Well, my venerable Geforce 2 MX is finally looking like its not wanting to work any more (after over 4 years of work, no wonder). I've decided to go for a Geforce 6600 GT to replace it, but the question I have is, what kind of difference is there with brands? I've looked at a few cards on New Egg. I've found a eVGA, an XFX, and another one that I can't remember the brand name of right now. I'm sure there are some brands that are a higher quality then others, so, which ones are they?

Usually they are all the same performance wise, but some brands tend to use slower memory, or a lower core/memory clock speed to lower the price. If it has an acronym at the end, look up a review the board to make sure its not a knocked down version of card you want. Different brand names tend to differ in what bundles they offer with the card bundles (if any) too.

also some brands have factory overclocked models

So in terms of actual quality (i.e. it'll last longer before dieing), there really isn't much difference?

There's a LOT of difference.

MSI cards I've found die quickly. Chaintech and Asus cards are the opposite.

Really, if you're getting a 6600GT, you're probably wanting to go with a Chaintech.

This is actually pretty cheap, a lot cheaper than I've been seeing them go for (190 for the chaintech, 180 for others) and I can guarantee Chaintech's excellence. My 6800GT is a chaintech, and I've pushed that sucker farther without any problems than anyone else with one that I know. They also have a great history with motherboards.

Just my two bits.

Asus are the best quality manufacture; they are japanese. they have good cooling and are slightly underclocked, for stability. they work well in crappy cases with poor airflow and they rarely fail

Gainward have the best cooling, but they are slightly overclocked (and quirky). they require good airflow or they tend to overheat.

Gigabyte have the worst cooling, they run ~10 degrees hotter than any competition (if thats an issue). they tend to be cheaper than the competition but they lack in features/design.



MSI are korean, they have good cards w/ good cooling but a small percentage fail due to manufacturing errors (not due to cooling or design). be sure to get a good warranty.

Leadtek are russian and a larger percentage fail for the same reason (the manufacturing process can't compare to japanese or american) be sure to get a better warranty.

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short answer : yes it makes a difference.

the average user should get the ASUS for dependability.
the power user should get the gainward for performance.
the budget user should get the MSI for value.
(IMO)
(I've never had the chaintech. but I hear good things)

What about Chaintek? I've heard plenty of people saying great things about them.

I could've sworn that ASUS is from Taiwan.

I stand corrected

They'er insanely good cards/mobos. Never heard of a Chaintech just dying on anyone, never heard any bad things about them, and in my experience, A++ to their stuff. MUCH reccommended.

I just recently acquired a...Gigabyte GeForce 6600GT. I am quite loving this card. I can finally run NWN at 1280x960 with 4xAA and 16xAF. The bottleneck is now on the CPU. :/

Asus is Taiwanese....

I am a strong supporter of BFG. Their cards come overclocked (of course I just overclock them more) and their tech support is known for being awesome. I haven't had to use it yet seeing as how neither of the two cards I have owned of theirs have had any problems.

Sigh, my GeForce 2 mx served me well until my entire pc got fried for some reason, it now sits in a box and smells of charcoal.

They're okay...but their latest 6*00 series with proprietary cooling SUUUUUUUUCKS hardcore. The proprietary cooling is just lame, doesn't dissipate enough heat, and there was a problem with the heatpipes (I forget what).

Thankfully, they decided to go back to the nv cooling--the fan and smaller heatsink.

I like my own cooling. A cut down Athlon XP 1800+ heatsink with a 60mm quiet Delta fan and some equally huge heatsinks thermal epoxied to the RAM. The Athlon heatsink is how I manage a 100+ MHz core overclock on my 9700.

100 mhz? That's beastly. I only upped mine 50.

I remember taking my ATi Rage 128 16MB from 90/90 to get this... 115/160 with just a household fan blowing in on the case. Crazy.

Thanks for the info guys. I appreciate it. I'll let you know how well the card runs once I get it.