automatic check for + download + installation of new BIOS files and drivers), MSI™ Secure Doc (file encryption utility), MSI™ GoodMem (a tool to flush the system memory), MSI™ LockBox (security software which allows the user to lock the computer when he / she leaves the workstation), and MSI™ WMI Info (a system information tool).

On top of these utilities, MSI™'s bundle also includes the programs E-Color 3Deep, TwinSoft BeTwin (a tool for managing multiple user accounts on a PC), Trend PC-Cillin (Anti Virus software), Media Ring Dialer, Virtual Drive (www.farstone.com/home/en/shtml/vdpoverview.shtml), RestoreIT! (www.farstone.com/home/en/shtml/ritpoverview.shtml) as well as MSI 3D Desktop, Supreme Foreign Language Learning Machine (a language learning software), and Intervideo's WinDVD 5.1 software DVD player.

MSI™'s Media Center Deluxe II is more than just a media center - it lets user control their entire PC (program launching, videos, music, radio, picture viewer, TV (Video-In)). The big on-screen buttons and the large fonts make navigation especially easy when the PC is hooked up to a TV via TV-Out.

The games bundle is another highlight. The card ships with full versions of "Morrowind - The Elder Scrolls III" (2002), Tom Clancy's "Ghost Recon" (2001), "Duke Nukem - Manhattan Project" (2002), and an extra CD featuring seven game demos. As a little bonus, MSI also includes a little notepad for jotting down in-game information.

Conclusion: If you're looking for a quiet FX5900 card with a good software bundle, the MSI™ FX5900-TD128 may be a good fit. Beware of the fan on the back of the card, though - make sure it will fit your motherboard! The very low noise level of the TwinFlow fans is exemplary!

+ Very quiet dual-fan design
+ TV-out
+ Video cable included (S-VHS, 2 m)
+ Huge software bundle (see text for details)
+ MSI software tools
+ Media Center Deluxe II (control center for the PC, useful in combination with TV-Out)
+ Good games bundle with current titles
+ DVI output up to 1600x1200

- Potential installation problems due to the large rear-mounted fan