Which GPU maker

[Azgraal]

So after reading some advice here and on another websites, i've selected every component for my new gaming desktop.

Now i only miss the GPU.

I've narrowed it down to 2 cards: Nvidia gtx580 and ATI hd6970.

Thing is, there's a lot of gpu makers, like asus, sapphire, etc..

what i'd like to know is what model from both cards is the best and why.
(i know the 6970 is a little weaker that the gtx580, im just looking for the best makers of both cards)

Thank you in advance ^^

[aisatsana]

The only major difference is the cooler. I would suggest a 580 with MSI's twin frozr cooler, it's extremly quiet compared to others and it performs really well. You can also read some reviews on each of them if you're not sure

[FlawlessSoul]

If you've settled on the model of card, then yes - MSI's Frozr coolers are probably your best bet for the nVidia choice. God knows what you'd choose for the Radeon. If you're this far into the decision process, you've probably already settled on the 580 anyway, unless you're going to use multiple screens straight away.

[Nellah]

XFX for a Radeon IMO, the double lifetime warranty (transferrable to another buyer if you sell your card down the road) is win.

[Azgraal]

Yes, im more inclined for the nvidia card. I will be using 2 monitors, 1920x1080 24'' x2, but i will be using one for fullscreen apps/games and the other just for windows, so i dont think it will stress the card too much.

I like that MSI twin frozr, i just have one last question. Is the card able to handle mild overclocks without frying/needing a more powerful cooling system?

[LegitHunter]

Get x2 6870's xfx

[Azgraal]

XFX for a Radeon IMO, the double lifetime warranty (transferrable to another buyer if you sell your card down the road) is win.

thanks for the headsup on the ati side. the last time i had a desktop pc, the last time i upgraded it i bought a 9800 pro from sapphire and i liked it a lot. But a lot of time has passed and i dont know how's the market nowadays. ^^

[Muya]

The MSI Twin Frozr III and ASUS DCUII coolers are the best on the market right now. I know people who prefer the ASUS and I know people, myself included, that have the MSI Frozr III and are very happy with the performance.

MSI has a pretty solid overclocking utility in Afterburner and the ASUS Smart Doctor is alright from what I hear. Both cards are able to be OCd, but it really depends on how decent the chip is in your unit. Some of the units may have great chips that can OC really well and others may have a mediocre chip that OCs alright, but requires more power to do so.

[Saithes]

Also keep in mind that both MSI's and Asus's warranty is transferrable simply because you do not need to register the card to receive the warranty. MSI Afterburner also works with just about any modern graphics card and Smart Doctor is garbage.

XFX's quality has dropped since the release of the Radeon 5k's, so despite their amazing warranty their design quality on their cards is crap. Unless you go for a special edition card from MSI such as a Lightning or HAWK, the twin frozr II's have the same amount of phases as the regular models.

In the end it comes down to whatever provides the best cooling performance for your money. Just avoid the Twin Frozr III because its weaker than its older brother the Twin Frozr II.

[Azgraal]

Quick question:

MSI GTX 580 Lightning Xtreme 3gb, awesome card for its price or major overkill?

[coldfiredragon]

NVIDIA. I have tried almost every GPU form both since the Riva 128 and the ATI Rage Pro. The NVIDIA have always been beetter GPUs.

[Skelly]

Quick question:

MSI GTX 580 Lightning Xtreme 3gb, awesome card for its price or major overkill?

Good for multiple monitor setups. Otherwise you don't need that much VRAM.

[Deleted]

XfX Ati all the way mate fu with them nvidia fan boyz :P

"Owner of a Xfx Hd5970 black limited edition 4gb"

[Jakexe]

I know little about ATI cards but the 580 is the better card from what i've read.

As for maker I hold EVGA with a very high regard, excellant after market support and the superclocked versions have nothing but positive reviews.

[Holofernes]

playing games since quake / duke 3d, i have used many nvidia and ati graphic card over the last 15 years. i did have issues with cards breaking with nvidia chips. i never had a quality issue with ati / amd. they just work forever.

[Deleted]

playing games since quake / duke 3d, i have used many nvidia and ati graphic card over the last 15 years. i did have issues with cards breaking with nvidia chips. i never had a quality issue with ati / amd. they just work forever.

Have to agree with this. Pretty much all my (well, most of them were my dads but still) Nvidia card broke in a couple of years. Amd/Ati ones never did. I'm currently using a year old HD 6850, absolutely no problems with it so far and the last one was Radeon 9800 pro which worked for like 5-6 years.

As for the manufacturer, I wouldn't know. Personally I'd probably go for the cheapest as the only difference is the cooling. But I already have a well cooled case so it doesn't matter much. I guess it only matters when overclocking it.

[Azgraal]

That is true, my Sapphire Radeon 9800 pro lasted a lot, rock solid

[Rakudjo]

My nVidia 9500GT lasted me 2-3 years before I upgraded it due to graphical advancements in games. I may be running on a pre-historic resolution now (1280x1024), but outside of WoW, it ran anything and everything on low settings.

Running an msi nVidia GTX 560 now, basically the little brother of the Twin Frozr. Runs like a champ, and overclocked really well (900/1800/2000 on WinXP, and I think I pushed it to 875/1900/2100 on Win7). After this card, I'm really impressed with msi and with it and my 9500, I recommend nVidia. I know where I'm going in the future for my GPU's.

[Arisfarreach]

It really comes down to personal preference. The 6970 and 580 are both great chips. ATM I'm running dual 6970's and couldn't be happier. Last generation I ran with Nvidia cards and was also very satisfied.

As far as which brand/model to go with, the MSI Twin Frozr has arguably the best cooler out there.

[Ecwfrk]

XFX for a Radeon IMO, the double lifetime warranty (transferrable to another buyer if you sell your card down the road) is win.

Yep! I had an old XFX 8800GTX die on me a few months ago, they asked if I was using it in Crossfire, when I told them I wasn't, they sent me a 6750 (a much faster card) to replace it