The only dicernable difference to me is the clock speeds, but isn't that something you can tweak yourself? Why do they charge 3 different prices for what look to be three of the same card?
In general I would say the price is related to the factory OC that they are putting on the card. Most people on this forum would probably spend their $ on the cheapest one and OC it themselves, thus saving $55 after the MIR.
Yup, only difference is the clock speeds. Which technically speaking you can do yourself, and in theory save money. But for some, they pay more for higher speeds that are guaranteed. I for one, spent less on a Foxconn 8800GTX OC, and got higher clocks than other brands 8800GTX, such as eVGA, and their clock speeds were lower. So it really varies some of the time, really depends on the manufacturer and how much their willing to clock and than sell at.
If you're going NVIDIA though, I highly recommend Foxconn. The 8800GTX OC from them will be my second product from them, currently I'm using a 7900GS OC. Plus more often than not they come with rebates, and are generally cheaper anyhow. But, brands liek eVGA offer a step-up program, and have the proven reliability and customer service that so many people have come to know. Basically, this is one of those, "pick your poison' scenarios...no matter what card you end up getting you'll get reliability and a great card. So feel confident within that aspect.
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Reply to justinmcg67
Is there any truth to the theory that factory o'cd cards have the better quality chips on them? (for the manufacturer's sake regarding warranty issues).
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Reply to kpo6969
The 3rd card has the EVGA ASC3 cooling on it, it should run a bit cooler with the better cooler on it, and could potentially be quieter, but I haven't read a review of the noise on the ACS3 cooling.
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