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Introduction
The Taiwanese manufacturer Gainward has recently released a tuned-up version of their GF3 CARDEXPERT Power Pack !!! called the "GOLDEN SAMPLE". The Golden Sample comes with a performance BIOS and is guaranteed to run at least at 220 MHz core speed and 480 MHz memory speed, whereas the GF3 stock speed is 200 MHz core and 460 MHz memory. The guaranteed Golden Sample frequencies are not very exciting by themselves. Basically any GF3 can do this, and we know that good running GF3 cards can go much higher. On the other hand, if a manufacturer guarantees stable overclocking up to certain frequencies, we can assume that this is just the minimum. So what is the maximum of a Golden Sample? Is this "Golden Sample" label only a marketing gimmick or is something behind it?

Gainward launched the Power Pack !!! Golden Sample at the Computex PC show in Taiwan at June 3. A short time later the first batch arrived at main vendors in Tokyo. This sticker on the box distinguishes the "Golden Samples" from the regular Power Packs !!!

The maniacs fanned out and very soon there was no "Golden Sample" anymore. A couple of days later, we had literally to check hundreds of Gainward GF3 boxes until we found one that had survived the onslaught. It was a display box. The vendor had accidentally hidden the "Golden Sample" label behind a promotional sticker.

Features
Before we start overclocking and benchmarking, we will have a short look at the card itself and the software bundle. We skip the usual sermon about the Vertex Shader, the Z-buffer, and the nfiniteFX engine. Like almost any other of the current GF3 (exception ASUS) the Gainward GF3 layout and specifications follow exactly the NVIDIA reference design with 8 x 8 MB ELITE DDR SDRAM rated at 3.8 ns/ 265 MHz. But as we know, memory is not memory. There can be quite big differences in yields. But with this pompous label on the box we naturally expected our "Golden Sample" to be on the sunny side!

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The first thing you realize when opening the box is the striking red color of the PCB with a matching colored daughter board and heat sinks. This is indeed the best-looking GF3 around. It's a pity that this "Lady-in-Red" has to endure her life in the darkness of a PC case. She looks more like a piece of art. We recommend her for display as "industrial art" to the management of the Guggenheim museum or the Louvre in Paris. The fan and the memory heatsinks seem to be a bit small in comparison with other GF3. Later we found out that for this "Lady-in-red" sizes matter as well. We were also not amused when becoming aware of a pinkish thermal tape between the heatsink and the GPU.

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The GF3 Gainward Power Pack !!! comes in 2 versions: A standard version with CRT and Video-out and a deluxe version with CRT+DVI+VIVO (Video-In and Video-Out). What distinguishes the Gainward GF3 Power Pack !!! from other GF3 most is naturally the VIVO function. There are 2 ways to provide VIVO:

• Through a board integrated chip resulting in a different design and larger card such as the Asus V8000 Deluxe is sporting
• Plugging in a daughter board into the VIVO socket that is provided for by the NVIDIA reference design for the GF2 and the GF3.

AnandTech in its recent review of the Gainward GF3 state that until now full VIVO functionality was not available for NVidia G-Force cards. In fact, ELSA has offered full VIVO capability for their Gladiac series of GF2 cards since they came out. They are using exactly the same VIVO Philips SA7108E daughter card Gainward has plugged into their GF3. Interestingly ELSA has not yet introduced a VIVO version of their GF3, but is still offering the Philips VIVO module as a separate add-on. In order to use the VIVO module a different BIOS has to be used, otherwise the VIVO function is not recognized.

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The Video-in function allows capturing video, for example from a TV tuner (in PAL or NTSC), a video recorder or a digital camera. The Video-out function brings your PC screen or your DVD movies on the TV screen. The VIVO function comes handy, because otherwise you need a separate PCI capture card, you lose one PCI slot and also one IRQ. Unlike the board integrated ASUS solution, the Gainward GF3 daughter board can be unplugged and utilized for other video cards with the same VIVO socket such as basically all GF2 and GF3 have. After flashing an ELSA Gladiac Bios we could use the ELSA Philips daughter board on our Creative GF2 Annihilator without problem, because both cards follow exactly the GF2 reference design.

The Gainward GF3 Power Pack !!!! box includes a VIVO cable providing the necessary 4 (!) connectors: Video-in and Video-out for composite video (more common) and S-video (better quality).

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We checked the VIVO functions and found them to work flawless. It's fun to watch DVD movies on the much bigger TV screen. That's another money saving point, because a PC based DVD player is much cheaper than a stand-alone DVD player. The Video-out quality is 100% sufficient for the non-professional user, but naturally cannot match high-end DVD stand-alone players. The Gainward GF3 highlight is the Video-in function. It allows connecting a TV or VHS recorder by a Video-S or composite cable to the GF3 and watch, capture, and edit running TV programs (PAL and NTSC) or VHS movies on the PC. This is a very nice feature indeed for anybody who is in video editing. For capturing and editing the Windows ME integrated "Movie Maker" can be used or the bundled Ulead Video Studio. The VIVO function is adding substantial value to the card, because video capturing comes much more expensive when a separate PCI capture card has to be purchased. The combination of CRT+DVI+VIVO makes the Gainward the best-equipped GF3 in the market. The ASUS V8200 Deluxe also offers VIVO, but lacks a DVI output, which is becoming increasingly important as prices for TFT monitors are steadily decreasing. Without a DVI output it's not possible to use a TFT monitor.

The GF3 "Power Pack!!!" software bundle comes with 4 CD's:

• The NVIDIA reference drivers and a propriety software suite for monitoring and overclocking called "Expert Tool".
• A full version of WinDVD 2000 to play DVD
  
• A limited edition of Ulead Video Studio Version 5.0 to capture and edit videos and pictures
  
• A rather useless collection of trial ware

The Ulead Video Studio 5.0 is a much-improved version of this software. The ASUS V8200 Deluxe is still shipping with the older 4.0 version. Video Studio 5.0 is easy to use and very helpful for capturing and editing movies. For just capturing we recommend the even easier to use ME integrated Movie Maker. The Gainward GF3 "Expert Tool" is an "add-on" to the original NVIDIA drivers, and does not replace them. It provides some system and video related information and more important a tweaking tool. We like the Gainward solution, because here you do not depend on the manufacturer for driver upgrades. The Gainward solution allows using the frequently updated NVIDIA beta drivers without losing access to the propriety software or the VIVO function, as we have it with the ELSA and ASUS cards. The ELSA VIVO functionality, for example, is only available when using the proprietary ELSA tools, which include outdated video drivers. When you install updated NVIDIA detonators, the "ELSA Tool" and with it all VIVO functions are gone! By the way, I was quite disappointed with the Gainward manual: it did not explain anything about the VIVO functions. That's quite miserable, because it will take the novice user a lot of time to find out all the functions and to arrange things properly.

By mid June 2001 the CRT+Video-out version retailed in Tokyo for around 300 USD and the CRT+DVI+VIVO version for around 350 USD (plus local tax). By features and price both versions are very attractive offers. It's still a small fortune, but exactly half of the 600 USD the GF3 was rumored to cost just a couple months ago.

But how does the Gainward GF3 "Power Pack !!!" perform and overclock? What can we expect from this Golden Sample?

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