Who makes the best desktop Nvidia cards?

[xMax]

Im looking for the best 7800 GTX 256 or 512 card. Im not interested in software bundles or warranty benefits or anything but the quality of the card. That is, im looking for the stability, reliability and the quality of the components that make up the card. Im also especially looking for the DVI signal quality, which is probably the most important thing to me. Of course, there is a possibility that they all have the same DVI signal quality.

Anyhow, this is the price list in canadian currency for the varying offers i got from a local store. I have no intention of buying from anywhere else since i got my entire computer from these guys, since they are friends of mine, and since they are offering an exchange on my current graphics card, the ATI X1800XT, which is a great card but has incompatibility issues with my monitor. Issues that cannot be resolved by any means.

BFG - 7800GTX 256MB Extreme PCIX = $689.00
Leadtek - 7800GTX 256MB Extreme PCIX = $689.00
Leadtek - 7800GTX 256MB PCIX = $629.00
XFX - 7800GTX 256MB VIVO (Video in Video out) = $649.00
eVGA ? 7800GTX 512MB PCIX = $589.99
MSI VCX NX7800GTX 512MB PCIX = $845.00
MSI VCX NX7800GTX 256MB PCIX = $639.99
(Prices are in canadian currency)

Im thinking the eVGA is clearly the best buy. My only problem is that its low price might intail that its of lower quality. But i checked out the prices on the net that showed the eVGA card to be the same price as all the rest of the cards. So its puzzling as to how the eVGA is so cheap on this price list.

My only alternative pick would be the BFG card, since everybody tells me that they are the best. I dont think i would pick any other card.

note: I will not be gaming at all, and could easily settle for a much lower end card. But with my entire computer being new and top of the line, then it would make no sense for me to load it up with a mid or low end card.

Essentially, i wish i could know if eVGA makes top of the line Nvidia cards. Maybe some of you guys would know, not by opinion, but by some facts or statistics.

Thanks a lot.

 

[1Dark1Sharigan1]

eVGA. Not only is it the least expensive one but it is also the company with the best warrenty (lifetime + warranties for OC/HSF changes) Though I doubt it's the 512 version. Certainly at $589.99 CAD it's a 256 version.

 

[v8envy]

In combination order of company reputation, customer service & warranty:

eVga BFG XFX Leadtek ... ... Joe's Bait Shop & Video Card Manufacturing ... ... MSI

If you can find a eVGA 512 meg GTX in stock for $589 canadian, GRAB IT. Then turn around and ebay it for $400US profit.

p.s. This is not to imply that BFG or XFX are bad. They are not. XFX is trying real hard to be one of the premier video card vendors, and BFG has a reputation for going out of their way to treat customers well. Their double lifetime warranty is an industry first. And Leadtek is famous for overengineering their hardware.

It's just that, IMO, eVGA has been better than the others lately.

 

[RichUK]

I prefer BFG, eVGA is not sold in the UK however they are just as good.

 

[Mem]

I prefer BFG, eVGA is not sold in the UK however they are just as good.

I prefer Leadtek in UK,their image quality is always excellent,I would go as far and say my Leadtek 7800GT Extreme has the best IQ of any card I have owned.

 

[Sunrise089]

I vote eVGA, and can't resist the desire to advise you to buy a cheaper card if you won't game. eVGA 7800GT is overclocked and costs $300US, and it is still a very good card that won't seem out of place in your PC.

 

[xMax]

Your comments and suggestions sound interesting so far.

It would seem that nobody has recommended MSI as one of you put it at the end of your list. And from reading other threads on this forum, i did not hear any mention of MSI. With that said, they are out of the question.

I would also say that im not too keen on going with XFX either. From this thread, and from previous threads, they seem to be a good company, but not one of the top distributors.

This leaves me with only eVGA, BFG, or Leadtek.

Its a tough call, and im sort of right back where i began, with eVGA and BFG being the two forerunners, while Leadtek taking third place.

Unless somebody has facts to back up their claim that Leadtek makes the better cards than eVGA or BFG, then i would say that eVGA or BFG would be the right pick. Im saying this because V8envy said "Leadtek is famous for overengineering their hardware". I dont know what that means. And mem said "I prefer Leadtek in UK,their image quality is always excellent,I would go as far and say my Leadtek 7800GT Extreme has the best IQ of any card I have owned", which sort of doesnt make sense since DVI is not supposed have image quality. Analog does, but not DVI.

BTW, im only making an issue out of this because im connecting my card to a 3000$ Eizo monitor. My previous card, an ATI X1800XT, had a compatiblity issue that would produce noise on the screen. So now i have to get rid of this card and get an Nvidia card, simply because the companies states that Nvidia cards dont have an incompatibility issue with their monitor. The point is i just dont want to make a mistake by getting a cheap Nvidia card and suffering from some other compatibility issue. I personally dont think it will happen, especially with DVI usually being 100% or 0% in terms of functionality with the monitor, but since it could happen, then i have to find out who makes the best quality cards amongst the remaining two contenders, eVGA or BFG.

I nice poll between these two companies would sure be nice. But im thinking that either one is going to be just fine. But it still is nice to know that they are most likely the top two companies.

 

[Mem]

which sort of doesnt make sense since DVI is not supposed have image quality. Analog does, but not DVI.

All video cards regardless of whether they use analogue or DVI connection must by definition have some sort of image quality or you will not get a display ,
I'm using a 21" Samsung SM1100DF CRT in BNC mode which is analogue,so I use the DVI to analogue adaptor.

I was speaking of desktop image quality,yes it is very subjective but Leadtek have always been one of the top runners for Nvidia when it comes to IQ.

 

[xtknight]

DVI still has a factor of image quality. The effects are just different. The TMDS transmitter onboard won't always hit 165 MHz and may cause some noise if I'm thinking of the right thing.

 

[v8envy]

By overengineering I meant things like slapping a workstation card's fan & heatsink on a desktop part. They not only met the bare minimum called for, but went way beyond that.

In the past they've been known to use higher quality RAM than the reference design called for, etc. Leadtek was a favorite manufacturer with overclockers because their products were more likely to reach higher performance due to higher grade of components used.

But today, eVGA, XFX and BFG also go above and beyond the call of the bare minimum. Way beyond. The approach was novel back in the day, but is now par for the course.

A product from any of those manufacturers (except Joe's Tackle Shop Video Cards and MSI) will be as good as it gets.

Some people have theorized MSI no longer does any quality assurance on their product. It's cheaper to just handle RMAs on hardware that arrives dead. I'll buy that theory.

 

[NoStateofMind]

Why not an X1900XT available on monday?

 

[Cooler]

Originally posted by: PC Surgeon
Why not an X1900XT available on monday?

thats right it just a little more then GTX but is much better in games that use alot of shaders.

 

[hooflung]

I would only put my money on eVGA and BFG. PNY and XFX stay far from my pocket book's reach.

 

[nRollo]

dp

 

[Nextman916]

lol who makes the best DESKTOP nvidia cards....hes not talking about laptop, desktop guys.

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: PC Surgeon
Why not an X1900XT available on monday?

Originally posted by: xMax
note: I will not be gaming at all, and could easily settle for a much lower end card. But with my entire computer being new and top of the line, then it would make no sense for me to load it up with a mid or low end card.

I don't think a tweaked X1800XT is what he had in mind?

 

[v8envy]

Also, he's convinced the DVI out of the entire ATI product line is incompatible with his monitor. Which means, the X1900 is no better than the X1800 he has, as far as he's concerned. NVidia cards in other machines don't have the same problem.

The application is playing back of uncompressed low frame rate 1900x1200 .avi video, so absolutely no graphics card functions are used/required. He could probably be just as fine with a PCI FX5200. =)

Sounds like something else is the problem to me, but it's easier to recommend which hardware to swap than debug it from here.

 

[xtknight]

Wait...you're not gaming?

Low-end cards have just as good DVI (except NVIDIA FX series). I recommend an ATI Radeon X300 or X600. Or a eVGA GeForce 6200 series. I don't understand what you mean by incompatibility...

 

[xMax]

True about DVI and TMDS transmitters. Ive read all the extreme tech and Toms Hardware shootouts on DVI compliance. But two things to say about those. First, they were for older version cards, like the Radeon 9XXX and the Nvidia 6XXX models. I dont think todays offerings of X1000s from ATI or the G7s from Nvidia have the TMDS transmitter problems. Also, those problems would produce a screen filled with jitters, which would constitute as a 0% transmission. But at the same time, its true that some of them have to run on lower frequencies to achieve avoid transmission as this could result in some kind of quality loss. However, i dont think that it does. I think lower frequencies simply result in lower allowed resolutions. And i do recall reading this from the DisplayMate Hardware Awards section on thier website, where they state that in principle, there is no such thing as image quality for DVI and for this reason they didn't give out an award for best signal source by a graphics card when connected via DVI.

DisplayMate Best Video Hardware

In the end, it may be true that leadtek makes good cards, and so too XFX, but my intuitive sense seems to be stuck ons eVGA and BFG, which essentially means that im really only going to be taking one of these two cards:

BFG - 7800GTX 256MB Extreme PCIX = $689.00
eVGA ? 7800GTX 512MB PCIX = $589.99

Perhaps they are both going to be the same. But if that is so, and if this list is correct, then i should go with the eVGA card simply on acount of the fact that it is a 512MB GTX.

And heres the technical notes on the ATI cards from Eizo, the company that i got my monitor from.

ATI technical note

Nvidia technical note

The ATI technical note doesnt actually include my monitor, which is why i got the ATI card in the first place, since i had read all the technical notes before buying my monitor. But im 100% sure that the problem im having is the exact same problem, and that they only didn't include my monitor, the CG210, because its still a new monitor as they have not updated their list. And if you read carefully, you will notice that there is no measure that can be taken to fully fix the problem.

The Nvidia card has no problems with this monitor. The countermeasure to fix the banding issue thats described in the technical note is simply a change of settings in the graphics card and is not a bug or incompatibility of any sort at all. And the technical note says that the problem can be prevented, which is essentially like saying that it can be completely avoided.

Also, Nvidia, the company itself, has bought over 1000 Eizo monitors in the last few years. And im certain they were using Nvidia cards. This doesn't mean anything really, except that its a positive association between the two companies that could intail good compatibility.

Nvidia as Eizos client

And as for gaming...Well, when im done with my system, which is not far from now, i will be handing it down to a family member or selling it to a friend, either of which will certainly be gaming, which is why it really does make sense to put in a 7800 GTX 256 or 512. Of course, the monitor will have to be sold seperately to someone else since gaming is not possible on it.

I dont appreciate insults. Im listening to all your advices. So far the majority of you place eVGA and BFG as the two best companies, as i have chosen to go with one of them.

 

[Mem]

Originally posted by: xMax
note: I will not be gaming at all, and could easily settle for a much lower end card. But with my entire computer being new and top of the line, then it would make no sense for me to load it up with a mid or low end card.

Actually it does make sense to buy a cheaper lower end card,if you are not gaming at all then you are going to spend money on a card that you won't use to its full advantage and over time it will depreciate in value,better to get cheaper card for your exact needs,but I guess this is just too much common sense.

 

[Sunrise089]

i would repeat that a cheaper card will suit you well, but you (the OP) do seem to have a good understanding on what you want and why you don't like your ATI card, so do as you wish. If you are concerned though, please be VERY careful that the eVGA card is really a 512meg edition, since that would just about the cheapest price ever for that card.

 

[xMax]

Your advice sounds rational. I should make sure the eVGA card is 512MB. I dont know why it would be so cheap, maybe my friends are helping me out. But their most technical guy said that BFG makes the highest quality cards, which is why im all confused about picking between the eVGA or the BFG.

I guess i might have no choice but to take a chance and flip or something. The most likelyhood is that they will both be the same for DVI signal integrity. I just hope im right.

 

[Sunrise089]

Here is one thing you might appreciate about eVGA - I have a 7800gt by them. My GT cost the same as it's competition, maybe even less - $299. I has a copper heatsink and therefore better cooling than the majority of its competitors. Plus it is fatory overclocked by 10% on the memory and almost 20% on the core, therefore meaning eVGA is confident that it will be as reliable at OC'd speeds as other cards will be at stock. Finally eVGA shows their trust by offering a lifetime warrenty that ever covers overclocking, and a step up program where you can use your card's purchase price towards a new card if one comes out within I believe 90 days of purchase.

 

[v8envy]

And BFG offers a double lifetime warranty on their card.

Seriously, it's like deciding on a gold-plated toilet seat, or a diamond encrusted one. You could argue for either one being 'best', and be right. Both will let you take a crap, as would a lower priced 'defecation solution.' The later being less painful as well.

Unlike objective CPU benchmarks, this is definitely far into warm and fuzzy subjective land.

 

[xMax]

Ok. But the good news is i now know, through this thread, that both eVGA and BFG seem to be the right choice.

But i just dont see why you, v8envy, would use toilet boils, a generally negative object, to demonstrate the difference between two of the finest gaming card companies for Nvidia based cards, which are probably slightly better than ATI cards, and therefore the best offerings on the market on this planet earth.

I mean, sure, maybe there is some secret society whose technology is just completely out of this world to the point where their video cards are thousands of times faster than any top video card available on the market right now, which merits your association of these Nvidia cards with toilet seats. But other than that, its just not a cool association.