Video Card Manufacturers
 

Is there some sort of advantage or disadvantage between getting a video card directly from ATi or getting it from a different manufacturer like ASUS?

It seems to me like if you get it directly from ATi, it seems like a safer way to invest money on an expensive piece of hardware.

no, it's not. both have a warranty. ATI doesn't want to deal with it anymore, that's why they're giving it away.

they're giving it away?? hardly, chipset manufacturers get video card chips to incorperate all the time into their own video cards. asus has been using nvidia and ati for a long time in their video card chipsets.

what do you mean they're givin it away?

i think he means giving the design away

it saves them some money i think by letting other manufacturers to make the cards for them and selling the patends, trademarks, technology, and chips

anyways
both are the same
unless you go for something like the Sapphire ultimate edition which has better cooling
but that can be done with aftermarket mods anyways

ati develops the actual GPU, and within another branch that they have, they make the video card [ including the chipset ] and they sell it as "genuine" ATI.

They also have contracts with other companies like asus, hercules, or whoever that makes their own chipset to run ATI's GPU's.

how does "giving it away" and "not wanting to deal with it anymore" have to do with them subcontracting out their designs? That seems like a big chunk of non-fact driven opinion :(

i was just putting it in very simple terms.. they're changing from just them and sapphire to model nvidia more