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Thread ID: 106733	2010-01-21 05:37:00	Graphics Card Advice	hsvman12 (12360)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
850486	2010-01-21 05:37:00	I am planning to gradually upgrading my 3 . 5 year old PC . It's specs are: CPU: Intel Pentium D945 3 . 4 ghz 2x2mb cache 800 mhz fsb lga775 Motherboard: Intel LGA775 DDR400/333 RAM: 2gb Windows: XP PSU: 520w GPU: nvidia GeForce 7600GT 256 SSR3 I am normally a few years behind playing new release games, and I am starting to play games now that my PC cannot handle on high settings (ones released in 2007/08) . I currently have a 19 inch LCD, but plan to upgrade this to 22 inch widescreen (at some stage) . I don't know much about performance etc so I am planning to follow PC world's advice (in their latest few mags) and upgrade to: CPU: Intel Core i5 750 2 . 66GHz Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3 RAM: G . Skill Ripjaw 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3-1600 Windows: Thinking about 7 GPU: either Radeon hd 4890 OR nVidia GTX 275 . At around $1000, this fits my budget . I plan to upgrade my GPU first . After reading all the reviews, both cards were close and I had planned to purchase the 275 (on the basis similar pricing) . However pc world recommends the 4890 and after checking prices, the 4890 is around $100-$200 cheaper . Pricespy lists a range of 4890 cards refer: . co . nz/category . php?k=v1293" target="_blank">pricespy . co . nz I would normally just buy the cheapest (for $285), but the PC world recommendation is priced at $319 . My question, which one of these cards is the best for value? Are they all built the same with the same specs or are some better quality/speed/performance? Any help would be appreciated .	hsvman12 (12360)
850487	2010-01-21 05:58:00	CPU: Intel Core i5 750 2.66GHz Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3 RAM: G.Skill Ripjaw 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3-1600 Windows: Thinking about 7 GPU: either Radeon hd 4890 OR nVidia GTX 275. My question, which one of these cards is the best for value? Are they all built the same with the same specs or are some better quality/speed/performance? . There is no other choice worth bothering about other than WIndows 7. Stick to ASUS and Gigabyte for both motherboards and graphics cards. They both have a 3 year warranty. If the shop you are looking at doesn't say that, then run away from them. They have a 3 yr warranty (versus 1 yr crap) for a reason. Don't believe anyone who says they are all the same, the GPU is, but the rest is not. See here for a list of dodgy versus reliable shops: www.gpforums.co.nz	pctek (84)
850488	2010-01-21 06:03:00	The GTX 275 and the 4890 pretty much trade blow for blow. Price wise the 4890 clearly wins so no good reason not to go that way. You should look up reviews of the HD5770 as another option $270 ish, slightly lower performance but lower power/heat, and DX11 (who really cares but...). Don't believe anyone who says they are all the same, the GPU is, but the rest is not. www.gpforums.co.nz pctek, you dont seem to realise most Graphics cards are re badged. Foxconn is one company thats has made cards for Asus and Gigabyte its a lot more than JUST the GPU. Most of the cards are the EXACT reference design put out by Nividia and ATI, brand doesnt matter beyond price, warranty and if the card has improved cooling over reference (and maybe factory overclock if you care).	Battleneter2 (9361)
850489	2010-01-21 06:33:00	pctek, you dont seem to realise most Graphics cards are re badged. Foxconn is one company thats has made cards for Asus The hell they do. Go look it up. ASUS make their own stuff.	pctek (84)
850490	2010-01-21 07:01:00	Reference design...sure. But many times manufacturers liek Gigabyte and Asus choose to use components of higher quality than reference designs. Sometimes they stray from reference designs a lot (like MSI's 1GHz Lightning 5870). The GPUs themselves are not made by these vendors though. I believe all GPUs for both nVidia AND ATI are being made by TSMC now.	qazwsxokmijn (102)
850491	2010-01-21 21:06:00	I would normally just buy the cheapest (for $285), but the PC world recommendation is priced at $319 . Hiya, I wrote those recommended build lists for PC World :cool: Pricing was based on the street price at the time, which invariably drops by the time the mag hits the shelves . . . I used to be fussy about GPU brand as well but not so much anymore, so long as the card comes with at least 2 year warranty (in my experience, if it don't fail in the first 2 years then it prob won't fail for a while) . Asus and Gigabyte *are* good, and they do manufacture a lot of their own stuff, but Asus also sell reference/rebadged video cards as well so buying an Asus doesn't gaurantee you an Asus-built product . Even in saying that, I went thru 3 dead Asus-built Glacier 4870 cards last year, before the shop swapped it with an Asus Matrix (which went flawlessly) . They said the Glacier had over 70% failure rate or something like that . Just goes to show that warranty and after-sales support can be more important than brand name .	pablo d (15490)
850492	2010-01-21 21:55:00	The hell they do. Go look it up. ASUS make their own stuff. Sorry you are mistaken, many Reference design cards are made by several manufactures and supplied for re-branding. A lot of this stuff is commercially sensitive and hard to google. Which cards and what quantities are hard to say. This is done to keep the costs down to all the so called manufactures (and or re-branders). hothardware.com ""Flextronics has been a longtime manufacturing partner for NVIDIA and is responsible for producing a significant amount of graphics cards which are then re-branded as one of the more familiar graphics card vendor products."" I can 100% Guarantee Asus at least buys SOME cards from either Flextronics or Foxconn. For example most Asus 8800GT's were manufactured by one of these two because Nvidia didn't license anyone else to do it. I am definitely not saying Asus dont make "any", but Reference cards have very specific specifications, it doesn't matter who manufactures them. Hope this clears up your confusion.	Battleneter2 (9361)
850493	2010-01-21 22:26:00	The hell they do. Go look it up. ASUS make their own stuff. Geese I must have far to much time on my hands lol, now where's my victory cigar. ixbtlabs.com """I repeat that all 8800-series products are currently manufactured at third-party plants (Foxconn, Flextronics) ordered by NVIDIA. This company receives these cards and then sells them to its partners. That's why practically all GeForce 8800 cards are identical, because they are manufactured at two plants under strict NVIDIA control. "" This type of manufacturing and re-branding goes beyond the 8800 series and prior for that matter.	Battleneter2 (9361)
850494	2010-01-21 22:42:00	hothardware.com I can 100% Guarantee Asus at least buys SOME cards from either Flextronics or Foxconn. Hope this clears up your confusion. That does not say any such thing. However: www.cdrinfo.com apcmag.com d_the_whole_thing.htm and www.xbitlabs.com _s_Largest_Maker_of_Mainboards.html	pctek (84)
850495	2010-01-21 22:50:00	That does not say any such thing. ixbtlabs.com lol Asus did 8800 series where do you think they got them? Its ok don't appologise for being wrong, just keep arguing maybe you can murky it up :)	Battleneter2 (9361)
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