Graphics Cards

Lycanthrope

Lycanthrope

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Afternoon all,

I was just wondering what your opinion is of Leadtek?

Their website scares me, their grammar/spelling scares me, and their scary excuse of a scary manual with all of the above horrors repeated scares me. I consider it unprofessional and.... heh... scary :p

I've had one graphics card from them a couple of decades ago and... euw.

Now, out of curiosity... Have they changed? I did a search for them and turned up a few minor complaints but a lot of praise for their TV tuners and acclaim that they are "great" at graphics cards but "****" at motherboards. I didn't even know they came anywhere near motherboards.

Regardless... I'm considering getting another graphics card, specifically the GTX 260, which it seems I can get from Take2 for approximately R3,200. Then there's Landmark PC which has an eVGA version for R3,700. However, another site - Dynax - has a BFG for R4,100.

I don't like Leadtek from previous experience... Not to mention their PR does little to renege these feelings. I've heard good things of eVGA, so a couple of bucks extra for an eVGA isn't such a big problem. But if I'm going that far, I might as well save a little more for the BFG version which is overclocked and carries the best warranty in the business....

But I have the money "now" for the Leadtek...

HELP!!!!!!
 
Leadtek used to kick the competition's rear with their Geforce 4 range (a long time ago).

I'd say it's a good brand, but if you were wondering, I'd say Gigabyte, MSI and Asus(now that's a suck of a website) are all good brands. This is my opinion though.

We have a Gigabyte Geforce 6600 that is sitting in a dust filled case and the pc is running all day, every day, except if there's a storm :p so it should tell how much punishment it can take.

Other than that, I've heard that eVGA is a good brand and that Saphire is a bunch of rubbish.

I'd say go for the Leadtek though, nothing to tell me that it won't be a cool card ;)
 
Thanks, tera :)

I'm quite partial to MSI and Asus, personally. I love Asus & Gigabyte motherboards :) MSI, Asus and BFG have the best graphics cards, in my experience. I haven't tried anything from XFX yet though. Asus usually gets my vote in any coin-toss situation.

I'll give it a few more days of arguing with myself before I settle for the Leadtek. It's just that if I get the Leadtek, I can also afford a 4GB set of RAM without having to wait for le moneh to come in :) But then, for a few bucks more I can get an overclocked version of the 260... So... it's driving me nuts :p

I thought Sapphire was mostly an ATi/AMD manufacturer? But yes... icky pooh :p
 
Rofl :p

Anyway. If it wasn't for Asus' poor site (I haven't checked it recently) I would probably also be a fan. But just getting a BIOS update for a motherboard or reading a KB or FAQ on an issue used to drive me nuts.

I haven't personally bought MSI, but I love that out of most manufacturers, I've heard the least problems with their hardware ;)
 
I’ve had some XFX cards, and they do ok, they only sucked if the original architecture also sucked, like with the 5200’s. Running a XFX 8600GT XXX edition ATM and it’s a good card IMO.
 
Just checked Asus' site. If it didn't suck into infinity I would probably buy one of their products. Freaking 3 years I've moaned about it :sick: :p
 
Really? I've heard otherwise of MSI. I hear that overclocking - especially on motherbards - was painful and unstable. If I recall correctly, the P7N Diamond was criticised greatly for that, yet otherwise it was/is a fantastic motherboard and includes an X-FI sound card - it was one of the boards I was considering for my computer at the end of last year :)

As for Asus, their site has its moments. It hates Firefox... Getting updates though has been a breeze for me and I like that everything is easy (well, usually) to find and categorised. But it can be a painful process to get it to do what you want when its having an off day :p Asus is the one manufacturer that I've never had a failing with and their products - even the software that they supply with their products - have always been high quality.

I suppose I'm not that great a judge though since I've only recently been using them, so, take what I say with a bucket of salt. I've had a DVD-RW, two motherboards, two graphics cards and a little wifi dongle by them :) But so far, it's all been good.

Damnit... I think I just realised I'm an Asus fanboi...
 
teraside said:
Just checked Asus' site. If it didn't suck into infinity I would probably buy one of their products. Freaking 3 years I've moaned about it :sick: :p
Click to expand...

lol :D :D :D

I think some manufacturers don't feel the need to indulge in their websites. I don't think they realise how much an ugly/bad website costs them in the end.

The way you view Asus is the way I view Leadtek right now. The site is what bugs me the most. *cough* And the 260's box is orange.... ORANGE!!!!
 
DDV TECH said:
I’ve had some XFX cards, and they do ok, they only sucked if the original architecture also sucked, like with the 5200’s. Running a XFX 8600GT XXX edition ATM and it’s a good card IMO.
Click to expand...

Oops... Sorry, I didn't see your post. *slaps head*

One thing that I like about XFX is... It's green :D I love green :D If I ever have the money, I'd like to get an XFX board and card, if for no other reason than its pure greenness :D Black & green = best colour combination ever :p

From a review I read about the 260 made by Leadtek, it seems Leadtek kept the exact architecture, so that makes me feel a lot better. They also rated the card fairly well, so that also earns it browny points in my book.

But for the love of all that is holy... an ORANGE BOX??? Sheesh... So much for me putting out on display for a while... It's going straight into the back of the cupboard if I get it -.-'
 
These brands hardly matter, Nvidia make all of the chipsets and the memory is all standard. Afaik the actual boards are even the same, so the brands do very little and there will be no real difference in the card.

The warranties that these companies have don't usually apply in SA. You'll get standard 1-3 years which is enough in any case. Definitely go for the Leadtek because it's cheapest and the card will be the same as the others.
 
Thanks, Ekhaatvensters :)

The reason I was thinking more toward the eVGA was since it's more renowned than Leadtek - at least to my knowledge. And if I was going to fork out that much for an eVGA, it's difficult not to want to go for the BFG - which is an enthusiast manufacturer that overclocks their cards and still provide a warranty.

I just hurt my head too much sometimes :(
 
All those brands have documentation that is full of scary spelling and grammar....its hardly a yardstick.
 
I agree, like I said, if the original architecture sucks, so will the card, regardless of the brand, most of the “top” manufacturers will only beat the cheapies with what’s in the bundle, not the quality of the actual card.
 
HavocXphere said:
All those brands have documentation that is full of scary spelling and grammar....its hardly a yardstick.
Click to expand...

It is when I'm on the verge of paying them for abusing the written word. I just find it difficult to believe that companies - professional companies - get away with, "Broad Layout" & "drviers" and not a single person pops around with enough pride to just fix it. It makes their company look... either lazy or just plain blind!

DDV TECH said:
I agree, like I said, if the original architecture sucks, so will the card, regardless of the brand, most of the “top” manufacturers will only beat the cheapies with what’s in the bundle, not the quality of the actual card.
Click to expand...

That's true, I guess... It's just.... *cries* I feel like I'm lowering my standards -.-'

Did I mention the orange box?????
 
My 7900GTX is an XFX card I got a couple years ago. Very nice card.
 
I find that these days, graphics cards are much of a muchness... Depending on the specific card, that is. I know of many that have been (and still are) extremely happy with Biostar
 
Pooky said:
My 7900GTX is an XFX card I got a couple years ago. Very nice card.
Click to expand...

I have no idea what to say. *thinks* GREEN AND BLACK FTW!!!! :D

sn3rd said:
I find that these days, graphics cards are much of a muchness... Depending on the specific card, that is. I know of many that have been (and still are) extremely happy with Biostar
Click to expand...

*nod* I like having choice although sometimes it gets a bit confusing :) I've never heard of Biostar before though.
 
Just got my new Xfx 9600 GT, Damn just need to get a better power supply!
 
Leadtek is a Taiwanese company iirc so hardly surprising that grammar is terrible. My Leadtek WinFast TV2000XP Tv Card has lasted me for what must be close to 5 years with great result. So they have built a base for me to have some trust in them.
 
milomak said:
Leadtek is a Taiwanese company iirc so hardly surprising that grammar is terrible. My Leadtek WinFast TV2000XP Tv Card has lasted me for what must be close to 5 years with great result. So they have built a base for me to have some trust in them.
Click to expand...

*nod* As I said - a quick search revealed they're apparently great for graphics cards, TV cards and all that, but that they're poor when it comes to motherboards. So I'm fine for giving them a shot :) Thank you, milomak :)
 
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