ATI, Nvidia, etc..... just paying for the name?

[FadingTheory]

eVGA makes some of the best video cards out there. Execellent return policies, and even better upgrade policies. Cant go wrong.

There really are no 'name brand' video cards. NVidia and ATI make chipsets, and lease them to other companies.

Get the eVGA... you wont be disapointed.

 

[dhw200]

Sapphire is one of the best labs out there IMO. They work wonders with the technology they have, but they are limited by the chips ATI gives them. if they had chips with PSM 3.0, their cards would be the best around IMO

 

[woot7800GT]

eVGA 6600GT, like me : ) Good stuff.

 

[dale5605]

Don't get cheapy brands but there are plenty of good brands to choose from. eVGA, Leadtek, and MSI are all good for nvid. Powercolor, sapphire (yes sapphire), regular ati, asus, HItech, MSI, are all good for ati. Personally I don't think asus is "get what you pay for", I still think they overcharge.

And yes everyone here does refer to nvidia when they suggest video cards and never ati, I guess it could be because nvidia is just that much better, but I don't think so. And in fact the 6800 ultra is not the best vid card, the x850 xt pe takes that cake. The 6600 gt is a good price but it will still get outdated pretty quick. I think the best deal for a card that is still considered high-range and will last a long time is this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102538

Comes with a copper zalman v700-cu cooler and zalman ramsinks on it too, I mean what more could you ask for. Fast as heck and you could overclock it real well, probably up to x800 xt pe speeds or beyond.

 

[dhw200]

Dont get the Radeon X800/X850 series. i made that mistake. It lacks PSM 3.0, a vital component

 

[dale5605]

Ah PS3, vital...but not really.

 

[dhw200]

It is. Without, ATI X series cant play newer games with DX9 levels

 

[Harper]

The other thing to keep in mind is the quality of the HSF on the GPU. I have lost count the number of times that I have seen a fried GPU just because the GPU fan failed.

I try to make sure that I get some thing with a Heat sink where possible. I know that this is not always the case.

Otherwise, make sure the video card is from a respectable manufacturer like Leadteck, Gigabyte, Asus. I try avoid using some of the yum-char brands like EagleTech. Or any brand where the Fan is exposed with no mess to slow down dust getting into the fan.
Also make sure that your GPU HSF is secured onto your video card. I have seen some RIVA TNT and early GF and GF 2 where the heat sink / fan is sucured on by nothing more that double sided thermal tape.

Investments into 3rd party GPU coolers are worth the money. Especially if you are in a dusty enviroment. However you might void your warranty installing them.

 

[Wayniac]

Dont get the Radeon X800/X850 series. i made that mistake. It lacks PSM 3.0, a vital component

eVGA 6600GT, like me : ) Good stuff.

See what I mean?

 

[dale5605]

It is. Without, ATI X series cant play newer games with DX9 levels

You people need to get your facts straight. The ATI's can play those games just fine, they just can't have specular yadda and soft shadow blah blah. And they will suffer the loss of a few fps also. BUT THEY WILL PLAY THEM FINE. ATI still has better aa and af anyway.