Here is my problem. My girlfriend told me she wants to get me a GF3 for
Xmas. Told you it was a good problem to have :). The problem is what brand
is better, or are they all basicly the same, is there a brand I should stay
away from? From what I have read I have come up with the opinion that PNY
is one to stay away from, but I was wondering about Gainword, MSI, Gigabyte
and some others.
MadDAWG
"happy puppy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
> Here is my problem. My girlfriend told me she wants to get me a GF3 for
> Xmas. Told you it was a good problem to have :). The problem is what brand
> is better, or are they all basicly the same, is there a brand I shouldstay
> away from? From what I have read I have come up with the opinion that PNY
> is one to stay away from, but I was wondering about Gainword, MSI,Gigabyte
> and some others.
>
> MadDAWG
>
Well, their all reference boards, go for the one that has the features you
want. I'm not sure if they all use the same memory on the full GF3's, ,
check for the lower number on the nanoseconds rating on the memory.
Hey, if your girlfriend is getting it for you and letting you pick it, just
get the most expensive :)
I have heard good things of the Gainward, and also Hercules supposedly has a
decent one as well. I don't have a GF3 yet, but have been pretty happy with
the Herc cards I have had, including the GF2 MX I have now.
Don Burnette
The Leadtek is suppose to be good. Go for a Ti 500 model if money is no
option.
"happy puppy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
> Here is my problem. My girlfriend told me she wants to get me a GF3 for
> Xmas. Told you it was a good problem to have :). The problem is what brand
> is better, or are they all basicly the same, is there a brand I shouldstay
> away from? From what I have read I have come up with the opinion that PNY
> is one to stay away from, but I was wondering about Gainword, MSI,Gigabyte
> and some others.
>
> MadDAWG
>
>
> Hey, if your girlfriend is getting it for you and letting you pick it,just
> get the most expensive :)
Thats the stupid part. If it was my money I wouldn't be to worried, but
since its hers I wanna make damn sure I get a good one and at a good price.
I found a MSI GF3 Ti500 for $289 on price watch that looks pretty tempting.
Time for more 'netsearching'
MadDAWG
"MadDAWG" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
> > Hey, if your girlfriend is getting it for you and letting you pick it,
> just
> > get the most expensive :)
>
> Thats the stupid part. If it was my money I wouldn't be to worried, but
> since its hers I wanna make damn sure I get a good one and at a goodprice.
>
> I found a MSI GF3 Ti500 for $289 on price watch that looks prettytempting.
> Time for more 'netsearching'
>
> MadDAWG
>
>
>
Check out newegg.com
Pretty reasonable, awesome service.
Don Burnette
"happy puppy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
> Here is my problem. My girlfriend told me she wants to get me a GF3 for
> Xmas. Told you it was a good problem to have :). The problem is what brand
> is better, or are they all basicly the same, is there a brand I shouldstay
> away from? From what I have read I have come up with the opinion that PNY
> is one to stay away from, but I was wondering about Gainword, MSI,Gigabyte
> and some others.
>
> MadDAWG
If it's a Ti 500 then they are all pretty much the same, but some use higher
quality ram, better heatsinks and fans. I recommend the Hercules brand also.
If it was a Ti 200 then some are using slower ram than others. Again,
Hercules is using 4ns and good quality heatsinks and fan. One or two are
using slower 5ns ram on the Ti 200. One is using the same 3.8ns ram as the
Ti 500, but can't remember who it is. Leadtech, I think. Asus is not even
using heatsinks for the ram on the Ti 200, but are on the Ti 500. But, I
don't know how much of an issue that is because my retail ATI R8500 doesn't
have heatsinks on the ram and the ram they use 3.5ns ram and it is clocked
higher than the Ti 500. Like I said though, the Hercules GF3 cards are a
pretty safe bet.
>If it's a Ti 500 then they are all pretty much the same, but some use higher
>quality ram, better heatsinks and fans. I recommend the Hercules brand also.
Pretty much right there, they all use 3.8ns RAM. Minimal difference
unless you want other features, like TV, etc. Go by price really, I've
heard Visiontek and PNY to be pretty good. Leatek have hardware
monitoring available, if you are interested in that.
I'd suggest getting a ti 200, they're one hell of a good buy. My
Leadtek actually has 3.8ns RAM on it (they are advertised as having
4ns, so I guess they ran out) which is the most important thing.
Memory bandwidth is the biggest limitation in video cards, not core
GPU speed. So the slightly slower core is not an issue.
Mine o'cs to 225 core, 540 mem, which runs better than a standard ti
500 due to a faster mem speed (230/500 is standard for ti 500s)
Other brand I'd suggest is Gainward have seen a lot of good
overclocks, nice and reliable. VT are OK as are PNY, but some have 4ns
ram, others have 5. So it's a gamble as to whether you get good
components or not. But they're cheaper :D
Rafe Mc
Quoted text (9 lines)
>If it was a Ti 200 then some are using slower ram than others. Again, >Hercules is using 4ns and good quality heatsinks and fan. One or two are >using slower 5ns ram on the Ti 200. One is using the same 3.8ns ram as the >Ti 500, but can't remember who it is. Leadtech, I think. Asus is not even >using heatsinks for the ram on the Ti 200, but are on the Ti 500. But, I >don't know how much of an issue that is because my retail ATI R8500 doesn't >have heatsinks on the ram and the ram they use 3.5ns ram and it is clocked >higher than the Ti 500. Like I said though, the Hercules GF3 cards are a >pretty safe bet.Well I made a choice and I hope its a good one. Newegg [thanks Don] has a
Gainward GF3 golden sample card for $259. The standard GF3 is clocked at
200/400 and the Ti500 is 230/500. The GF3 golden sample card is 220/480 so
its almost a Ti500, and from what I have seen should overclock well past
Ti500 specs. In many reviews I read this weekend the MSI didn't get very
good marks. It got slammed for its 2D quality. The Gainward card usally came
in the top 3 is every review, average of 2nd behind Leadtek. So thanks for
all the help guys.
MadDAWG
After a week or two come back and let us know how it runs for you.
Good luck it sounds like you've got a winner.
dave henrie
"MadDAWG" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
> Well I made a choice and I hope its a good one. Newegg [thanks Don] has a
> Gainward GF3 golden sample card for $259. The standard GF3 is clocked at
> 200/400 and the Ti500 is 230/500. The GF3 golden sample card is 220/480 so
> its almost a Ti500, and from what I have seen should overclock well past
> Ti500 specs. In many reviews I read this weekend the MSI didn't get very
> good marks. It got slammed for its 2D quality. The Gainward card usallycame
> in the top 3 is every review, average of 2nd behind Leadtek. So thanks for
> all the help guys.
>
> MadDAWG
>
>
I will but it will be a little longer than a week or two. Its my Xmas
present so she is making me wait to Xmas to get it. Of course with all the
family stuff going on it will be a day or 2 after that before I can install
it. :(
MadDAWG
On Mon, 10 Dec 2001 18:52:50 -0500, "MadDAWG"
<[email hidden]> wrote:
Maddawg, did you get yer GeF-3? How do you like it?
Next week I go to E3, and I'll buy the best GeF-4 4600 I see.
Now you can envy ME!
