Should I buy ATI or Sapphire X1800XL?

  • Thread starter Thread starter RTusk
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RTusk

I'm interested and ready to fork out for a X1800XL PCI-E card. Should I buy
the "ATI" or "Sapphire" version? They are both comparable in price in my
area. The cooling method appears to differ some between the two brands. Any
thoughts, experiences or advice on the subject would be appreciated. Thanks.

Rick
(e-mail address removed)
 
I'm interested and ready to fork out for a X1800XL PCI-E card. Should I buy
the "ATI" or "Sapphire" version? They are both comparable in price in my
area. The cooling method appears to differ some between the two brands. Any
thoughts, experiences or advice on the subject would be appreciated. Thanks.

Rick
(e-mail address removed)
Click to expand...

I would look up reviews for both and buy the one with the quieter
cooling solution. Both cards will perform the same. I bought an ATI
X800XL and the HSF was too noisy for my tastes so had to spend $40.00
CAD to buy a Zalman VGA cooler to put on it. Next video card I'm
buying I will look for one with a quiet VGA cooler already on it even
if it costs a bit more.
 
Sapphire is a solid company,with good products,so chances are you get a
silent fan on your card from them.
Some companies use slower ram on the pcb,and some put faster or better ram
on it.
This usually shows in the pricing,although some brands deliver top quality
at a low price also.
I got a sapphire and I'm pretty pleased with it.
But I second the option to compare web reviews of both brands.
 
Sapphire cards carry a two-year warranty. ATi offers only one year.
Something to consider since the X1800XL costs quite a bit of money.

Some ATi-branded cards are actually built by Sapphire's parent company,
PCPartner. The two companies have a close working relationship.
 
I ended up picking up the ATI version which was $65 less than Sapphire's. It
didn't come with any games but that's just fine with me. I never end up
playing the bundled games anyway. The fan is quite loud when I play
F.E.A.R.. I think I'll probably put a Zalman cooler on it once I'm done
testing the card and have decided to keep it.

Thanks to all who replied to my question.

Rick
(e-mail address removed)
 
The ATi version priced for less? Then it should be a no-brainer. $65 is more
than what a bundled game would cost anyway.
 
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