3D Image Quality

The GeForce FX has always been fairly strong when it comes to 3D image quality, and the PCX5750-TD128 is no exception. Even without AA/AF enabled, the card exhibits some good visuals.

Doom 3

No AA/AF	4xAA/8xAF

As we've mentioned throughout the review, enabling AA/AF will result in a performance penalty (sometimes severe), but to be honest, it's only upon close examination where you can see the benefits of AA/AF. In most cases, I think you'll be dodging rockets so even without AA/AF enabled, I think most of you will be satisfied with the glorious death animation's of getting fragged.

2D Image Quality

We loaded up a 1600x1200 image normally used in our video card reviews. I also pulled up an HTML document with various sized fonts to judge the text rendering. The document used white text on a black background, and vice versa. The screen resolution for all tests was 1600x1200 @ 85Hz on a Dell rebranded 21" Trinitron.

Scores are subjective, but having worked with many video cards the last few years, I got a pretty firm grasp on what card renders 2D better than the others. The scores will be out of 10, with 10 being excellent.

	MSI PCX5750	MSI FX5900-VTD	All-in-Wonder 9800
Black Text (12Pt)	8	8	9
Black Text (6Pt)	6	6	7
White Text (12Pt)	7	7	8
White Text (6Pt)	5	5	7
Bitmap Quality	8	8	9

I still prefer the clarity found in ATI's products, but the PCX5750 is by no means a slouch in this department. With NVIDIA's ForceWare drivers, I've found their images to be quite a bit brighter "out-of-the-box", so to speak, than before.

Final Words

Based on what we've seen today, the MSI PCX5750-TD128 is a fine card when it comes to gaming at 1024x768 and lower. AntiAliasing and Anisotropic filtering improves image quality, but it will impact performance, especially at 1280 resolution and beyond. The sweet spot is 1024 and for the majority of games, even Doom 3, the card handles the task well. The cooling solution is relatively quiet, and will not be obstructive, at least when compared with the rest of the cooling for the PC.

We have not evaluated the graphics performance of the 915G chipset, but from what was demonstrated to me a couple weeks ago, the PCX5750 has Intel's integrated solution beat easily when it comes to performance. On that note, at 1024 and lower, the performance is quite good for a card in this price range. 1280 and up begins to get choppy, especially when playing some of today's newer games. Turn on AA/AF, and you'll be treated to a slide-show, and let's just say that if you have any desire to play at this image quality level, this card is not for you.

NVIDIA and MSI aren't marketing this card as a high-end solution though, and for the relatively low cost of , you're getting a decent DX9 card with an above average game bundle. Yes, I mentioned the bundle. Normally, these are throwaways, and although the included games are 2003 titles, at least it's better than most of the packages we've seen. With the ability to output to two monitors, as well as TVs via S-Video, this wouldn't be a bad choice for media professionals who normally rely on these features. Otherwise, those of you serious about gaming, you're better off looking towards a VPU/GPU more suited for the task of playing over 1024x768.

Pros: Good 3D performance at 1024x768. Quiet. Good bundle overall for the money.

Cons: Not suited for gameplay (with newer games) above 1024. AA/AF penalizes the performance severely.

Bottom Line: We're still waiting for ATI's competing part to make it into the labs, but if you're casual gamer, and are more interested in the dual display properties and TV-Out, this would be a fine choice. It's cheap, and it comes with an extensive bundle, and the performance beats anything the 915G chipset can muster. However, serious gamers need not apply.