What Brand of 8800 GTX and/or Ultra? *UnSure*

[TrECeNTeRs]

I was recommended to get the MSI 8800 Ultra because it is the cheapest Ultra and cost less then some of the GTX's... It's suppose to get getting to hot reviewers say to under-clock it and you will have a slower ultra for under the price of the GTX.

Hot parts worry me I do plan to get a "nine hundred Antec case" ... Any card I get I would like to find some sort of extra cooling to put around it.
"I don't want to go with water though"


What I want to know is what brands are the best? What don't tend to break as much, what has good compatibility with its drivers, and also what has the best cooling on it?

Defiantly don't want a card that locks up because of driver issues or has a crap fan that don't push out much heat or will stop spinning on me.

I just want something "SOLID" ..


Guaranteed not to rust, bust, or collect dust! -Lol

Thanks guys! Appreciate the help and hope that I can give help back once I see how my new rig runs.

Also Thanks to Sin707 he has helped me quite a bit! I am just really curious about stability and the life of parts.. I am the guy that leaves his PC running 24/7...

 

[Cheex]

I vote as follows:

(1) eVGA
(2) BFG
(3) XFX

 

[WaTaGuMp]

EVGA great customer service if you need to RMA it like I had to.

 

[TrECeNTeRs]

Any reasons why Cheex?

Yeah I ain't worried about customer service I will go to their door step if they screw me over by selling me a lemon 600 dollar GPU Board. I don't think I will pay 6 myself.

That is quite a bit of change for it. Anyways, if anyone heard about stability or computability.. or anything to do with performance issues or heat issues... (well they all seem VERY hot) .. its just it seemed the MSI was to hott to be stable according to posts...


If MSI is going to sell a GPU board that will lock up or cause artifacts during a default boot then what does that say about their craftsmanship of their boards?


I have only had PNY and BFG on the older 5000 series and PNY seemed to have allot better cooling and OC ability. BFG had good OC ability but didn't have ram sinks on it. Of course this was 5000 series ... I have just used x800 series since then.

Ok, thanks guys

 

[lyssword]

i hope you mean 8800 ultra, not 6800 ultra

 

[TrECeNTeRs]

Originally posted by: lyssword
i hope you mean 8800 ultra, not 6800 ultra

ugh... Yes!

I'm sorry all this quad core talk..

8800 GTX or Ultra..

Well... I only said that once and it wasn't in the title.. I had 8800 in the title..

Err... an thats the only response I got was someone telling me they hope I don't make typos



***/me Adds a +1 to your post count*** I heard you get a prize if you get 2500!

 

[lupi]

Both series are still overpriced. The best GTX boards will beat a stock Ultra, making the Ultras that much more overpriced.

The only vendors I'd touch would be evga, pny, bfg, xfx. I'd lean towards evga due to the true lifetime warranty the offer.

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: lupi
Both series are still overpriced. The best GTX boards will beat a stock Ultra, making the Ultras that much more overpriced.

The only vendors I'd touch would be evga, pny, bfg, xfx. I'd lean towards evga due to the true lifetime warranty the offer.

There's nothing true about eVGA's lifetime warranty.

You must register for it, or you only get 1 yr.
Also, if you sell the card, the second owner gets no warranty.

Far as i can tell, for BFG, you get lifetime regardless of registration.
That avoids the hassle of registration, & allows for easier second owners to still get warranty service.

XFX has double lifetime warranty, meaning second owner certainly gets warranty (both require registration).

Overall, i'd say BFG/XFX then eVGA would be my order of choices if we're picking brands.

 

[TrECeNTeRs]

sorry double post.. they were only seconds apart

 

[TrECeNTeRs]

You BOTH are a good men!

Thank you VERY much.

KUDOS 2 YOU BOTH!!!

 

[lupi]

Originally posted by: n7

Originally posted by: lupi
Both series are still overpriced. The best GTX boards will beat a stock Ultra, making the Ultras that much more overpriced.

The only vendors I'd touch would be evga, pny, bfg, xfx. I'd lean towards evga due to the true lifetime warranty the offer.

There's nothing true about eVGA's lifetime warranty.

You must register for it, or you only get 1 yr.
Also, if you sell the card, the second owner gets no warranty.

Far as i can tell, for BFG, you get lifetime regardless of registration.
That avoids the hassle of registration, & allows for easier second owners to still get warranty service.

XFX has double lifetime warranty, meaning second owner certainly gets warranty (both require registration).

Overall, i'd say BFG/XFX then eVGA would be my order of choices if we're picking brands.

And the original owner cares about warranty going to a secondary owner for what reason?



To top it off, the other companies aren't quite as nice as you'd think:

BFG Technologies is proud to warrant the original purchaser of the graphics card

All you have to do is purchase an XFX Graphics Card and register the product within 30 days of purchase to activate your Lifetime Protection.

 

[CP5670]

And the original owner cares about warranty going to a secondary owner for what reason?

Obviously, it will sell for a higher price if a warranty can be advertised on it.

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: lupi
And the original owner cares about warranty going to a secondary owner for what reason?



To top it off, the other companies aren't quite as nice as you'd think:

BFG Technologies is proud to warrant the original purchaser of the graphics card

All you have to do is purchase an XFX Graphics Card and register the product within 30 days of purchase to activate your Lifetime Protection.

How many people here keep their video cards forever, never reselling them (especially high end cards)?

You already know the answer to that.
Resale value is a lot better with a warranty than without.

The other companies are just as i think.

BFG states original purchaser, but without registration, it makes not being the original purchaser much easier to get around, since unless the original purchaser's name is on the receipt, they wouldn't know

XFX requires registration, but second owner gets same warranty.

Though eVGA is good, i'd certainly rather have BFG/XFX for warranty & resale value.

The only thing eVGA has going for them is the step up program, which is rarely actually a good deal for anyone who knows how to sell a card & then find a deal on a new one.

Sorry to not be a sheep & blindly recommend eVGA like everyone else, but there are very good reasons for what i stated.


My original statement still stands.

 

[btdvox]

Get the eVGA 8800 ultra .
It has much better stability and can OC very well. Getting the higher editions is good, but not needed as you can OC the base card easily and save yourself 100 bucks.

I bought this card for 589.00 CDN. Which was a wicked deal.

 

[guptasa1]

I'm not building for a lil bit yet, so this may weigh a bit more heavily for me (as I don't think there's much word on the next-gen of cards yet), but my choice will probably be eVGA solely because of their step-up program. I like having 90 days to upgrade to the latest and greatest (with the price difference), plus eVGA has a solid reputation. Win-win.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Originally posted by: TrECeNTeRs
Any reasons why Cheex?

Yeah I ain't worried about customer service I will go to their door step if they screw me over by selling me a lemon 600 dollar GPU Board. I don't think I will pay 6 myself.

That is quite a bit of change for it. Anyways, if anyone heard about stability or computability.. or anything to do with performance issues or heat issues... (well they all seem VERY hot) .. its just it seemed the MSI was to hott to be stable according to posts...


If MSI is going to sell a GPU board that will lock up or cause artifacts during a default boot then what does that say about their craftsmanship of their boards?


I have only had PNY and BFG on the older 5000 series and PNY seemed to have allot better cooling and OC ability. BFG had good OC ability but didn't have ram sinks on it. Of course this was 5000 series ... I have just used x800 series since then.

Ok, thanks guys

Its funny you mention going to their doorstep cause thats exactly what I tried to do. I was hoping to take it in and get it RMA'd in the same day since they are not very far from me. Anyhow they dont handle it that way but the guy that came out and talked to me was really cool and they had zero issues just giving me another, but I still had to handle it through the mail cause they use that as proof of getting it and shiiping a new one.

 

[JokerX]

I picked up the MSI 8800gtx 768 OC for 499$ plus 20$ mail in rebate from newegg and it runs great was kinda hot about 70c idle in my old case so I picked up a antec 900 and just with that case upgrade alone it now runs at 50c idle

 

[Cr0nJ0b]

Originally posted by: TrECeNTeRs
Yeah I ain't worried about customer service I will go to their door step if they screw me over by selling me a lemon 600 dollar GPU Board. I don't think I will pay 6 myself.

I used to think the same thing...until...I had a failure and realized that I don't have a lot of PCI-E cards laying around the house. I had an eVGA and they we're very nice about exchanging it...the three times I asked...but it took WEEKS! So you send it to them, and wait...and call...and wait...and call...all the while with no system. By the way, eVGA IS in my backyard and DID go to their doorstep and kindly asked for the replacement...but it didn't help. They we're very nice about it, but they didn't have the part...they we're waiting to get the shipment in..etc..etc

For that reason I suggest that you take a second look at the warranty and RMA policy. I think that eVGA has advanced replacement terms now for some of their products...and that is a HUGE benefit when you are having issues with the card, but it still works.

that's my 2 cents.

 

[dealmaster00]

Usually when I am unsure, I just check Newegg reviews.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

Originally posted by: dealmaster00
Usually when I am unsure, I just check Newegg reviews.

newegg reviews dont mean anything.

 

[cdfire]

I have never had a problem with BFG, but EVGA is the only company I know of that will cross ship a new card saving you some down time if theres an issue. Either or, is a good buy.

 

[bakeybake]

what about Jaton?

 

[nitromullet]

I tend to buy EVGA, but BFG are good also. The reason I usually get EVGA is because they tend to be cheaper than BFG. Also, EVGA's step-up program might be a deciding factor, since you are looking to buy a new card pretty late in the product cycle. Although, I don't think that the 9-series will be out yet in 3 months. If I was buying a GTX right now, I'd buy it from newegg (use their RMA if there is a problem), and just get the best price.