Does brand name matter?

If you were to pick up an ATI Radeon 9800 videocard, does the brand name matter?
There are several 9800 videocards to choose from at newegg.

 

Not anymore. Sapphire is probably the most preferred non-ATi brand, but with most cards being built on the ATi reference design, go for the cheapest. Just make sure to go for the PRO, not the PRO EZ that a couple companies are putting out.

 

i wish that were the same for RAM and PSUs.

 

Also, get a 256-bit card, not the 128-bit one, which Sapphire makes.

 

I would just avoid PNY for... well, just about everything they make!

 

Thanks for the tip. The brand ATI costs much higher than the other brands for the 9800 card.

 

Yes. PNY is utter crap. You pay about the same for some Kingston ValuRAM, but unlike PNY stuff, Kingston actually makes RAM that's worth the materials.

 

I have a Sapphire Radeon 9800 pro, and very happy with it. Besides, ATI is usually more expensive, just because of the name.

 

Buying an ATI guarantees you that the card was built to specs. They make the best ATI cards, period.

 

As long as ATi doesn't try the 3dfx move to do it all themselves (be the only producer of Radeon video cards), they'll do fine even if people don't buy their cards.