Who manufacturs 7900GTX's reference cards.

[kleox64]

As I understand we have all these companies selling 7900GTX's or any other card for that matter, for example EVGA, XFX, BFG etc... so do all these companies actually produce the cards themselves or does an OEM handle it?

Assuming they use identical components i.e. GPU's, Memory, connectors, caps/res/inducters etc... and maybe even the PCB's what will differentciate cards other than clocks.

 

[Zinn]

Almost invariably, all the big distributors get their reference cards from the same place. I think Nvidia manufactures them, or at least contracts this out to one main supplier and distributes them. Asus, Gainward, and sometimes XFX deviate slightly from the normal PCB, but for the most part every company sells the exact same card.

Assuming they use identical components i.e. GPU's, Memory, connectors, caps/res/inducters etc... and maybe even the PCB's what will differentciate cards other than clocks.

Aside from the sticker they slap on the card, things such as the bundle, warranty, and customer service reputation really differentiate one company from another these days. That's the reason so many people are partial to BFG and eVGA these days... lifetime warranties and great support.

 

[Dan_D]

I believe eVGA is actually the contracted card maker that builds the reference designs for nVidia.

Most cards are the same PCB, but the capacitors, firmware/BIOS and cooling can often differ from one maker to the next. The GPU's are obviously the same, but there are sometimes differences in assembly quality. I've had the best experiences with BFG and eVGA so far.