PNY 6800GT or BFG 6800GT

jEnus

Senior member
Jun 22, 2004
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I don't know which one should I get. I'm leaning towards 6800GT as its Overclocked from factory, but am I able to overcock it any more? Doom3 is just candy prize, I don't considerate it a major factor in my decision.
 

Jmman

Diamond Member
Dec 17, 1999
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The PNY probably does not have as good a GPU cooler as the BFG, but my PNY GT easily overclocks to Ultra speeds and beyond. I doubt truthfully you will get that much extra overclock from the BFG, and Doom is a nice little bonus.....
 

jEnus

Senior member
Jun 22, 2004
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Originally posted by: Jmman
The PNY probably does not have as good a GPU cooler as the BFG, but my PNY GT easily overclocks to Ultra speeds and beyond. I doubt truthfully you will get that much extra overclock from the BFG, and Doom is a nice little bonus.....

Do you think I could O/C the BFG to Ultra Spds?
 

Jmman

Diamond Member
Dec 17, 1999
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Possibly, but I have no personal experience with the BFG. I went through this same process, and I went with the PNY. I have not been dissappointed.....;)
 

Insomniak

Banned
Sep 11, 2003
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Get the BFG and pay $50 for Doom 3. BFG's lifetime warranty will save you far more than $50 in the long run if something goes sour with your card.
 

jEnus

Senior member
Jun 22, 2004
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Originally posted by: Insomniak
Get the BFG and pay $50 for Doom 3. BFG's lifetime warranty will save you far more than $50 in the long run if something goes sour with your card.

Oh, I was under the impression that PNY had a 1yr Warranty. One thing to conter this would be COMPUSA's Video Upgrade Warranty, where-as you can return the card with-in a year for the full purchase prise towards another video card. I don't know how much it is though.
 

kki000

Senior member
Jun 6, 2001
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pny has a lifetime warranty as well. though it seems their cust svce sucks.
For warranty, they also state they can replace your card with an equivalent card if the original is no longer made.

ive heard reports of some bfg cards overheating.
so far no major issues with pny 6800 cards reported... yet.

K
 

Link

Golden Member
Jan 10, 2000
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The custom BFG HSF's performance isn't that good. I've seen other brand 6800GT overclocking consistanly, but the latest BFG's overclockability is very erratic. The lowest I've seen was 390/1100.
 

CaiNaM

Diamond Member
Oct 26, 2000
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well, doom 3 is worth what.. $20 now?

so it's a choice between a true lifetime warranty (BFG) and 24/7 support or a warranty for as long as the card is manufactured (PNY).

other than that, the cards are comparable, tho some people don't like the new HSF on the BFG. it's cool looking, but doesn't seem as efficient as the ref. nvidia HSF than PNY uses.
 

Goi

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 1999
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The CompUSA PNY deal comes up to $438.39 after shipping/tax. Is that still a good deal? Where is this other BFG deal?
 

Keysplayr

Elite Member
Jan 16, 2003
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Originally posted by: CaiNaM
well, doom 3 is worth what.. $20 now?

so it's a choice between a true lifetime warranty (BFG) and 24/7 support or a warranty for as long as the card is manufactured (PNY).

other than that, the cards are comparable, tho some people don't like the new HSF on the BFG. it's cool looking, but doesn't seem as efficient as the ref. nvidia HSF than PNY uses.

So if I buy a new card from PNY 3 days before they stop manufacturing it, I only get 3 days warranty?
That doesn't sound right. It says 3 year warranty right on the PNY box that my 6800GT came in.
 

JackBurton

Lifer
Jul 18, 2000
15,993
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So if I buy a new card from PNY 3 days before they stop manufacturing it, I only get 3 days warranty?
I have the PNY 6800GT and the warranty pretty much states that. If teh 6800GT is out of production, it seem like so is the warranty. Kind of sucks, but I LOVE my 6800GT.



The PNY probably does not have as good a GPU cooler as the BFG, but my PNY GT easily overclocks to Ultra speeds and beyond. I doubt truthfully you will get that much extra overclock from the BFG, and Doom is a nice little bonus.....
The BFG and PNY both have the same cooler. The only difference is the sticker on the cooler.....and the warranty.


If I had the choice between a BFG and PNY 6800GT, I'd get the BFG for the warranty. I got the PNY because there were no BFG available at the store at the time. I still LOVE my card though. :)
 

nRollo

Banned
Jan 11, 2002
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PNY.

The 20MHz OC on the BFG is irrelevant because it won't produce noticeable fps differences, and can be easily reproduced if you're into that sort of thing.

Lifetime warranties are irrelevant because when's the last time you had a video card more than a year? The only way it's going to die after a year is if you've been OCing, and you can't warranty return that anyway unless you're a POS thief scum, in which case you could just as honorably go to the store and steal another.

Doom3 on the other hand, is really worth having. Especially with this card.
 

Goi

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 1999
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Originally posted by: Goi
The CompUSA PNY deal comes up to $438.39 after shipping/tax. Is that still a good deal? Where is this other BFG deal?
 

CaiNaM

Diamond Member
Oct 26, 2000
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Originally posted by: keysplayr2003
Originally posted by: CaiNaM
well, doom 3 is worth what.. $20 now?

so it's a choice between a true lifetime warranty (BFG) and 24/7 support or a warranty for as long as the card is manufactured (PNY).

other than that, the cards are comparable, tho some people don't like the new HSF on the BFG. it's cool looking, but doesn't seem as efficient as the ref. nvidia HSF than PNY uses.

So if I buy a new card from PNY 3 days before they stop manufacturing it, I only get 3 days warranty?
That doesn't sound right. It says 3 year warranty right on the PNY box that my 6800GT came in.

dunno bout the 3 year, but yea, their "lifetime" warranty is only for as long as they keep selling the card.
 

CaiNaM

Diamond Member
Oct 26, 2000
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Originally posted by: Rollo
PNY.

The 20MHz OC on the BFG is irrelevant because it won't produce noticeable fps differences, and can be easily reproduced if you're into that sort of thing.

Lifetime warranties are irrelevant because when's the last time you had a video card more than a year? The only way it's going to die after a year is if you've been OCing, and you can't warranty return that anyway unless you're a POS thief scum, in which case you could just as honorably go to the store and steal another.

Doom3 on the other hand, is really worth having. Especially with this card.


well, doom3 sucks ( :p ) and old cards will stay in pcs much longer than d3 will for most ppl.

i have a pny gf4 (whose "lifetime warranty" is over, and i had to buy a new hsf cause the old one started grinding), a gainward gf3, a 9700p and 9800p running in various pcs. so yea, even those of us who have high end cards often keep em. ;)
 

Childs

Lifer
Jul 9, 2000
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Originally posted by: JackBurton
The BFG and PNY both have the same cooler. The only difference is the sticker on the cooler.....and the warranty.

This changed with the latest versions of the BFG. They now have a 2 fan copper cooler.

Most of the cards will be the same. Most people use the reference drivers so theres no difference there. Without D3, I'd go with the BFG just because its faster out of the box, but factor in D3, which you can sell for like $25-$35, and the PNY seems like the better deal. If you're the type to have problems setting things up, then BFG's 24/7 support may worth the resale value of D3, so again, they costs are equal, and I'd go with the BFG.
 

CaiNaM

Diamond Member
Oct 26, 2000
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Originally posted by: JackBurton
The BFG and PNY both have the same cooler. The only difference is the sticker on the cooler.....and the warranty.

actually they don't. BFG went with their own design on the rev.2 gt's. it's similar to their 5900 cooler from last gen, with the chrome and blue dual led fans, but now adds a "heatpipe" design.

while it's definatley nice looking, it's arguable as to whether it's as good as the nv reference. personally, i think while not as cool looking, the ref design does a better job of keeping the card cool.
 

streetphase

Member
Aug 10, 2004
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in dont see how there can be claimd a "heatpipe" in the new bfg, its still 1 piece of copper heatsink, but these cards overclock good. i have it... it was like $430 total at best buy. but I like the fact that the PNY comes with doom, I woulda got that. Besides, on the warranty, if my card gets f-ed up, its more then likely cuz I did something stupid to it, its just a risk you take when building your own computer, so just face it, warranty isnt all that.

But my bfg6800gt overclocks really good. I got it @411 gpu and mem at 1.1. But I pulled the heatsink and applied arctic silver 3 just for added protection.
 

JackBurton

Lifer
Jul 18, 2000
15,993
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Originally posted by: CaiNaM
Originally posted by: JackBurton
The BFG and PNY both have the same cooler. The only difference is the sticker on the cooler.....and the warranty.

actually they don't. BFG went with their own design on the rev.2 gt's. it's similar to their 5900 cooler from last gen, with the chrome and blue dual led fans, but now adds a "heatpipe" design.

while it's definatley nice looking, it's arguable as to whether it's as good as the nv reference. personally, i think while not as cool looking, the ref design does a better job of keeping the card cool.
I didn't know they actually changed from their original 6800 GT design. I bought a BFG 6800 GT before my PNY and noticed that they both looked exactly the same (with the exception of the company logo). I didn't know they came out with a different version of the same card. Seems kind of like a waste of time to me. The standard heatsink/fan works great.
 

MegaWorks

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2004
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BFG

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Shamrock

Golden Member
Oct 11, 1999
1,441
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BFG's customer support is top notch, and have ENGLISH speaking techs, who know what they are talking about...PNY is having overheating troubles over at NVNews.

And yes, the PNY warranty is invalid if they stop producing the cards. Even if they are producing them, they still wont answer emails! I had a fan go out on my GF3Ti200 once, I STILL have not heard from tech support from PNY.

Lifetime warranties are irrelevant because when's the last time you had a video card more than a year? The only way it's going to die after a year is if you've been OCing, and you can't warranty return that anyway unless you're a POS thief scum, in which case you could just as honorably go to the store and steal another.

Rollo, I disagree with you there...read up, my GF3 was only 6 months old, guess who replaced that GPU fan? NOT PNY! but ME! PNY is a generic company...They dont even manufacture the Video cards, MSI does. I refuse to even use their Piece O' Crap generically made RAM. I wont use another PNY product....period.
 

ColdBrew

Member
Aug 2, 2000
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BFG. American Company and 24/7 toll free tech support.
BTW mine plays D3 with no problems at 400/1100 with the new copper design.

If I can find some temp numbers on the old design I will try to compare them to the new design, tonight.