8800GT Manufacturers? same diff?

[Drakul]

I'm looking to buy an 8800GT and wondering if the Brands really matter at all for now?
right now I have a LEadtek 6600GT which artifact often

I don't care about the bundled games (at all)
I'm not a huge OC fan so I'll probably get 650 but no more (especially since i'd rather keep the stock cooler and my case is well vented)

right now I'm leaning towards evga .... or maybe XFX.

but i'm open to suggestions.

 

[rhagz]

Hardware-wise they are all the same. Right now the only difference in brands is the sticker, the warranty and the game bundles (if any).

 

[spicey]

They are all pretty much the same. All have the same reference cooler except a Sparkle card which deviates from the norm. I would go for the cheapest you can find, put a 3rd party cooler on it and OC it. I wouldn't waste money on an OC version. The non overclocked version can go as high as the OC versions, you just need to OC it yourself with software.

Software wise the Gigabyte card comes with Neverwinter Nights 2, a decent game.

 

[BillParrish]

ohhh I would not go as far as to say that. One example, Galaxy has one as well (came out of same factory as far as I know), I am not familiar with these companies but there is a Wiki on Palit and I hear they are coming to the US. Anyway just an example of what is out there if you dig deep enough.

http://www.palit.biz/en/press_center/2007_palit_news/pl_news_20071029.htm

Galaxy (was not able to find the card on the "normal" Galaxy site. I am assuming it was found by "other' methods.
http://www.madshrimps.be/vbulletin/f22/galaxy-intros-dual-slot-cooled-8800-gt-video-card-39257/

Orb cooler and ramsinks dont impress me much but the redesign of the onboard power is interesting.

However I will readly admit these two are "strange" ducks and probally 99% of the ones easily obtained (if there is such a thing atm) in the US are all the same reference design card. Look for warranty and customer service, EVGA stands out in my preliminary list for those two reasons as I tend to keep hardware a long time.

 

[kush]

Ewiz (San Jose area?) carries the Palit. Must be OOS as per the norm, since the cached URL I have just brings up an "item not found" error now. Stay w/ XFX/EVGA/etc - if you ever need to RMA the Palit it goes to *Hong Kong*. No idea if they're setting up any US offices, but "local" companies are a dime a dozen here so why bother?

 

[Arcygenical]

ohhh I would not go as far as to say that. One example, Galaxy has one as well (came out of same factory as far as I know), I am not familiar with these companies but there is a Wiki on Palit and I hear they are coming to the US. Anyway just an example of what is out there if you dig deep enough.

http://www.palit.biz/en/press_center/2007_palit_news/pl_news_20071029.htm

LOL...

Palit’s Own Design GeForce 8800GT equipped with revolutionary cooling system which combines the advantage of silence from heatsink and the advantage of thermal conductivity from fan, offers something over and above the Nvidia reference design.

"Which combines the advantage of silence from heatsink and the advantage of thermal conductivity from fan"

So, uhm... It's got a heatsink AND a fan? F'cken brilliant!

 

[Drakul]

yeah I think i'll go with evga (especially since you can ordeer from their site for cheaper)
and then if the card heats up too much i'll get a cooler.

 

[oooeric]

majority of the cards are all made by nvidia. then just rebadge with a new logo.
on occasion you get those special company made cards.

but most of the time. the only differences are,, company support, warranty, HSF, and bundle.