Introduction

CES is over, and I am a sad panda. I had a blast out in Vegas and met some pretty cool people. Unfortunately, because it was my first year, everything was new. Backdraft runs around like it's second nature. He has been in the biz forever and knows pretty much everyone. For me, it was a big learning experience, so I might have come off a bit shy and reserved to many. That was only because I was soaking everything in. I can't wait till next year. I'll be a bit more comfortable, and we'll have our game plan a bit more streamlined. Hopefully, it will be more than just me and Backdraft next year. (Crow, that means you!!)

One big theme for the 2011 CES was home media. While cruising various manufacturer's suites, it seemed high definition and 3D was a definitive key point. One of the main places that they want to hit is the living room. The enthusiast market isn't a hugely profitable one. I mean, not everyone can afford Xtreme processors and tri-SLI setups. However, mainstream entertainment can hit more homes. HTPCs are becoming more mainstream, especially with everything moving into digital format. People are taking old components and rebuilding them into media centers and servers. One of the key components to a good HTPC is the GPU.

The Axle3D Nvidia Geforce GT 430 is aimed for the HTPC market. The Geforce GT 430 comes equipped with 1GB of DDR3 memory. The core clock is set at 700MHz and memory is 1800MHz effective. While not big on performance, the GT 430 is loaded with all of the features you've come to know and love from Nvidia. There is CUDA support with 96 cores. The 430 supports PhysX, 3D Vision, Nvida PureVideo, DirectX 11, and OpenGL 4.1. It is only rated to consume a max of 49 watts, which makes it very power efficient.