Reputable Computer Parts Manufacturers...

[xequence]

What manufacturers of computer parts make are good and high quality? Like RAM, Hard drive, processor (AMD vs Intel basically ;)), graphics card, sound card, etc.

And I look in the futureshop flyer and see a whole bunch of graphics card maufacturers but they were ATI Radeon... Like one was "Diamond ATI Radeon" with diamond being a company, with a logo in the left.
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10061206&catid=18

But then there are just some that are normal ATI ones...

And also, what companies (not parts, but whole computers) are good? Like HP, Dell, etc.

[WildTangent]

ATI and nvidia for the most part, don't actually manufacture the cards, basically just the GPU. Companies like BFG, Leadtek, Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, Saphire, Powercolor, etc. make the cards, and brand them with their own logo.

As for good computer companies, I think HP/Compaq is good, but like most OEMs, their bundled crapware is annoying. MDG in Canada isn't too bad either. For parts manufacturers...wow, what a list. I'll just list companies I myself have bought from, and gotten good products. Asus, Powercolor, AMD :D , Kingston, Soundblaster, Western Digital, Maxtor, LG, Sony...those are the main ones I suppose. One to look out for: MSI. I have an MSI motherboard, and I hate it! It may not be true for all of their products, but mine has zero overclocking ability, and it didn't even come with extras like SATA cables, and power adapters, or rear slot mounts for the USB and firewire headers.

-Wild

[xequence]

ATI and nvidia don't actually manufacture the cards, basically just the GPU. Companies like BFG, Leadtek, Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, Saphire, Powercolor, etc. make the cards, and brand them with their own logo.

-Wild

Is there any difference between lets say... Two cards with 128 MB RAM and the same ATI GPU, one made by Asus and one made by Gigabyte? Or any other ones you listed, or didnt list?

[WildTangent]

Is there any difference between lets say... Two cards with 128 MB RAM and the same ATI GPU, one made by Asus and one made by Gigabyte? Or any other ones you listed, or didnt list?
Not really, they all use the same hardware and drivers. The only difference would be the stuff they bundle with the cards, like games, and adapters. Some companies, like BFG overclock their cards, and cover their overclocking under the warranty. BFG even gives you a lifetime warranty!

-Wild

[mstlyevil]

Is there any difference between lets say... Two cards with 128 MB RAM and the same ATI GPU, one made by Asus and one made by Gigabyte? Or any other ones you listed, or didnt list?

Yes and no to that answer. ATI and Nvidia both have a minimum set of requirements that manufactuers must adhere to to qualify for a product rating. Now the bells and whistles and the quality of the rest of the parts may vary from one manufactuer to another. Some cards like lets say the 6600GT may have something like OC added meaning that the card was Overclocked at the factory and is covered by a warranty at the factory overclocked speeds. Things like heat sinks and fans are different and memory on the cards may say 128 but may still perform different depending on the manufactuer. The best thing to do before buying is Googling different manufactuers cards and seeing how they performed on the benchmarks. If that is too much for you, then stick with someone like EVGA or Gigabyte because they have a reputation for having very good cards.

[xequence]

Thanks :) I am thinking of making my next computer from a barebone system. I want it to be able to play UT2004 for SURE. If its too slow under cedega ill just play it in windows.