Thoughts
With my recent look at Gainward's dual-DVI GeForce FX 5700, it was great to take a look at the Radeon 9600 mid-range side of the same fence. If dual-DVI is your bag, there's a hell of a lot to like from the tiny little Excalibur, should balls-out performance not be one of your considerations. That's not to say it's slow, far from it actually, since the RV350 GPU used to power the board is a very competent DX8 and DX9 performer. But it's the board size, lack of any need for external power, cool running, quiet fan and no-frills approach that make it appealing.Like the Albatron reviewed with the Gainward, it seems perfect folly for a Shuttle XPC or similar SFF chassis, should two DVI ports be your dream combination for your teeny tiny PC. Imagine a pair of decent thin bezel LCD monitors in all their DVI connected glory, hung from your silent but powerful XPC. That's the appeal of the HIS.
It's not going to blaze any 3DMark trail or set your eyeballs on fire playing Doom3 or Far Cry, but it will play all games at decent settings and speed, while offering up its dual-DVI benefits and cool and quiet operation, all for less than £90 recommended price.
Can you ask for anything more for the price?
Slap one in your Shuttle and splash out on those LCDs you've been pining after, you know it makes sense.
Score
Pros
Decent performanceVery quiet
Very cool
Dual-DVI
Cheap
