which 6600GT to purchase?

[oddyager]

i'm basically looking for performance (software bundle i don't care much about) and i guess how decent its stock HSF is on my 6600GT purchase. i've read the article here and noticed on some of the tests that the card came as defective and so couldn't provice accurate numbers on heating and so on. which manufacturer do you all recommend? i'm considering myabe just buying a card with best performance regardless of how well it did on heating tests and just replace the stock fan with something from Zalman or Arctic? or would it make sense to use the money i spent on getting that card + new fan for a 6800 (if thats even doable)?

thanks in advance for any advice.

EDIT: forgot to add, my pc specs

DFI LanParty UT NF4 Ultra-D
AMD Venice core 3200+
1 Gb of OCZ PC3200 Platinum rev2
Fortron BlueStorm 500w

 

[Chode Messiah]

bfg and xfx make some good stuff. Asus and MSI make the nicest stuff, but they are a little pricier.

 

[theMan]

NO!! dont get xfx!!! it sux. lowest quality ever. my xfx 6600gt retail came with one book for all 6 series cards, and all it said was, "plug it in, and turn on your computer. also is loud and hot.

 

[fstime]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102529


$200

Memory Interface 256-bit

PixelPipelines 12

 

[hitmanx2]

EVGA is a pretty nice one

 

[Promethply]

Leadtek 6600 GT's quite overclockable, and runs cool too,

but I've had nightmares with BFG 6600 GT -- it runs hot (idles at 77 C, and when playing games at 125 C), and then died after a couple of days.

So I returned it to my friendly neighborhood comp shop, where they let me exchange it with the Leadtek, and this card works like a charm.

 

[oddyager]

thanks for the suggestions. hmm, eVGA wasn't evaluated in that article from Derek. i've heard some nice thigns about the company and seems like newegg is having a sale on one. think i might go with that one.

 

[ddogg]

Originally posted by: oddyager
thanks for the suggestions. hmm, eVGA wasn't evaluated in that article from Derek. i've heard some nice thigns about the company and seems like newegg is having a sale on one. think i might go with that one.

EVGA is amazing...i would highly recommend that brand...i got an EVGA 6800Ultra, xcellent performer, good overclocker as well!
dont ever get an XFX or PNY...they are the worst two companies.

as for replacing ur stock fan get the Zalman VF700 ALCU...installed that on my 6800U and my idle is around 45C and load is between 65C - 70C...that too i havent set it on high speed

 

[Emultra]

Those are good temps for a GPU, ddogg. Maybe I'll get one? You recommend it for an ASUS Extreme 6600GT? PCIe, BTW.

Damn, with all these acronym's we'll all soon be talkin' like we had our jaws glued together all the time. "GD, HI, WU? NRS."

 

[Rike]

Originally posted by: theman
NO!! dont get xfx!!! it sux. lowest quality ever. my xfx 6600gt retail came with one book for all 6 series cards, and all it said was, "plug it in, and turn on your computer. also is loud and hot.

My XFX 6600GT PCIe runs just fine and OCs well (see sig). My last vid card was an MSI and it had one booklet for all 4 series card. That said I'd get an eVGA if I were buying now. $175 over at Monarch last time I looked.

 

[hans030390]

Leadtek: Best quality, quiet, decent OCer, runs cool
BFG: Best warranty, good OCer, runs cool (i think)

my leadtek has been very good to me and has had no problems at all.

 

[Crescent13]

BFG and Leadtek are the two best, I would reccomend BFG because it is preoverclocked. I have a bfg 6600gt and it is the best card I have had so far.


BFG & Leadtek = good
XFX & PNY = bad

 

[EvilRage]

Stay away from XFX. Do a search on them, you'll find that while their cards may be ok (if you're lucky) their customer service is HORRIBLE. I've heard PNY is equally bad.

I'd recommend BFG myself, as I own two 6800 GTs and they seem to be working fine, plus BFG's support staff has always been friendly and helpful. Not to mention it's overclocked out of the box.

 

[imported_Noob]

Stay away from XFX, PNY, MSI. The two top notch are Leadtek and BFG.