I need to be enlightened

[ikickpigeons]

Ok i need to have some wisdom from the more expirenceed people out there. So from your past expirences from video card manufactures who generally makes high quality cards? Also if i want to overclock my video card how would i do that. If u could just post a link with a tutorial or something. thanks in advance.

 

[nitromullet]

http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/showthread.php?t=89472

 

[Cerb]

ATI: get BBA...
NVidia: Visiontek/ELSA...gone.
So that leaves Leadtek and Gainward. Gainward generally gets a bit higher GPU OCs, Leadtek has a habit of using fast memory lately. Both have excellent 2d quality. BFG doesn't seem to have as good 2d quality (I haven't used one, or even a PC with one in it, so can't say absolutely), but I have read nothing but stellar experiences with their support, and you can find some of them on this forum.

 

[FullRoast]

Cerb - What about eVga? I was happy with the TI-4400 I got from them and was considering a 6800 GT.

 

[Cerb]

They should be OK. Not everyone sees things the same, and I haven't used any of their cards.

 

[nitromullet]

BFG doesn't seem to have as good 2d quality (I haven't used one, or even a PC with one in it, so can't say absolutely)

Kinda odd to make a statement like that then you have absolutely no experience to back it up, don't ya think? I have a BFG FX5900 and my room mate has an Albatron FX5900, no difference in 2D IQ.

I find it hard to believe that with the current or next gen video cards that there is really a difference in 2D IQ between different manufacturers of the cards with the same chip. I have never seen anything to support it, at least not recently.

 

[ronnn]

I find it hard to believe also. Even the new via onboard stuff has good 2d - at least for normal desktop use.

 

[Rage187]

I think BFG is by far the best Nv distributor.

My 2d on my bfg 5900 looks perfect.

 

[ikickpigeons]

ive heard that leadtek makes good overclockers is this true?

 

[Cerb]

Originally posted by: nitromullet

BFG doesn't seem to have as good 2d quality (I haven't used one, or even a PC with one in it, so can't say absolutely)

Kinda odd to make a statement like that then you have absolutely no experience to back it up, don't ya think? I have a BFG FX5900 and my room mate has an Albatron FX5900, no difference in 2D IQ.

Hence my noting that I have only read such on forums such as these, where I know quite plainly that the Gainward and Leadtek cards have excellent IQ, compared to say, Apollo.

I find it hard to believe that with the current or next gen video cards that there is really a difference in 2D IQ between different manufacturers of the cards with the same chip. I have never seen anything to support it, at least not recently.

I have. SQUARE PIXELS, man, SQUARE PIXELS on a well-worn monitor. It isn't even as much difference as a couple years ago with the GF4s, but it is there. Many people use monitors that are way too fuzzy, though, even on new PCs, with the brightness and contrast all the way up, and wouldn't notice the difference between an old Oak passed through a voodoo and a new Matrox card. *sigh*. But yes, most cards, save the absolute bottom-of-the-barrel ones, are good enough for the vast majority of people. I am very ticky about such things.

 

[nitromullet]

IQ quality between different chips is one thing, and I beleive there is a difference between them in terms of 2D IQ. However, my point is that I don't think there is a difference between different brands of cards based on the same core. Also, I don't see the sense in slamming BFG in this respect unless you have first hand knowledge. if you had said," my buddy has a BFG card and I have the Leadtek of the same core, and my 2D IQ is way better than his" I wouldn't have had a problem with your statement.

Now, to stop hijacking this guy's thread...

Most high end ATi cards are manufactured by ATi themselves and simply rebranded by the third party "manufacturer", this is the case with the 9800XT (except Asus), and I assume this is also the case with the X800 series. As far as nVidia goes, BFG, eVGA, Gainward, and Leadtek all make high quality cards, and BFG offers the best warrantee/service in the business. Then there are companies that nmake both ATi and nVidia cards, MSI and Asus to name a few... I know people who swear by MSI cards and Asus is generally known for making high quality products. I don't really have anything negative to say about any manufacturers.

The bad experiences I've had with video cards are as follows:
-I got a Visiontek (no loner the same company) GeForce 3 Ti with a capacitor snapped off, which I returned for a good card that never had any problems.
-Got a Gainward FX5900 that had a defective core (streaming horizontal lines during POST, and it refused to boot past that), which I RMA'ed to newegg but was no longer available so I didin't get a replacement. This initially soured me towards Gainward, but after seeing how highly they are regarded by others I decided this was a fluke. Plus, I picked up a BFG FX5900 for $100 less a week later at BestBuy - there was a price drop across the board, kinda glad that Leadtek was DOA.

Positive experiences:
-Built by ATi - hi quality manufacturing.
-Crucial - great 9700 Pro. I think Crucial makes high quality stuff in general.
-Visiontek - second card was great (see above)
-Leadtek - got an OEM version of the Ti4200 2 years ago (with the refernece cooling), and a buddy of mine is still using the card to this day, no problems ever.
-BFGTech - no problems with my FX5900. Mine is not a very good overclocker, although others have had better results. Nice card though. I'm going with a BFGTech 6800 Ultra this time around.
-Alabatron - My roommate's FX5900 is treating him well.

 

[Cerb]

Different cores: Apollo. Note both ATI and NV cards. They're crap, though.
BFG: Nope, so I noted that was what I was consistently seeing from people who've had a good bit more crads through their hands than me, rather than 1st-hand experience.

Most ATI cards are made by the manufacturer, but using the ATI reference design. This helps a bit, but there will still be differences. Basically the same as NVidia, but they put their name on some Sapphire made cards, and sometimes, on taking the heatsink and such off, they have been shown to have different RAM, caps, etc., so you don't really know if it matches what ATI would sell under their name.
...OTOH, DVI-D is here to stay, and except for the real low-end, you won't your eyes much with any of them.

Cards, then...
STB Voodoo2 12MB. Poor 3Dfx. Oh, through a S3 Virge.
ELSA (made by visiontek) GF2. Still in use by a friend. New fan scotch-taped to it. Modded it for better 2d, even though it wasn't shabby at the time.
Rage128 AIW: OK all-around, not bad now that the drivers work. Took way too long for that, though.
Abit GF4 Ti 4200 suffered mysterious death. Nice card, got to 300/600 stable.
Powercolor 9800SE suffered wierdness over the first few days. RMA'd.
Info-Tek 9600 XT (not as good 2d as BBA or the leadtek, but not bad). Gradually got artifacts at stock speeds, need to RMA it. Fan was starting to be noisy, but I doubt that was it, fiven the 4th one.
Leadtek 5900 XT. Very light artifacting, after just a couple weeks. Need to do some testing w/ a meter to be sure the PSU isn't doing anything funky. If it's looking fine, new mobo and RMA the card (can't RMA the mobo to the Egg anymore ).

The GF4 and up problems started with the new mobo and PSU, but couldn't pin them down until this Leadtek started it, as it's awesome and seems to have no major corners cut (aside from no RAMsinks, but no biggie there). I'm confident now that all four cards were fine before they got powered in this AGP slot. The list includes only cards I've used personally, not counting fixing PCs and building them. And aside from the minimal and fleeting artifacts, I like this Leadtek and will attempt to get another of the same model.

 

[nitromullet]

Well... It appears that I may have been incorrect in my assertion o f equal IQ for different brands of the same core.

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=31&threadid=1347987&STARTPAGE=2

Looks like BFG is taking a beating for poor DVI output resolution support on it's GT cards.