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Thordrune
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join:2005-08-03
Lakeport, CA

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Re: XFX launches custom-cooled R9 290 and 290X

For Nvidia, I always pick EVGA. I've purchased many of their cards over the years, all of them still work perfectly. For AMD, I usually pick Sapphire.

El Quintron
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Tronna

El Quintron

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said by Thordrune:

For Nvidia, I always pick EVGA.

+2 or 3 or wherever we're at.

I've always had great service from EVGA, I had to RMA my old 560ti and their service was excellent, I've been sold on them ever since. My EVGA 9800+ before it was flawless, and so are my current 670s all EVGA.

My only AMD card has been my MSI r7970 Lightening, and it runs great, if somewhat hot but no complaints after a year.

EQ
me1212
join:2008-11-20
Lees Summit, MO
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said by Thordrune:

For Nvidia, I always pick EVGA. ... For AMD, I usually pick Sapphire.

+whatever number we are at now. Personally my favorite gpu manufacturers for the respective brands.

Although after having this gigabyte 7950 I could be persuaded to get another gigabyte were the price once again right.

Krisnatharok
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join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok

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It's definitely insightful getting everyone's opinions on the major brands. For me it's:

EVGA: had a couple of their cards flake out (bad DX11 implementation and/or too low gpu core voltage) but their customer service is fantastic, A+++.
Sapphire: Owned multiple AMD GPUs from them. Customer service was perfect the one time I had to RMA a 4870. My two 7970s OC very well.
XFX: Heard horror stories about corner-cutting and customer service, despite their "double life time" warranty.
Gigabyte: Heard a lot of good about both their GPUs and mobos. Windforce looks badass. Hope to use them next time around for a mobo.
MSI: Would avoid because I had one of their mobos blow up on me and kill multiple components. No comment on GPUs.
Powercolor: They've had some innovative dual-BIOS options on their GPUs.
Asus: Industry standard for some reason. Looks like a solid pick but I've had a horrible experience with the QC on the Maximus V Formula mobo, although customer service was decent.
Diamond: -
Club3D: -
Sparkle/PNY/Galaxy: I see this overpriced crap in Best Buy, hence I tend to avoid.

El Quintron
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said by Krisnatharok:

Sparkle/PNY/Galaxy: I see this overpriced crap in Best Buy, hence I tend to avoid.

Which is pretty disappointing because that stuff is usually reasonably priced at real computer stores... I think the real culprit regarding the price of these GPUs is Best Buy because it's only non-prebuilt PC component they offer.

EQ

Krisnatharok
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join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok

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That's true. The coolers look like shit though.

I forgot to add Zotac. I have one 570 running in my BIL's rig, and I've heard fantastic things about their dedication to the enthusiast community. I'd put them up right under EVGA.

El Quintron
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said by Krisnatharok:


I forgot to add Zotac. I have one 570 running in my BIL's rig, and I've heard fantastic things about their dedication to the enthusiast community. I'd put them up right under EVGA.

That's great to know, I've always liked their cards but didn't know anything about their reputation, not to mention they're pretty discounted versus other cards in Canada.

EQ
Thordrune
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join:2005-08-03
Lakeport, CA

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I completely forgot my one RMA story with EVGA. I bought a 7800 GTX from them in 2005, right after launch. I watercooled it a couple of years later and all went well for a few months, then it started artifacting all over the place (from what I could tell, bad RAM or cold solder joint).

I contacted them to ask if I could still RMA. They said the warranty was still valid if there was no physical damage/alterations to the video card and I installed the stock cooling before sending it in, which I did. I got the replacement a couple of weeks later, which worked perfectly. I got a good deal on a Radeon X1900XT in the meantime though (one of my all-time favorite cards, RIP), so I gave it to a coworker.

As for MSI video cards, I bought a Radeon HD 6970 of theirs back in 2011. It ran for about a year before one of the VRMs died. The first RMA resulted in a card with a rather severe fan speed issue. The second RMA had a thermal pad and paste on the GPU, which caused it to nearly hit 100 C with light load. I fixed that one myself and sold the card.

El Quintron
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said by Thordrune:

I got a good deal on a Radeon X1900XT in the meantime

A guy I game with was rocking that very card for about 5 years, sounds like it was a good deal.
Thordrune
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join:2005-08-03
Lakeport, CA

Thordrune

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It was one of those cards that comes along every so often that's almost ahead of its time from being so good. I wasn't expecting it to be much faster than the 7800, but it completely wiped the floor with it in the games I played at the time, BioShock especially - I went from 20-30 FPS on medium-high to 40-60 at max settings. The abundance of shaders made it last quite a long time.
me1212
join:2008-11-20
Lees Summit, MO
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said by Krisnatharok:

Gigabyte: Heard a lot of good about both their GPUs and mobos. Windforce looks badass. Hope to use them next time around for a mobo.

Looks and preforms badass. I've overvolted and overclocked my current card more than I have any other card I've used(both in terms of raw numbers and percentage) and it still stays very cool and quiet. Their mobos have been good to me and my friends as well.

I've seen good things from zotac aswell.