Nvidia does all that.... provides the graphics engine for 3rd party card makers, provides mobo chipsets, and even makes their own cards, including for OEM. All of the Nvidia cards I've purchased have come from eBay, so I don't know about retailers. (And, if I were you, I'd have no hesitation at all about buying used or new from eBay. Even if used and you can get the card working properly, it might run for 10 years. I suggest you spend $25-$50 on eBay rather than find one retail for $169.... just make sure the card you buy has the appropriate cables included... one cable separately cost $30 + shipping from PNY. And, I've *never* had a video card fail in more than 20 years of owning PCs.... workstation class cards are designed to be the most reliable, too.) If I didn't get an OEM card, I'd get PNY... that's Nvidia's *primary* partner. Though I've been told all the cards are identical, I try to avoid the ones described as "HP", "IBM", or "Compaq". Here's a typical link I just picked off of eBay... it's for a "new" OEM card, but you can likely get a used one for less if you desire. For your second card, you may find it difficult to get a NVS 280 PCI version... they are not common. However, you should be able to use any Nvidia dualhead which suits your need. If you're going to run VGA, the Nvidia FX5200 PCI will be just fine... just be sure to get a *genuine* FX5200 and not a 3rd-party card.... potential driver conflict. http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Nvidia-Quad...ryZ40161QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
http://techbargains.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=18601600 There is a ten dollar rebate on this card till June 30. Newegg has some reviews: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150147&ATT=14-150-147&CMP=OTC-pr1c3grabb3r You probably need motherboard with two PCI express slots. Probably one of those SLI MB.
Gigabyte, PNY, Asustek, etc. Prices depends on the cooling gig they put on the chip. http://compreviews.about.com/cs/manvideo/
quote from gnome and even makes their own cards Thanks for the link. Here's what I heard from people who make a living building computers: Neither nvidia or ati make consumer cards. Although ATI doesn't make its own cards, they have 3rd party Sapphire make and brand them back. that busts out the distribution into 2 separate groups 1) systems/ software OEMs like HP, DELL and Alienware Corporation as well as hundreds of others, and 2) the retail manufacturers like GIGABYTE, ASUS etc. But, wait, there's a third form of distribution, namely knock offs. Well not quite knock off - just a notch more legal operating as supplier to some big OEM and rights to the chip - what do I know about how they operate! The gamers, as you probably know, are generally the mark for the knock offs since some of those cards can get quite pricey. Generally speaking the retail cards are considered the best as they specialize in their manufacturing process, while the big OEM's are usually inferior (but still reliable) The above is what I have learnt but do not know for a fact since I am not a graphic card analyst, so I defer to you if you have the facts. Question, do the 2 Nvidia Quadro NVS 280 appear to contribute much heat and if you are using a UPS what's it's power? And as a matter of curiosity are your cards OEM and to whom do you turn for driver updates?
Also gnome, I think your suggestion of buying offa ebay is a worthwhile suggestion, there sure is a saving to be made, but I'm not sure about getting into the BIOS if things go wrong. I mean if you really know your way round the the computer it makes a lot of sense. Your experience and success with using ebay purchases is a motivating factor so its worth considering...
I've had the same experience as gnome. Go wtih Nvidia and save yourself headaches. I've also purchase 3rd party ones without any bad experiences.
Not 100% on this, but I think your info about card makers is 180 degrees wrong. ATI and Nvidia make LOTS of consumer cards... under their own brand name. They also provide the graphics engine for LOTS of 3rd-party card makers. You will always get good quality if you buy *genuine* ATI or Nvidia/PNY cards. Nvidia NVS 280s are 64MB, no cheesy fans, no heat problems, approx 20 watts of power consumed. I have OEM NVS 280s and I also use genuine ATI Xpert128 singlehead cards (out of production... last generation graphics engine before Radeon). Drivers... best of all, no drivers to install. The Windows XP PnP library driver for my cards are PERFECT, so I don't install any video drivers. You can of course do so for the bells and whistles, but they are not necessary. The universal driver from Nvidia website is the correct one.
I think you guys can end this going back and forth with whether ATi or Nvidia makes their own cards under their own name by providing a URL of some sort .
Or, you could (a) to to a computer store and look for "ATI Radeon" brand. They're everywhere. They are the *genuine* ATI cards. (You'll also find 3rd-party cards like "Sapphire Radeon", which will claim "powered by ATI Radeon".) Also, (b) do some eBay searches. Sheesh! Let me say again for those who missed it..... 1. If you're using only one video card, any (including 3rd-party cards) will be just fine. 2. If you're using a multi-video card setup, it is *strongly* suggested that all 3rd-party cards be avoided due to video driver conflicts. (And though someone is sure to chime in with something like, "My Diamond S60 works just fine with my Radeon X300", that would be the exception rather than the rule.) 3. I've done dozens of multi-card setups, but if think I'm full of it go ahead and try installing a 3rd-party card in a dualcard setup. Maybe you'll be lucky.... and please, use your only hard drive for that gambler's rush.
It's very possible that your experience is based on old workstation cards. For the newer gaming cards, in recent years, 3rd party cards are OK . I would usually go to NVidia or ATi website and download the driver there anyways. They work just fine.