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Which nVidia-based Board Manufacturer Is Best?

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  • Which nVidia-based Board Manufacturer Is Best?

    Hello fellow tweakers...

    I want to purchase a new nVidia-based gfx board tomorrow online. I am pretty much set on getting a 5600 or so, but most likely not an Ultra since I want to spend roughly $220 - $250 for a solid board.

    What it boils down to is ,

    What Manufacturer's board has the most reliable drivers and the best performance?

    If u cannot have one with the other, I want the most reliability, meaning, the most stable with the fewest errors due to the gfx card. If this is not possible to really ascertain, then performance.

    Anyway, which is best?

    Albatron's Medusa?
    ABit's Siluro ?
    Chaintech?
    this new brand I never heard of before... BFG ?


    Please, don't bother mentioning PNY or similar crappy brands :p

    By the way, if possible, state the manufacturer that has the best quality memory on-board (Crucial will be #1, Infineon, etc. ...but I want to avoid Samsung and PNY).

    Thanks for the advice :)

    Just for the record, I am leaning toward Albatron or Chaintech but I'm not sure ..... (even within those two).

  • #2
    I've been rather fond of Leadtek the last couple of years.

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    • #3
      S/U/M/A/ ain't a bad brand either, one of the most overclockable video card manufacturers, they build their video cards ABOVE the specs of the reference board...

      I've used ELSA, and MSI graphics cards, none have given me problems... For some reason my mates Leadtek GF4Ti4600 died on him (no offence Wiggo) after 2 months and he had to get the entire card replaced... But I'd say most big brands should be pretty good :)

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      • #4
        any other replies ?

        Thanks for the replies so far..... but I kinda didn't think leadtek was in the game any more :) :snip:

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        • #5
          I would personally take any Leadtek, Gainward, or Elsa.

          Maybe MSI, maybe PNY.

          Where are you buying from? I'd strongly suggest www.newegg.com

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          • #6
            Thanks again for the replies :D

            NewEgg.com is at the top of the list of places to buy, but there is a few that I know of whom I trust....

            AxionTech.com
            NewEgg.com
            GoGoCity.com

            etc.

            I go through ibuyer.net and pricewatch.com and then manually go through vendors I know about for any hidden sales and stuff. As for vendors im not worried about it....

            Just...... THE BEST ......manufacturer....

            Gainward I havent heard from again in a while
            And LeadTek I kinda don't trust....or was it VisionTek that had been faded out / has had a lot of issues.

            What do you guys think of Albatron and Chaintech...I read somewhere (but one or two sources so far only) that Chaintech is better... high overclockability and stability as well as great components. From the images I've seen from Albatron and Chaintech they also have very nice copper heatsinks with nice fans.

            I'm gonna look into hardocp.com some more and some other 3dhardware sites for some reviews....

            But I just need to know *the* best.

            It's easy enough for ppl to say ATI or nVIdia is better.....now how about the best board manufacturer?

            Things I would like to have been considered:

            --Least Troublesome Drivers (last)
            --Best Heatsinks / Fan combos
            --Noise....last of my worries (i can just turn up the volume of speakrs :D )
            --Best overclockability with stability at the higher ends
            --Premium components.....like RAM from Samsung and other 3rd-world-country crap is out the window (no need for flaming . .....just wanted to stress how much I dont give a crap about their products). I want Crucial-similar level (not really possible since Crucial dont sell nVidia boards) but Infineon is good too.....Mushkin, etc.
            --And of course.......the best overall agreement between components for optimal visual quality regarding nVidia-wise.

            By the way, FX 5600 or 5800 is quite likely......but I *may* opt for a Ti4600 (ultra?) because i heard best stability however I know drivers can be tweaked and I have some faith in the FX line.....but of course I'm not spending over $250 just yet....that is for the next board I'm getting (NV40 or up unless something changes my mind)

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            • #7
              I personally wouldn`t go for an fx series card yet... i`d wait for the fx5900 to come out and then consider getting it... for the moment i`m gonna stick to my ti4200... : peace2:

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              • #8
                Hello again Tweakerz

                After many hours of sifting and brainstorming , I decided upon the following...


                ==256MB of memory even though the 128MB is clocked higher (i can O/C it...but quantitiy to me seems more important than speed because the more MB onboard, the more textures can be stored so the bandwidth isn't as necessary).

                ==A nice fan setup on the board

                == ~$200

                ==nVidia based GeForceFX 5600 line because they are not overly expensive and they are DX9 compatible with new goodies as compared to the GeForce4 line.

                and my end result is the Gainward FX PowerPack! Ultra/780 XP 256MB Professional

                http://www.gainward.com/c-1.html?id=101&opt=3

                AND, again after searching for a while I finally found one of two vendors in the USA who sells it (and isn't a name that I have no clue who it is).

                NeutronUSA (www.neutronexpress.com)

                For $209 and $9.99 for shipping

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by MizuChi
                  I personally wouldn`t go for an fx series card yet... i`d wait for the fx5900 to come out and then consider getting it... for the moment i`m gonna stick to my ti4200... : peace2:
                  To me, you are both right and wrong :D The reason why I say you are right, is because these fx series cards are like the getting-to-the-good-stuff card of the FX 5900 which will be awesome (FINALLY the 256-bit bus but.....still 4 pipelines....sheesh).

                  Wrong in the sence that I have a old board that needs to be replaced so that I can play my new games and old ones better....but as for that its my fault because I didn't get a new webserver to have my sig show up properly below....

                  I have a 3Dfx Voodoo5 5500 AGP w/ 64MB of Infineon SDRAM O/C stock to 175-180MHz (standard is 166MHz) : peace2:

                  This is a middle-man card that I'm getting for me and then becoming a hand-me-down to my girlfriend which at that time I'll be getting a NV40 or better.

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                  • #10
                    Just make sure the FX 5600 card you purchase is fitted with the NV31 (second generation) chipset.

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                    • #11
                      Well it turns out they arent selling that specific board anymore at the vendor I found (the only one too) who had the 256mb gefFx 5600 non-ultra board.

                      The best manufacturer, I still think, is Chaintech...with Asus or Gainward in a close second...but Chaintech has the highest end boards as well right now too (regarding the 5600's).

                      I started a new thread.....

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