MSi or Gigabyte?

karl1234

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Hows it going every one =) im stuck trying to decide between these two cards..

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125348

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127566&Tpk=msi%20r6850

here are my system specs

- 8gb drr2 ram
- i think i have a 600gb hard drive
- Ati Radeon HD 3450 which was stock probly like 2 years old..
- antec 500w psu
- intel core 2 quad q6600 @2.40GHz

as of now i have two stock dell monitors i am planning on upgrading to this monitor in the
future http://www.viewsonic.com/products/desktop-monitors/lcd/x-series/vx2739wm.htm

the games i play are wow, cs and bf2
let me know what u guys think and if u have any questions. thanks for reading!! :bounce:
 
Solution
I've worked on a computer bench for years and now do server work... back in the day i used to replace many MSI cards. But i gotta agree asus is good.

But as for XFX I have seen no issues with them my friend uses a XFX 5850 Black Edition Crossfire rig that is OC'd 24/7 it hasnt skipped a beat.

Also I use XFX in all the computer terminals at job locations becuse of its double lifetime warranty which I dont think MSI or ASUS has which means if you sell the card it still has a warranty.

I have lots of them in the field and recommend XFX to friends and family because like someguynamedmatt hasnt had to replace a MSI product, I havent replaced a single XFX card in the field or family and friends since i started with them accouple years...

Borgauge

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Honestly it depends on what you plan down the road, My best advice is XFX as it has double life time warranty and gives more resale value to you'r card down the road.

I know its neither of the options you were stating but its just my 2 cents hope it helps.
 

karl1234

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i'v read allot of reviews on xfx cards and allot of people seem to have trouble with them. thats why iv been leaning towards these cards. also i run my computer for a very long time when i play these games thats why i was looking for a card that has a good cooling system and runs pretty cool. with that said what xfx card would u recommend?
 

Borgauge

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I've worked on a computer bench for years and now do server work... back in the day i used to replace many MSI cards. But i gotta agree asus is good.

But as for XFX I have seen no issues with them my friend uses a XFX 5850 Black Edition Crossfire rig that is OC'd 24/7 it hasnt skipped a beat.

Also I use XFX in all the computer terminals at job locations becuse of its double lifetime warranty which I dont think MSI or ASUS has which means if you sell the card it still has a warranty.

I have lots of them in the field and recommend XFX to friends and family because like someguynamedmatt hasnt had to replace a MSI product, I havent replaced a single XFX card in the field or family and friends since i started with them accouple years ago.

Also try to pay close attention to the model # of the card you buy like if its a 6850 look for a 685A not 685X the A is a refference card made by ATI/AMD and is a rather impressive thing if you know what to do with it.

Following link is a 6870 (687A) card which is a ATI/AMD reffernce the cooler is quite different and it has unlockable voltage controls etc for over clocking down the road to keep up in power.

my friend has 2 585a's and i gotta admit there amazing and truth be told the first cards from ANY manufacturer are the same they are refference cards. But with XFX the first 3 numbers being your card like 585 685 or 687 etc then its either X or A (X is a card fully done by XFX and A is ATI/AMD)

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=56262&vpn=HD687AZNFC&manufacture=XFX
 
Solution

Borgauge

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The other thing i recommend is looking into MSI Afterburner or RBE or any tool that lets you change your fans and how fast they go at different temps.

With the 5xxx series be it asus msi or XFX or gigabyte they all seem to run rather hot and the fans never seem to get high enough to remove the heat unless you force them into a higher mode or set the fans manually for how fast you want them at different temps.

so no matter what card you card seriously keep an eye on the temps/fan speed.
 

karl1234

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thanks for the replies dude i think i better take a better look at xfx.. what do u think about this card? do u prefer the (x) or (a) cards?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150515

im trying to stay under 200$ if possible or is it worth it to spend a little extra?
 

karl1234

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hey dude thanks for the replay. How come u prefer Msi over xfx or gigabyte?
 

karl1234

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and is this the same card as the one u posted?
http://www.frys.com/product/6439982#detailed
 

Borgauge

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A is a reference card and can overclock its voltage aswell as a few other unique tricks to refference cards some of which i cant mention as they are against forum rules.


Needless to say I love reference cards :) so A wins it for me over X
 

Borgauge

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Bus Type: PCI-E 2.1
GPU Clock: 900 Mhz
Memory Bus: 256
Memory Type: DDR5
Memory Size: 1024 MB
Memory Speed: 4200 Mhz
Thermal Solution: FANSINK
Minimum Power Supply Requirement: 500 Watt w/2 x 6-pin Power Cables
Outputs: DVI, , HDMI, Dual-Link DVI
Card Dimensions: 10.3 x 4.4 x 1.5
Feature: Directx 11 support, DirectCompute 11, Open CL, Eyefinity Technology, Shader Model 5.0, OpenGL 3.2, Windows 7, Mini-DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI 1.4a

Copied the specs off xfxforce.com for you and the Card Dimensions are right there so you can make sure it fits
 

karl1234

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alright thanks allot dude you've been extremely helpful ill take a look in my case and let you know if every thing fits. :bounce: ill get back to u when i can thanks again
 

karl1234

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can i use a 6+2 pin as a 6 pin? because my psu only has one 6 pin and one 6+2 pin and i checked this card out on newegg and it doesnt look like it come with a molax to 6 pin converter =(