8800GTS - which brand?

[Herminator]

I'm considering buying a 8800GTS whilst I'm out here in the US but I'd like to know if there are any manufacturers to avoid in terms of poor service for rma's.
I know I'll have the problem of having to send it across seas, but thats not so much a problem for me, I'll have a permanent address available here.

There are several cards in a reasonable price bracket so which would you go for?
BFG - I feel I could trust, free T-shirt...
MSI - comes with Serious Sam 2 which I'd probably never install
EVGA - running at 576/1700 for a few quid more than all the others, doubt I'd use the step up program since I won't be here and nothing better should be out from NVidia (not going Ati for 3DS Max reasons)
XFX - can get a free XFX headset but paying slightly more than the last three anyway
Foxconn - somehow their name puts me off, although the GTS is rated running at 575/1800 and comes with a naff looking controll pad.
PNY - nothing to make it stand out just one of the cheapest
Leadtek - drawn to them slightly due to price and slightly different heatsink cover

The last three are slightly cheaper but not by enough to worry me much, I'd rather pay £10-15 more for good reliable service.

Other brands are available but they're overpriced, I'd go for the Asus if it was slightly cheaper, simply because it's got GRAW with it.

Anyone got any horror stories to put me off?

 

[MeatLoaf]

To be honest mate id get whichevers cheapest.

Not sure how youd stand with warranty tho with buying it from the states

 

[paniK]

I'm in a small predicament too with all these brands. There's one that you haven't mentioned there on your list which is XpertVision.

Anyone know anything about this company? Good cards or cheap nasty ones

 

[Herminator]

Never heard of XpertVision, it's not on the list at the shop I was looking at.

Half the reason I'm upgrading is because my 7800gt is just too noisey and I hear the 8800's are nice and quiet. I might aswell sell my 7800gt for whatever I can get for it and buy a 8800GTS for a little under £200, rather than spend £20 just to quieten the 7800GT and see no actual gain for it and still want to upgrade in six months time. The 8800GTS should last me atleast a year.
I'll go for the Leadtek as long as the slightly different plastic cover creates an annoying noise.

Warranty will be ok as long as I wait until I get the card back to the US address and complain from there.
I'll test the card before I leave for the UK aswell, so if it's DOA I'll return it imediatly.

 

[Darkwave]

As far as I know, the standard EVGA model is actually the cheapest over there, so I would go for that one.

 

[paniK]

i was actually looking to get a 7600GT, i take it the 7800GT must be better. How much were you thinking of selling for, I may be interested

i've just seen its spec core speed: 400MHz and mem speed: 1GHz

7600GT spec: core speed: 560MHz and mem speed 1.4GHz

so on that front i take it its not as good as the 7600

 

[Herminator]

Not allowed to sell it here outside of the members market.
I'm not far away from being able to post there but it seems you've got a couple hundred posts to go

As for performance, there's a usefull comparison chart on Tom's Hardware, can't post a link because it contains competitor links but you should be able to find it.
The 7800GT and 7600GT perform much like thier names would suggest, the 7800 is a bit faster.

 

[paniK]

i know which link you mean, i've seen it before. Oh well, I've got my eye on a few of the 7600GT range primarily on BFG, XpertVision, XFX and standard Nvidia. Whichever is cheapest i reckon im going to get but if its for the sake of £5 or something i'll just get the BFG off OcUK here