What brand nVidia Geforce 6800 GT should I get?

[Mongoo]

$500 is the cap (that doesn't mean I want to spend that much if its not needed)....(as if its needed to begin with .

Anyways what brand of nVidia Gforce 6800 GT is the best? oh and I think I want 256MB Ram.

Thanks.

Mongoo

 

[SneakyStuff]

Leadtek, evga, BFG, in that order. That's my opinion.

 

[stardust]

I like gainward's golden samples

 

[darkswordsman17]

Here's what I'd say

Gainward Golden Sample (warranted for Ultra speeds, but kinda noisy)
BFG (great support, warranted for a 20Mhz OC)
eVGA
Leadtek

In descending order.

You'll probably have to search pretty hard to find the Gainward or BFG cards in stock, both are pretty popular and seem to sell out quickly. Outopost.com was selling the BFG for $350 but it has been sold out (well Call for Availability) for a while now, but you might give them a call. I got my Gainward GS from ExcaliberPC for $435 shipped overnight.

 

[Akira1224]

I got an XFX and it's a beast. I have had good luck with eVGA int he past so you can go that route too.

 

[Algere]

I like the cooling solution on Gigabyte's offering.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

LEADTEK

simply for the mass of copper and heat pipe on their card

 

[Mongoo]

Are these cards loud? Because I am trying to build a quite computer. I still what the 6800 GT but what brand is the quitest? How can I make it even queiter? For example would I need to replace the stock fan with something else? If so what?

Thanks.

 

[gxshockwav]

BFG

 

[nick1985]

i have an EVGA at 427/1.18Ghz. its quiet too. im sure all the brands are good though, i just got the EVGA because it was all that was available at the time

 

[darkswordsman17]

I believe that Gigabyte makes a passively cooled GT. That would be your best option for quiet.

You might look into getting an NV5 Silencer and then you could go with just about any company's card and still have a low-noise solution.

 

[Gamingphreek]

Well EVGA has the step up program, and OC decently

Leadtek has massive coolers as well as massive OCs. Generally speaking they are a little on the noisy side.

MSI: All the pros of leadtek without any of the cons. Price is generally a bit higher than others.

BFG: OC is pretty good, Lifetime Warranty

Gainward: Premium Cards, with handpicked memory and nice OCs. You pay a premium for it.

Gigabyte: Generally buggy, cheap capacitors and electronic equipment, name brand, flashy, performs decently.

XFX: Newer company, generally OCs OK, cheap.

Asus: Strays away from reference, uses custom HSFs, sometimes better rated memory, pay a large premium.

-Kevin

 

[Marsumane]

BFG. Lifetime warrenty

 

[RollWave]

LEADTEK

 

[Cawchy87]

anything but asus.