6800gt Video Card

[CADMAN]

Hi, new guy on the block. Question? I'm in the process of building my first comp. I'm thinking about purchasing a 6800gt video card either BFG or PNY. Any suggestions on which one to get. Is this card any good? What are the pros and cons. I plan on usinG this computer for video & photo editing, gaming, etc. Any advise would greatly be appreciated. Here is my list of componets that i intend to get.

gigabyte GA-7N400PR02
AMD +3000 CPU
512 MB MEMORY
(1)60GB HD
(2)300GB HD
300W PWR
SONY DVD R

[Moose on the Loose]

You seem to be overlooking the power supply. They are one of the most important parts of your computer, both brand and wattage are important.

Now, for a 6800GT you will need at least a QUALITY 350W PSU. I've seen people run it on 350W PSU's, but you might want to get around 400 Watts to be on the safe side. Next, you need to buy it from a reputable manufacturer. There is a list of good PSU's in the PSU FAQ thread. Good brands include Fortron Source/Sparkle, Enermax, Thermaltake, Enlight, Antec, Tagan, OCZ, and many others.

About the 6800GT : its a nice higher end card, best bang for buck in the 400 dollars price range.

Oh, and welcome to PCMech :)

[shadowbreaker513]

Definatly go with BFG. Has a minor stock overclock, and a lifetime warrenty. One thing you may want to consider though, is upping to a gig of RAM. 6800GT tears through RAM and needs all you can get.

[Yuanji]

If you are getting PCI Express, the X800XL is also a possible contender. It performs roughly equal to the 6800GT and you can pick one up for around 300 dollars at compusa. Out of the 2 brands, i'd pick BFG. I've heard PNY is pretty shady about support. you should look into a quality PSU as others have stated. an enlight 420 or a thermaltake 420 is pretty much the best bang for ur buck PSU now

[glc]

Another good brand is eVGA. I hear that they are closest to Nvidia's reference design.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-130-203&depa=0

It's not going to survive on a 300w power supply. Think 420.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-153-006&depa=0

[Odysseus]

I wouldn't make your judgement between the BFG and the PNY purely on the stock overclock of the BFG. It is not much of an overclock and usually higher priced. There is a list of good manufacturers somewhere in the forum, If I remember correclty both brands are listed as being good. But you will always here bad and good about both. If the price is better on the PNY choose that one and overclock it yourself (Nvidia drivers have Coolbits, a hidden OC'ing option).

[Yuanji]

BFG's warranty covers OCing though IIRC

[Odysseus]

Here is the link to the Manufacturers referance in the forums.
http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=114081

I was wrong, BFG is listed as Problematic/unstable and not in the same category as PNY.

I went with the PNY. I have not had one problem with it, a great card in my opinion.

[fedz]

I'd disagree with that problematic/unstable thing - but nvm.
Never heard of problems with BFG cards
There's a couple of good 420W - 480W thermaltake PSU's on Newegg at the moment. They'll do fine

:) fedz

[CADMAN]

I want to thank each of you for advise. I also have read the manufactures reference showthread. I hate the idea of spending $400 on a graphics card and a couple of months later it decides not to work like it's suppose to. I guess like anything else, you buy it and hope that it works. Again, i thank everyone for their help. Time to head over to the software section for advise on cd/dvd burning.