Which 8800GT 512MB would you choose?

Hello, I am trying to decide between 2 different makes of the 8800GT 512MB.

Gigabyte - $222 http://www.giga-byte.com/Products/ [...] uctID=2720

GF 8800GT 512MB DDR3 700MHZ PCIe x16/ NVIDIA/ 512 MB/ DDR3/ 256 Bit/ GPU-Takt: 700 MHz/ Speichertakt: 1900 MHz/ Anschlüsse: Dual Dual-Link DVI-I HDTV-Out, Game: NeverWinterNight2, PCI-E 2.0 DX10, Zalman Lüfter/ Kühlung: aktiv/ Verpackung: Retail Win 98/2

Asus - $243 http://www.asus.com/products.aspx? [...] odelmenu=1

EN8800GT/G/HTDP/512M PCIe x16/ NVIDIA/ GeForce 8800GT/ 512 MB/ DDR3/ 256 Bit/ GPU-Takt: 600 MHz/ Speichertakt: 1800 MHz/ Anschlüsse: HDTV-Out, 2x DVI/ Features: OpenGL, HDCP, DirectX10/ Kühlung: aktiv/ Verpackung: Retail MPF ML

Which card in your opinion will perform better? The gigabyte seems to be OC'd from the description from the site I would be buying it from. By buying pre OC'd does that enable the card to reach speeds unatainable by the Asus? Any reason to pick one over the other on specs alone? Thanks for your help!

Thank you for replying. I live in Switzerland and newegg isn't an option for me. I would also go with an EVGA but that card is $295 swiss francs. The swiss franc is even stronger than the dollar at the moment so that card is more than $100 more here. My 2 options are the cards I listed above. I was more questioning which of these 2 brands would be best. Would there be a reason to OC the gigabyte card since it is already OC'd? Thanks again.

Did you not read where he said he doesn't pay these prices since he isn't from the states?

Thank you for your reply Ajonesfan. I live in switzerland. The prices here are for the most part nothing similiar to the US. The cheapest 8800GTS 512MB card I can get here is the PNY for $296. The EVGA 8800GTS 512MB isn't even available to be purchased. And this is looking at around 30+ companies.

So again, unfortunately my options are limited to the 2 cards referenced in my original post. Can anyone shed some light onto those 2 cards specifically to help me out?

That Gigabyte looks cool and it seems to come with a better cooler than the reference design. I would jump on that one. Cards are more resistant to overclocking today then they were in the past so there is not much need of worry when OCing GFX, unless using voltmod.

How's this for a price after rebate
http://www.microcenter.com/single_ [...] id=0278659
and i caught that you are from Switzerland so forget about this one too

how many times does it have to be reiterated that he's in switzerland?

go for Gigabyte... asus tends to be overpriced...

oh. cool... well, enjoy

post if you have any issues

I'm talkin about warranty. They might have the same chips but they use different coolers and thermal paste. I had 2 Galaxy Video Cards that had only 1 year manufacture warranty. While my BFgs have Lifetime. They Are build using the same components but tested and sold differently. Why else do you think they cost so much?

Maybe take a look to EVGA 512MB 8800GT Akimbo SC PCIe.

Better cooler, but 2slot
Less noise

http://www.ebug-europe.co (Germany)

cheers

Where did you guys find out that Gigabyte has a 3 year warranty? No warranty info is listed on their web page.

If your jus buying a card jus to run under stock lvls and upgrade alot , there's no point paying a extra 50 bucks (or more) jus for more years to warranty and a fancier cooler, i got a Zotac 8800 gt for 100 bucks cheaper then a evga/xfx made card , i paid 25 bucks for a Artic Cooling Accelro S2 and my "cheap" card runs like a champ at 50mhz over the factory OC.

But like i said it depends , if you want to plug it in as is , and jus leave it be , go for the best warranty for the least amount of cash , i never believe in buying a brand name jus for the sake of the "name".IMO Gigabyte was a good purchase as the zalman cooler will be quieter and cooler then the stock reference design.