ATi Radeon vs. Althon Micro Radeon

[drbino]

Who are these Althon Micro guys? They are selling their Radeon cards for $25 less than ATi. Anybody know anything about their reputation and their cards' reliability?

 

[RobD]

Well, having checked their website <A HREF="http://www.althon.com/main.htm" target="_new">http://www.althon.com/main.htm</A>, it appears they make...ah heck all. Well, no vid cards at any rate. Check their products and select any of the cards to see the spec and it takes you to ATI's website. As with every other product listed. Also have a nice VooDoo II!

They're just resellers.

And their website sucks. Don't like the look of 'em.

 

[drbino]

The reselling and distribution of ATi cards baffles me. If you look at Nvidia chipsets, they can be found in Abit, Hightech, Leadtek, Chaintech, ASUS, Albatron(sp?), Gigabyte, etc. cards. It seems like there are numerous sellers of Nvidia cards. Why don't we see ASUS ATi cards? Where are all the Abit Radeon cards?

So far, I have only seen Althon, Sapphire, and Atlantis models of Radeon cards, and I can only assume these are resellers and not specific models of cards.

What makes this confusing is when I buy an Nvidia video card, I know I'm safe with Leadtek, Abit, and ASUS cards. These are card manufacturers whose products I have owned or have friends who have owned. With the Radeon cards, how do I know if I'm getting a good deal? Should I shuck out the extra $25 and get an authentic ATi card? If the Althon card is simply a resold OEM card and essentially has all the same parts as the ATi cards, why the heck would I spend $25 more just for the name brand? Nobody is going to see that card in my computer and say "oooh, you have a cheap imitation Radeon card."

Is it okay to buy these Althon/Sapphire/Atlantis cards? I mean, are they the same card made by the same standards or are they different cards with only the chipset in common? If the latter, can anyone recommend any of these specific brands?

Yeah, I'm making a fuss over $25. I'm a thrifty bastich.

 

[RobD]

LOL! Hey, that $25 buys a lot of beer man!

Sapphire are a good company, I've had a lot of experience with their cards, and they make a good product.

Until you mentioned it, I'd never heard of Althon.
I hear you about the Nvidia companies. All top line with good reputations and good history.

now, if they are purely distributing BBA Radeon's, then you should get the warranty that ATI include, so if it fubars, you're OK. (On shaky ground now) Not sure if the warranty beats the "Powered by.." companies or not. I'm sure that'll be cleared up tho'

But, like you, I like to know who i'm dealing with. Maybe that extra $25 is worth shelling out for piece of mind y'know? And if you need te money, hey, sell a limb or other body part!