Thoughts
Graphics cards are evaluated at how well they perform with respect to other cards in the same price sector. Of course, it would be foolish to compare an FX 5950 Ultra to the Leadtek FX 5700 for anything other than reference numbers. The latter has to contend in a class that's priced at least twice as high as the Leadtek's. So what does £120 or so of your cash get you ?. THe Leadtek A360TD FX 5700 is a competent but unspectacular package in many ways. Everything works, but the bundle illustrates pretty much all we need to know. It contains some older games and up-to-date utilities, that is, Leadtek does well in some areas but is only average in others.
The physical card is unexciting save for the large cooler that acts to prohibit aftermarket RAM cooling. The basic spec. of 450MHz core / 550MHz memory is compensated for by the increased pixel and shading ability (in relation to the NV31) that's inherent in the NV36 design. This elevates it from mediocrity to a decent enough performer for the most part. The real problem for this card isn't necessarily from the competing ATI contingent, it's more likely to come from the FX 5700 Ultra. Priced at around £30 more, it's 475 - 500MHz core and 900MHz+ memory speed make it an obvious performance champion over and above this card. You have to ask yourself if the sacrificed speed, in the name of cost, is worth it or not.
There's nothing intrinscally wrong with the Leadtek A360. It's good at what it does and makes the most from its specification. Personally, we'd attempt to financially stretch to either the slightly faster 9600XT or FX 5700 Ultra ourselves. If the online price dips to around £100, we feel its price-to-performance ratio will make it an attractive card. At £120, however, it sits perilously close to the ASUS 9600XT/TVD, which, as a package, has a lot more going for it. Other 9600XTs enjoy pricing at the Leadtek's levels, so it could be considered a direct rival, and those card often hit 550MHz core without flinching.
What this conclusion, rambling as it is, is attempting to convey is that Leadtek has made decent use of a GPU that's not a hot property at its current price point. That's an eminently important point. Finite money forces the user to choose the product that provides the best value. Unfortunately, we can think of one or two cards that would tickle our fancy ahead of the Leadtek A360TD FX 5700. Solid and dependable, so it's a decent enough choice for a die-hard NVIDIA fan. We just feel as if it doesn't have enough of the right stuff to make it a recommended choice.
