The best manufactured 8800 GTS card

[kinnth]

I was wondering, having read the specs and considering my budget im going to push it to an 8800 GTS. However with so many out there I was wondering if there are any differences in the suppliers of the GTS?

Which supplier gives the most performance / best overclocking ability? Which one bundles the best software / most useful apps? Which supplier has good support, reliability and added extras?

At the moment im looking at BFG tech's but are there any better?

[staffsMike]

BFG and EVGA are good as they have Lifetime or 10 years warranty.

manafacturing wise..all the boards are built in the same factory but some have slightly different coolers.. Leadtek have slight difference..nothing important though.

Bundle wise..the bfg has a t-shirt and some stickers which is ok. Others come with the odd game of two but nothing to write home about.

I'd stick with BFG personally.. its the best looking and has a great warranty.

[Pob255]

Novatech are doing there own brand one, with lifetime warranty very as 8800gts go novatech £173

It does seem like currently they are all the same card with the same coolers.

[tigerboyce]

BFG is my choice, very good so far (and my lifetime), the T shirts cool too only problem is that its like 5 sizes too big for me, its like an XXL :/ i don't think you can change them either

[aidanjt]

BFG and eVGA are both good choices for quality cards.

[cougarslam]

Novatech are doing there own brand one, with lifetime warranty very as 8800gts go novatech £173

It does seem like currently they are all the same card with the same coolers.

sites own brand cards tend to be oem cards from major brands.

but for some reason they do not state which brand maybe becasue stock varies I am not sure.

if its a lifetime warrany I guess its BFG as that is the wording they use I think.

EVGA is prob a better choice due to the step up program but both are very good brands.

[roorooroo]

I have a Leadtek one and OC'ing it has been great so far.

[Optical668]

Got a BFG 8800GTS here very good i got a tshirt too

[Mad-Max]

BFG or EVGA both good makes and have only 10 year warranty in europe, Leadtek are a good make for the price.

Just avoid xfx

[MKA]

BFG or EVGA both good makes and have only 10 year warranty in europe, Leadtek are a good make for the price.

Just avoid xfx

generally or just for 8800 gts Mad Max?

I`ve just purchased a xfx 7900 gtx.

and i better get a tshirt as well

[kinnth]

BFG or EVGA both good makes and have only 10 year warranty in europe, Leadtek are a good make for the price.

Just avoid xfx

Why avoid the XFX cards? I read the hexus review and for the 320mb they seem quite reasonable.

Whatabout the ichill xstriker3 thats displayed as an add on here, the heat sink looks like a toilet for degrees celcius.

[Blitzen]

Ive never had a BFG card but from past experience with Gainward they are fantastic at the CS thing aswell.

EVGA are great too but the RMA's are to Germany. (They treat the USA customers far better than us).

[Mad-Max]

Well I've gone through 4 XFX cards with all of them having problems, my replacement is more then likely a XFX which will be sold so I am avoiding all XFX products and it's not just me look at google and you will see about xfx.

Why get a XFX card when you can get BFG or EVGA instead and even Leadtek can make better cards then xfx

[oralpain]

Virtually all brands simply use the NVIDIA reference design, so, at the board level, there is pretty much no difference in quality beyond random variation. The majority also use the reference coolers.

As for 8800GTSes and overclocking, the biggest differential between cards is going to be wether you get an A2 or an A3 core revision. The A3 core tendsto allow 50-100MHz more on the ROP, 100-200MHz more on the shader clocks, and for whatever reason cards with the A3 core also tend to have better OCing ram. It seems that you are a bit more likely to get an A3 if you buy a pre-overclocked modle, but it's not a sure thing.

Some brands do tend to scew up things like assembly or thermal interface material, but that is getting rarer and harder to do.

In the end the big differences are in support/warranty and bundles.

[Kord]

EVGA is prob a better choice due to the step up program but both are very good brands.

Yeah the EVGA Step-Up program is really worth checking out. Basically, you can upgrade your video card within 90 days of buying it. You only pay the difference between your original purchase price and the current price of the new card ( + shipping ).

[kinnth]

Yeah the EVGA Step-Up program is really worth checking out. Basically, you can upgrade your video card within 90 days of buying it. You only pay the difference between your original purchase price and the current price of the new card ( + shipping ).

well that just sold it for me. Just bought myself a 320mb ac3 revision gfx card by evga and im gona sign up for the above.

Go me! Now I can play bioshock in all its glory