DDS Graphics
What's the difference between different manufacturer's graphics card?
I'm about to buy a new graphics card for my PC, probably an 8600GTS but I'm a bit confused about the number of different manufacturer's who make an 8600GTS. What's the difference between the different manufacturer's versions of the 8600GTS, and which is the best to buy in terms of performance and value for money?
Public Comments
- Functionally...nothing. Some use GDDR3, some use GDDR4. Some use more than stock memory size, some use stock size. Some add coolers, some vent heat into the case. Some overclock the GPU and GDDR memory, some don't. etc... Most times, the only difference between boards is purely cosmetic (a blue cooler, not a red one, etc...), sometimes not. Many times, the only difference is the PRICE. Sometimes the difference is Quality Control...(i.e.: more of one company's cards are crap or fail to perform up to minimums, or fail completely; than those of another company. Since you want to go nVidia, ask around in the "community" as to what different people's preferences are, and *why*. If they can articulate a legitimate reason (i.e.: NOT "because I do" or similar useless answer), consider THAT in your decistion. Primarily, the *only* difference is Card XYZ costs $X, while Card "RST" could be as much as $100 higher or lower retail, simply because the card manufacturer thinks it is the better producer, and that you should have to pay extra for their "better" product. (Please note that this type of ego is rarely if ever deserved, and then generally, only for a single card or so, they just happen to carry the attitude across ALL cards they make!
- the gts is a waste of money , get either a 9800 gx2 or for a bit less you can get an 8800 gt (almost no performance difference) you could also sli two 9600 gt cards and get gtx-like performance
