| Industry | Computer hardware |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1984 |
| Headquarters | Taipei (Taiwan) Headquarter. European HQ in Munich Germany. |
| Products | Video cards |
| Employees | 20 (European HQ) |
| Parent | Palit Microsystems |
| Website | www.gainward.com |
Gainward is a computer hardware company which produces video cards. Their graphic cards used to be exclusively based on Nvidia chipsets; however, the company also announced ATI-based graphics solutions after the successful launch of ATI 4800-series hardware,[1] although Gainward does not currently produce any cards from the ATI Radeon range. Gainward products are famous for their overclockability . The company has also released cards that deviate from the reference specifications set forth by Nvidia.
Gainward is well-known for their Golden Sample range of graphics cards. These cards are overclocked past their stock speeds and tested before they are sold, to ensure quality for customers. Current examples of Golden Sample cards are; Nvidia GTS 450, GTX 460 and GTX 470. At one stage Golden Sample cards came with a game voucher that let the customer choose one game as an online download. Current cards come prepackaged with a game.
There was a gap in which the company did not produce any new products, but resumed manufacturing with the Nvidia 8800 GTS series which brought them back up to date with other companies such as Gigabyte and PNY Technologies.
Known series of Gainward video boards utilizing Nvidia GPUs include CARDEXpert (RIVA 128 through GeForce 2), PowerPack! (GeForce 3 through GeForce 6), and BLISS (GeForce 7 through GeForce 9).