Posted by lightspeed on February 20, 2002 at 08:40:39:
In Reply to: Well, crap posted by Jonathan the Red on February 19, 2002 at 13:34:37:
Fraudulent may be a strong word, but many of the sellers, including the one I purchased from, appear to have had complaints in the past. If they advertise it as an "ATI card" it is misleading at best - it's an ATI chipset on a different manufacturer's card. They DO know the difference, but never clearly indicate it as such as fewer people would buy the product.
Anyway, you have point re: nVidia - however, this has always been their go-to-market approach, as they manufacture the chipsets only. Some nVidia cards (ASUS, Leadtek, etc) are better than others. Aside from the chipset, the actual card manufacturer has a lot of leeway in the other parts they use. That's why TV-out on some nVidia cards is exceptional, while it's mediocre on others.
At any rate, I wish you luck. The S-video out on the card I purchased was DOA, and I hassled the seller to refund my money because of the fact that it wasn't an "ATI card" as stated. He eventually relented, but I'm having to pay the shipping to/from. Needless to say, I'm pissed. The whole idea of getting an ATI manufactured card was because I wanted ATI's tv-out capabilities, not that of another manufacturer. Bit, who knows - maybe your card will be exceptional in this area.
: : oof- check out an article I posted earlier (Video Card Fraud). A lot of ebayers are advertising ATI cards, when in fact they are selling other cards based on the ATI Radeon chipset. Be sure you're getting a card manufactured by ATI, not some second rate rip-off based on the chipset. The TV out may not be as good for one, and they rarely support the drivers otherwise.
: The card I have purchased (still haven't picked it up, will do so later today) is indeed "Powered by ATI". I certainly wouldn't describe the auction as fraudulent, though... nowhere in the auction did the seller state that ATI was the card's manufacturer and "Powered by ATI" is clearly visible in the photograph.
: I'll cross my fingers and hope for the best. I've had decent luck with third party manufacturers in the past. (After all, nVidia makes the best video chipsets in the market, and their cards are all manufactured by third parties).