Someone school me on graphics cards!

[holaback]

So I pretty much know all the chipsets are made by Nvidia or ATI. But lets take two cards for instance.



Free FarCry2 w/ purchase & register at manuf, ends 12/31
BFG Tech BFGEGTX2801024E GeForce GTX 280 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

* Chipset Manufacturer: NVIDIA
* Core clock: 602MHz
* Stream Processors: 240 processing cores
* Memory Clock: 2214MHz
* DirectX: DirectX 10
* OpenGL: OpenGL 2.1
* DVI: 2
* TV-Out: HDTV / S-Video Out
* Model #: BFGEGTX2801024E
* Item #: N82E16814143141
* Return Policy: Standard Return Policy



PNY VCGGTX280XPB GeForce GTX 280 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

* Chipset Manufacturer: NVIDIA
* Core clock: 602MHz
* Stream Processors: 240 processing cores
* Memory Clock: 2214MHz
* DirectX: DirectX 10
* OpenGL: OpenGL 2.1
* DVI: 2
* TV-Out: HDTV / S-Video Out
* Model #: VCGGTX280XPB
* Item #: N82E16814133228
* Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy

Combo Special




Okay so if i'm not mistaken both of these cards run the same chipset and model but why why would i buy the one from bfg tech over pny or pny over bfg tech? What the hell is the difference?

[dlmvii]

Are the two priced much differently?
Otherwise, it's just brand preference (i've never bought either brand, so I wouldn't know)
Also one comes with Far Cry 2, which is cool?

[Droid party]

Both cards should return the same performance. They both seem to be running the same vpu at the same clock speed and ditto for the memory. They also both seem to basically be running reference coolers,so I guess you just go for whichever is cheaper and has the best pack in bonuses.

[holaback]

Also as far as top of the line correct me if I'm wrong but:

Nvidia is GTX 280?

ATI? Raedon 4870x2?

Speaking of single card solutions.

[lordofduct]

You're hard set on this new card aren't you... Moz didn't convince you otherwise?


I once bought nearly top of the line a while back. A got the Geforce 7950GX2 (this was before your got your 8800 because the 8 series wasn't around when I got my card, or I would have gotten that instead). Now it wasn't that long ago really that I got this card, I was working at the porn site so I'd say it was the fall 06 to winter 06-07. So not that long ago.

I still rock this card, throw everything I want at it. And it pushes a 30 inch Dell LCD at 2560x1600 AND a Proview 22inch at 1680x1050.

I also don't plan on upgrading this card anytime soon.

I mean what are you really planning on doing to wail out that much cash for a card when you have a DX10 capable card with plenty of power sitting in your machine already!?

That's like saying, "I drive my Lotus to work everyday, but the Lotus isn't powerful enough. So I bought this Ferrari instead!" even though the speed limit is still 70MPH either way.



I don't get some of the urges to go full board high end. Now yes I went full board once. But this wasn't a super machine choice, this was because I had the cash and I wanted a machine that was going to last me awhile. And this it has done. The thing still is a sweet little power house that takes EVERYTHING I throw at it with out a jerk or whimper, and it plays games just fine. I say it's got several more years of life in it!

OH!!! and one thing to be concerned about. Just because you got top of the line, does NOT mean you are going to be able to top out all the settings in every game! It still works your machine to death and overheating is common. I hung out with tons of these mod guys who were on top of all that stupid stuff back in college (oh God, I'm feeling older... damn you BIRTHDAY!!!). Constantly their machines were overheating and freezing up during LAN parties because they thought it'd be cool to flex their muscles by maxing out the settings on their super machine.

And there is nothing more I hate then when a match is held up because 3 guys are huddled around John's computer because John thought it'd be cool to kill you in high res at 140fps. Well I kinda hate the two fat bisexual chicks making out on the couch more... ugh.

[lordofduct]

wait wait...

scratch all that!

Keep on buying all that stuff. You power nerds are the early adopters that drive down the price in the long run for me!!!

[PharmaceuticalCowboy]

wait wait...

scratch all that!

Keep on buying all that stuff. You power nerds are the early adopters that drive down the price in the long run for me!!!

Yeah I agree... do it, I had a buddy that did the same and I'm not really impressed with the extra $200 he spent over my 8800GT. But it does make it cheaper for all of us!

[Niode]

To answer the original question.


Board partners...

They make cards based on the reference silicoln that nVidia/ATi provide them. Some manufacturers alter the reference design in seek of better thermals or higher overclocks. Generally BFGTech (an nVidia board partner) tend to alter their designs in the second generation of a card to give them an edge and keep the prices high. They usually do this by improving the reference cooler and upping the core/mem freq by about 4-5%. These things are of little importance really unless you want to wuss out and get a pre-overclocked card but if you really cared about those frames per second, you would know how to overclock the card anyway. It's just a ploy to get people suckered into buying them. Similar to the HDTV 1080i/720p (but 1080 is a bigger number it must be better) or the megapixel war in digital cameras. People like bigger numbers so they feel superior to others.

Now, here's the important part; different board partners have different warrenties. Some offer 1year, some offer 2, some even offer lifetime ~(of the component). This is where you should pay attention to the brand on the box. Do a little research. Some board partners will let you swap the card for a new one if a superior card is released within 6 months (US only for the most part, damn yanks ). When tech moves as fast as it does in the performance PC market this kind of thing is invaluable and worth it's weight in gold if you time your buys correctly (keep an ear to the ground, it's mostly divination and perusal of tech-trees). However, you mostly want to concentrate on buying the card with the longest and most comprehensive warrenty (AKA one that will let you rma cards even if they have been OC'd but this is much less of a problem now, most partners are very leniant of this stuff) since a big GPU purchase is usually going to last you a good couple of years (like LoDs purchase of the 7950Gx2, probably a good investment on his part since he's still using it now). Don't be a buffoon and upgrade everytime a new tech comes out, those cards are usually buggy as hell and it will take a few months of driver revisions before the wrinkles are ironed out. Besides, you might as well just flush money down the toilet.

So yeah, in short.

Buy one step under top end for bang for buck. (unless you are driving dual 24" monitors or a 30" monitor). Make sure the warrenty lasts for as long as you plan on using your PC. (AKA about 3-4 years unless you are one of those aforementioned tech-nerds with money to burn)

[holaback]

wait wait...

scratch all that!

Keep on buying all that stuff. You power nerds are the early adopters that drive down the price in the long run for me!!!

I normally am not one of these power hungry gamer geeks. Mater of fact i honestly don't even really pc game or console game much these days.

[Droid party]

Mater of fact i honestly don't even really pc game or console game much these days.

Then why spend so much on a crazy expensive card?