eVGA 6600GT vs Leadtek 6600GT (both PCI-E)

[kjackson09]

I was set on the Leadtek 6600GT PCI-E video card for my system. Unfortunately the computer store I shop at has all of the components I want for my system except that specific video card. The salesperson did state that they had the eVGA 6600GT PCI-E as an alternative.

I have never heard of eVGA, can anyone comment on this card? And if possible specifically on the 6600GT version?

It was going to be the Leadtek, so even comoparing against the Leadtek might help also.

Cheers,

Kerry

 

[fstime]

All evga is a refrence design, you cant go wrong with them but if you read anandtechs review on the 6600GT cards, the reccomended the leadtek, I aswell would choose the leadtek.

 

[Twigstir]

I have heard both are very good cards. I don't think you could go wrong with either card.

 

[kjackson09]

What do you mean by "reference card"?

If I can remember Anadtech did not have the eVGA card in their Roundup. is the eVGA overclockable?

 

[RajunCajun]

eVGA has been around for many years. My first eVGA card was a GeForce2 MX AGP about 3-4 years ago. December 93 I bought an eVGA FX5900SE - really fine fast card that was maligned by many but works exceptionally well. December 94 I bought a Leadtek 6600GT PCIe and truly love this card. However, the first card I received was defective r/t overheating. It was RMA'd and the new replacement works great.

Both companies have been around a long time and either would serve you well. eVGA has a better warranty (if that means anything to you - I've never had a card go bad - still have VooDoo Banshees and TNT2 Ultras working great), and Leadtek has by far the better bundle. My 6600GT came with Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow, Prince of Persia Sands of Time, and Doom3! Plus included the HDTV dongle like eVGA. eVGA used to have pretty good bundles - my FX5900SE came with Ghost Recon and Call of Duty. But it seems eVGA doesn't bundle games anymore. At least they don't throw in crappy games or demos for filler material.

I would choose either one based first on price; if $$$ is close then go with the better bundle. Paid $193 for my 6600GT in December.

Reference cards are video cards produced by chip manufacturere (Nvidia, ATi, etc) before production versions are released. Refernce cards are never sold to the public. It is meant as a blueprint for card manufacturers (Leadtek, eVGA, Gainward, Albatron, XFX, etc) to follow when building video cards for sale. Most card makers stick very close to the reference design, but some have and do deviate from the reference design by using different board layouts, faster/slower memory, connectors, cooling systems, etc.

The bottom line is that if all 6600GT card makers stick very close to reference design (and they do - haven't seen one really different except that one with dual processors on it) the performance of all cards should be very close (and they are). So make your buying decision based on reviews of each particular card (not reference designs), price, bundle, warranty, whatever.

 

[fstime]

What do you mean by "reference card"?

They build there cards almost exactly as nvidia tells them, some companies like to do modifications to their cards such as heatsinks, gpu/mem clock speeds, voltage etc. this doesnt mean all those types of cards are bad, some even perform better. Simply put evga is a basic card.

 

[kjackson09]

I appreciate all of the input and the great response with respect to reference card definition. It has been a while since I built my last computer (1997 to be exact) Things seem a little more complicated now.

The two cards are priced identically. I am not concerned with the games bundle because I really don't have a lot of time to play them. I like my Xbox for that reason, I turn it on, play and turn it off again, no hardware hassels or driver related issues.

Mostly, I am concerned with card performance. Do both card perform the same, are ambient temperatures reasonable, is overclocking a possibility.

Is there anyway to tell the design spec differences (ie. memory speed etc) from the Leadtek to the eVGA 6600GT card.

Cheers,

Kerry

 

[fstime]

If you dont want to overclock, leadtek has a 6800GT with incressed clock speeds, you can see its core/mem is higher than the other 6600gts, hence the extreme in its name.. That is going to be the fastest 6600gt.

http://www.newegg.com/app/View...tion=14-122-208&depa=1

 

[kjackson09]

Questions,

How important is effective memory speed (will I notice a difference)?

The specs at from the link provided above for the Leadtek 6600GT TDH say "Effective Speed 1150MHz"

The specs for the eVGA 6600GT card (on the newegg website) say "Effective Speed 900MHz" This is contrary to the specs provided at the eVGA website which state 1000MHz effective speed.

I am really confused.

 

[fstime]

Just go with the leadtek extreme, if you dont want to shell out the extra cash go with the regular leadtek 6600Gt.

/Thread over

 

[chilled]

I would wait for the leadtek...

 

[kjackson09]

I didn't want to wait so I bought the eVGA. Seems like I can't go wrong with that card. It ended up being $20 cheaper too which isn't bad. I didn't read anything bad about the card so that is a good thing and apparently the customer service is really good also.

I guess the only draw back is overclocking ability but who am I kidding I probably want worry to much about that.

Thanks for the responses.

Cheers,

Kerry

 

[crotchrocket]

the 6600GT looks like a good card. does it come with a tv or hdtv tuner. It says hdtv cable?