S3 graphics has announced a new range of graphics cards that will be part of the Chrome 500-series. The first card is the Chrome 530 GT, which is already available for purchase, and which must be a new record for S3 when it comes to getting products out.

The card itself is nothing spectacular, it looks very much like the older Chrome 430 GT and even the clock speeds are the same, with the GPU clocked at 625MHz and the DDR2 memory at 500MHz. The Chrome 530 GT comes with 512MB of 64-bit DDR2 memory, which is twice that of the Chrome 400-series cards.

The card features a DVI and HDMI port and is supplied with a DVI to D-sub dongle. As a limited offer, the card also comes with WinDVD 8 if you order it from the GStore, which is S3's online store. Performance-wise, S3 claims the card is on par with a Radeon HD 4350, which places this new card in the entry level of the market.

With support for dual Blu-ray video streams and what should be some solid video processing features, this might appeal to those building an HTPC. The GPU also features built-in Dolby 7.1-channel audio via the HDMI port.

The card is available now for an affordable US$44.95 (€36/£30).

You can find the press release here and you can order a card here