Aside from the card you'll receive a simple users guide, MSI case badge, Driver CD, MSI bundled application CD, full version of Serious Sam II, two analog to DVI converters, S-video out cable and VIVO + HDTV cable. Serious Sam II isn't really a game that's going to push the boundaries of this particular card, but at least it's a fun game and at least for me it will actually get played rather than some of the less than spectacular, two generations old games you see bundled with some cards.

Technical specs of the NX7600GT-VT2D256E HD are pretty much identical to the NX7600GT-VT2D256E (non HDCP version) we reviewed recently, so here is a quick recap of the technical specs.

128-bit memory interface

OpenGL 2.0 Optimizations and Support

NVIDIA® nView® Multi-Display Technology

NVIDIA® Digital Vibrance Control® 3.0 Technology

Dual 400MHz RAMDACs

Dual Dual-Link DVI Support

90nm Process Technology

Built for Microsoft® Windows™ Vista

The newer G71 GPU that the 7600GT is based off of will run cooler, and consume less power than previous cards within the same class. Additionally like the other card the HD version provides 12 pixel pipelines and 5 vertex shaders, a GPU clock speed of 580MHz and memory clock speed of 1500MHz , supports dual DVI output as well as VIVO, High-Definition H.264, MPEG-2 and WMV Hardware Acceleration and fully supports High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection.

HDCP support isn't a huge issue "right now" but with the release of Windows Vista getting closer and the availability of HD media, having an HDCP video card in your PC is going to be a requirement sooner rather than later if you intend to take full advantage of everything Windows Vista and HD media have to offer. What it boils down to is this, HDCP is a form of copyright protection, what HDCP does is encrypt the signal sent over a DVI or HDMI interface. To further that protection you not only need HDCP at the source (video card, DVD player etc.) but you also need it on the receiving end (monitor, HD television etc.). without HDCP support at both ends it results in the HD content being "downgraded" to normal DVD quality for video and DAT quality for audio.

If you are in the market for an HTPC and are wanting to "future proof" your pending purchase as much as possible looking into HDCP ready components should be at the top of your list. The last thing you want is to dish out a boatload of cash only to find out that one piece or another of your hardware doesn't fully support everything needed to fully utilize all aspects of your media center. With this in mind the NX7600GT-VT2D256E HD is one of the very few cards on the market right now that fully supports HDCP, and is the only card I know of in the sub $200 price range that supports HDCP.

The die shrink makes for a much cooler card, and cooling for the NX7600GT-VT2D256E HD is handled by a massive cooler that requires two slots. Surprisingly, despite appearances, it doesn't sound like a jet engine and shouldn't be an issue noise wise in a media PC. Naturally, the main drawback of such massive cooling is the card will occupy two slots. If you have more than one PCI device on a five expansion slot motherboard, having two of these cards plus that one PCI card will be the limit of your upgrades.

Gaming Performance

Windows XP w/SP2
Intel 3.4GHz P4 socket 775
Foxconn NF4SLI7AA-8EKRS2
1GB OCZ PC2-6400 EB Platinum Edition

Games used for benchmarking will be:

F.E.A.R.
One of my favorite 1st person shooters and IMO a great looking game if you can manage to run it with all the bells and whistles turned on. Lighting and shadow effects are what make this game impressive, and that's also what can really put a strain on your video card.

Doom III
Awesome visually and manages a scare or two the first time through. D3 IMO is the best looking of the bunch, but benefits the least from things like AA/AF due to the darkness of the game.

FarCry
Getting a little dated now, but still a great test of a video cards capabilities. Lots of movement and great visuals.

Half-Life 2: Lost Coast
Not really a game, although you do get to shoot some Combine soldiers. Utilizing HDR it provides a peak at some really good video capabilities.

Rather than using any synthetic benchmarks or benchmarking apps like Benchemall I'll be doing what all gamers do and that's play games. FRAPS will be used to record frames per second over a 5 minute period over the course of three "runs" at 1280 X 1024 and 1600 X 1200 all three scores will be averaged for the results.