Conclusion

Although there is a clear performance leader in today’s comparison, things are not so clear cut when we consider the whole package provided by XFX and BFG.

Looking at the BFG “OC” solution first, the card clocks are certainly nothing out of the ordinary and the bundle is less than stellar. These shortcomings are somewhat negated by the fact that BFG’s warranty and support is first class. For general support queries there is a toll free (USA and Canada) number and this is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and should anything major go wrong with the card it is covered by a lifetime warranty. This is sure to reassure a potential buyer and earns BFG some major bonus points.

Looking at the overall bundle from XFX we have the fastest GTS 320Mb we have seen to date. In addition to this we have one of the best free games to be bundled with a card in a long time, (Ghost Recon) however the warranty offered on the XFX card is 2 years, a long way short of BFG’s lifetime cover and phone support outside the USA can be costly. UK customers for example are charged at 60p a minute which we feel is perhaps a little expensive, especially when you take into consideration the price of the card in the first place.

Therefore when making a decision on which card to purchase the choice boils down to whether better support/warranty and a small saving in cost from BFG(£35) is more important than the raw speed and Ghost Recon that XFX offer. What would we do? Well for us it would have to be the added benefit of enhanced frame rates which the XFX offers, however if you are concerned with holding onto the card for more than 2 years then the BFG option might prove the better choice. It would be safe to say that both XFX and BFG’s GTS cards will deliver stellar DX9/10 gaming at a very reasonable price.

BFG 8800GTS OC £199 OCUK / $309 NEWEGG What do these awards mean?

XFX 8800GTS XXX £235 SCAN / $339 NEWEGG What do these awards mean?