Leadtek whacks out HDMI 8500

THE UPCOMING 8800 GT might be getting all the news at the moment, but that hasn't stopped Leadtek launching a new 8500 GT card that is worth of a few inches.

The PX8500 GT TDH HDMI is, you guessed it, an 8500 card with an onboard HDMI port. This, combined with the fact it's a low-profile card, makes it perfect for sleek media centre or small form factor systems.

The card also has a passive heatsink, keeping noise in your box to a minimum. The backplate has an SPDIF-In connector, which means you can run digital audio from your soundcard to your graphics card, then out through the single HDMI cable to your A/V device. Of course, that's not going to work if you're running any kind of protected HD content, since the SPDIF path is not HDCP compatible.

Dontcha just love DRM?

As for the card itself, there's 256MB of memory running at 800MHz, and the core is clocked at 450MHz. Expect to see it on sale imminently for a bargain price. µ