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Thread ID: 83581 2007-10-06 05:10:00 Graphics Card Brands?? Pourhommenz (104) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
598570 2007-10-06 05:10:00 I'm a little confused. Does it actually matter what brand graphics card you buy?

I thought that at the end of the day, they are all the same boards and chips, just different bundles and packaging.

I'm looking at getting a nVidia 8800 GTX or Ultra, the Ultra is a MSI model but people are saying don't and to get a Asus or gigabyte. Are they right?
Pourhommenz (104)
598571 2007-10-06 05:50:00 Sometimes it does matter... there are certain brands where the complete bundle is better value for money in terms of accessories, extra cables and games included in the pack. There are a few manufacturers who load up the pack with goodies and others are a bit skint on bundled accessories.

Keep and eye on clock speeds as well, some manufacturers have their GPU's clocked slightly higher than other reference boards on the market.

The best thing to do is pick 5 possible choices and then whittle them down based on... (not necessarily in this order)

1) Price
2) goodies included in the bundled package
3) clock speeds of the memory and GPU

Take your time and make an informed decision... after all it's your hard earned dosh you're spending and you don't really want to buy a lemon.

Cheers

PS: stay away from card which end in SE etc. they tend to be crap in my experience
chiefnz (545)
598572 2007-10-06 05:55:00 I'm a little confused. Does it actually matter what brand graphics card you buy?

I thought that at the end of the day, they are all the same boards and chips, just different bundles and packaging.

I'm looking at getting a nVidia 8800 GTX or Ultra, the Ultra is a MSI model but people are saying don't and to get a Asus or gigabyte. Are they right?

The most importnat consideration is quality and warranty.

Gigabye and ASUS both have a 3 yr warranty.

I had an MSI once, it had far too much paste applied and lived only 11 months.
Rubbish.

The GPU may be the same but all the other bits are different.
pctek (84)
598573 2007-10-06 09:15:00 I got an Albatron 8800GTX - and I got that brand....because it was in stock. 8800GTXs are being bought as fast as they're being manufactured by the sounds.

Happily, it had the lowest price - but had absolutely nothing bundled with it. Just the card and the attendant cables, CD etc.

The 8800GTX-Ultra is just an overclocked GTX. Same GPU, RAM and architecture - and an extra $300 - $400 or so.

The damned thing is nearly a foot long too. I can barely squeeze it into my CoolerMaster Mystique 632 case (not a small case at all) - it has about 4mm clearance from the HDD bay - so you might want to take that into account.
Deane F (8204)
598574 2007-10-06 22:09:00 I got an Albatron 8800GTX

:yuck:
pctek (84)
598575 2007-10-07 03:34:00 i havew the asus nvidea 8800GTX and from my personal experance i have had no problem what so eva with any parts from asus they are very reliable in all acpects and the 8800GTX comes with 2 games ghost recon advanced warfighter and gti racing plus lots of softwhere my pc has an asus motherboard GPU and cd drive and they all work great altrounson (11366)
598576 2007-10-07 04:36:00 They do use the same GPU core from Nvidia or ATi, but the board, design, cooling and other component quality will depend on the brand.

A better brand will:

A) be less likely to break
B) give you a longer/better warranty even if it does

Some cards even have warranties that carry through even when you OC or put on custom coolers

as for cards marked 'SE' - stands for Software Enhanced, or so I hear. I think it's obvious then why they are evil.
Agent_24 (57)
598577 2007-10-07 05:48:00 I got a Palit 8600GTS. Only because I knew Palit didn't place over-voltage protection and used a non-reference PCB. Which was good for overclocking to 1000mhz from 675mhz core :D!

Only 1 year warranty though.
trinsic (6945)
598578 2007-10-07 06:21:00 This has been proved never buy brands such as asus, gigabyte, msi.
But buy BFG, XFX, EVGA as these most have factory overclocked and are certified by nvidia.
My Friend used to have a Asus and the copper heatsink simply falled off after a while
JUST INSANE (6682)
598579 2007-10-07 09:10:00 :yuck:

Yeah well, I used to swear by Asus - but then I had some problems with Asus gear and so did a friend. Same with Gigabyte.

I gave a low-end computer I had to a friend a few years ago that is based on an Albatron motherboard. Still going strong after four years or more.

What's your experience with Albatron, pctek?
Deane F (8204)
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