The first thing that should be said in any roundup of GeForce 7800 GTX video cards is that these cards are all essentially the same thing. NVIDIA doesn't just design the GPU; they create a reference design for the whole card, memory and all. NVIDIA's board partners then manufacture those boards according to NVIDIA's specification, usually with very little deviation from the original design. Outside of a few minor differences like the stickers on their coolers, the three brands of boards we're reviewing here today are virtually indistinguishable unless you examine them side by side.
Upon closer inspection, there are some minor differences. The hue of the green dye used to color the PCBs varies slightly from one board to the next. The XFX and BFG boards are made in China, while MSI's are made in Taiwan. But the more important things, like the size, type, placement, and brand of components on each card, don't differ. Even the coolers on all three brands of cards are the same.
What that means is that these products have to compete with one another on the basis of things other than the basic card design. Buy any decent brand of GeForce 7800 GTX, and you're getting essentially the same board. The differences between the products come in the form of warranties, default clock speeds, bundled extras, and the like.
Amazingly enough, once you start doing the math with that assumption in mind, picking out GeForce 7800 GTX cards probably gets harder, not easier. Fortunately, that's true in large part because all three of the brands we're examining today are good choices.
