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The Asus Bravo 220 arrives in a plain black box with gold writing, its a rather retro design which wouldn't look out of place in Thorntons.
Coffee Creams? yes please, yum.
Like many Asus boxes, this is a gatefold design which opens up and it looks well and details some of the cards features.
The package contains the card, a remote, a receiver base, CD's and manuals. There is also a self adhesive felt grip to attach the receiver.
The manual is well written with illustrations explaining everything. Bonus points for the lack of ‘engrish'.
Above we can see the Asus remote, next to my usual tool of choice, the excellent Gyration remote, which works like a Nintendo Wii controller.
This is the remote receiver and light sensor. Yes, light sensor. This device adapts the onscreen plasma or LCD image via the card (and driver) to suit the ambience of the room.
Wow that software looks bad. the card seems good though, I like the cooler, seems powerful enough for the situation to handle without fan
Very detailed and fair review I think. the card seems solid for media work but the bundle might end up annoying quite a few people.
Interesting product and quite competitively priced. Certainly isnt for gaming, being an underpowered 220. temps are good and no noise is a bonus. ideal for a bedroom environment.
Well, not the usual perfect product on KG then, seems we have a semi winner, but if they removed all the junk. Wonder if they will sell the card on its own, bound to drop the price a bit.
Seems pretty much of a turd of a product. Id like to see a review of the Sapphire HD5550. bet its better.
Nvidia boards arent ideal for media, I think ATI have the edge. dont you ?
Thanks, just finished my daily KG news and reviews lunch break 🙂 Id still buy that card to be honest, the hardware seems decent and it looks wicked.
Asus software has ALWAYS been crap, no doubt about it.
good review, seems fair and all points covered. I actually just bought this for my media center as I have a really old Nvidia board in it and the fan is starting to omit a noise.
Wont have this issue 🙂
IT doesnt actually seem that bad when you look at the product overall. the software sucks, and its a shame its such a big focus for Asus cause the card would have scored higher otherwise. Liked the intro Z, didnt know you were into bikes.
I think that is seriously one of the fucking most cool looking silent boards ive seen, its almost Zalman like by design. Shame about the software but its not the end of teh world, shame they dont sell a straight card version. If you are making a media center at least do it right, that just seems like a remote control, front layer. rather than a suite.
Im quite surprised Asus didnt actually borrow the code of Windows Media Player and just ‘plug into it’ from the front end. It seems quite messy the way they have their own suite popping up and minimising into the task bar. Not sure what they were thinking really, thats a little bit surprising
I liked that review, balanced, good intro, nice testing. fair result. Its not a bad card really, just a shame the suite sucks balls.
It’s not worth buying. Pure and simple.
Give em a few months to create an ATi version and maybe it will be ok.
ATI do generally make better media cards, its pretty well known. something like the 5550 would be wicked.
BRAVO 220 SILENT/DI/1GD2(LP)
Experience Visual Enjoyment in a New Light!
– ASUS Exclusive 0dB thermal solution: enjoy a silent environment no matter playing game or watching movies – ASUS Exclusive Splendid plus: with ambient light sensor to fit different user scenario – ASUS Bravo Media Center: with remote controller for easy entertainment access – Up to 21% power savin
http://in.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=HLK4Pmu9lXkm0Q8o&templete=2