The really difference between S3's card and ATI & Nvidia's cheap cards is that the 530GT can send HD sound over the HDMI port. 

Granted they don't have a player that supports the option but PowerDVD Cinema 8, due for release this month will support the option.

Why in the world would anyone want one of these when, for the same price, one could just go across the street and grab an ATI HD 4350? Better drivers and, in case the card breaks down, you can much more easily get a replacement because ATI has a wider distribution and support network.

I just don't understand why S3 thinks anyone would actually buy one of these things. Yeah, it works, but it's like saying, "Buy a Kia. It's just as good as a Toyota and we're pricing it squarely against Toyotas."

Right.

I don't care about OpenGL3.0, I only care about image and video quality. This is a perfect machine for HTPCs since it's as cheap as chips and can be passively cooled easily.
Plus, it's always nice to see some other player in this "executive" game.
- Larabee anyone?

I'll take a 540GTX version. 
Slower clock speed but double the memory when compared to 440gtx. 
Same clock speed as the 430gt but double the memory. 

A comparison between 440gtx and 530gt would be interesting.

to K2k7.
there are actually reviews on chrome400 and its comparison to nv and amd's competitive parts. but just as its user base, you can just find a few of them.
but the conclusion is if they can not only keep the power low but also the price, they can definitely beat the low end cards of nv and amd's. and if look at the mobile market.
they really have the chance to compete with nv and amd's mobile chips, but it seems notebook manufacturers are more prefer nv/amd even intel's...so i just wanna say, s3...please keep fighting!
i will be surprised if you can survive through recession ages.

It says OpenGL 2.1 on the product page

try "Internet Exploder" instead of your high-quality browser, and you might see something.

With no TYPE specified for the script, a decent WC3-compliant browser utterly refuses to guess that it's javascript. IE has it's own "standards", and probably works. Of course, if the microcode and drivers are written with the same skill, quality, and reliability as the web pages was.... don't buy it.

I like that S3 is trying to stay competitive, but I'm surprised they can. I never see there cards for sale and I never see reviews of them.

How do they actually fare vs nVidia and ATI in Windows and Linux tests?

I found it's sold on Gstore at $45, even cheaper than 440GTX. It's much worthy now if this is true. can its power consumption be lower than 15W??

uhhh, $49 for these cards, and the 530GT link is not working... Is this for real? Someone need to look harder at that site. https://s3gstore.s3graphics.com/