Good GPU manufacturers?

StarSolitude · 20 Sep 2009 at 19:07

"Powercolor" "Sapphire" "Palit" etc... Many manufacturers, but which are the reputable ones, and which are the ones to stay away from?

I've heard good things about Sapphire and XFX. Powercolor seems a bit cheap and tacky.

gurusan · 20 Sep 2009 at 19:08

Personally I've never given a hoot

chaparral · 20 Sep 2009 at 19:11

StarSolitude said:
and which are the ones to stay away from?

I normally go for the cheapest one now............

No point in buying out lots more cash for the exact same card with just a different sticker on it...

Richy1204 · 20 Sep 2009 at 19:40

Powercolor seems a bit cheap and tacky.

I agree on that

probably good cards tho but there aways cheaper then others most of the time.

Sapphire, XFX and ASUS all very good

beefybarn · 20 Sep 2009 at 19:54

Had all makes of cards over the years, no one manufacturer stands out though, i now tend to go for the cheapest unless i need quiet cooling then i look at whats around.

samir_ansari · 20 Sep 2009 at 20:11

depends on how fussed you are about warantee aswell, bfg and evga are great for that i hear

kylew · 20 Sep 2009 at 20:18

Cheapest card or the one with the warranty you like the best.

All the GPUs are the same, they're made by TSMC and supplied to the manufacturer of cards that have to adhere to a specification.

Plus, I'm sure Sapphire make a load of reference cards that are packaged up and sold as other brands.

Or in simpler terms, Sapphire manufacturers cards, and 'lesser' companies box and label the cards with their own branding.

Jimbo Mahoney · 20 Sep 2009 at 20:37

I generally go for the cheapest card.

Only problems I've ever had with this are that sometimes the cheapest card uses a non-reference design, which is more difficult to volt-mod since all the info is on the reference design.

For most people, this will be a non issue though

Scania · 20 Sep 2009 at 20:45

From what I've read here & elsewhere recently, BFG's is the only door you need to knock on.

mdjmcnally · 20 Sep 2009 at 20:56

chaparral said:
I normally go for the cheapest one now............

No point in buying out lots more cash for the exact same card with just a different sticker on it...

This has sadly been true for some time now. The only time you start to see any differentiation between the cards is when wanting to shift the last batch out the door as a new one is imminent.

Look how long it took for the 4890 to start getting custom cards out the door. Only when everyone is expecting the 5870 to launch in a month or 2 and starts to put people off buying the existing tech do you start to get differences.

dunker · 20 Sep 2009 at 21:23

R420LA6X2/4MNA said:
From what I've read here & elsewhere recently, BFG's is the only door you need to knock on.

yeah, shame the 260's arnt in stock anymore

Monkeynut · 20 Sep 2009 at 21:37

Some of the very cheap brands have used really shoddy capacitors that kills the card after a year or two.

El Jimben · 20 Sep 2009 at 21:39

R420LA6X2/4MNA said:
From what I've read here & elsewhere recently, BFG's is the only door you need to knock on.

+1, their RMA service is awesome and BFG cards tend to have a slightly higher resale value due to the warranty.

Fireblade2K4 · 20 Sep 2009 at 21:40

El Jimben said:
+1, their RMA service is awesome and BFG cards tend to have a slightly higher resale value due to the warranty.

Agreed ... only ever dealt with BFG regarding a graphics card RMA before and they were excellent, very efficient and speedy, top marks!

Stu

gurusan · 20 Sep 2009 at 21:45

Guys BFG have not been like that for awhile, they are very strict on their warranties now and they don't transfer.

arc@css · 20 Sep 2009 at 22:10

Gigabyte, BFG, Visiontek, EVGA, Sapphire are examples of manufacturers that generally offer good rma support and service. There are others too.

TAC4U · 20 Sep 2009 at 22:52

I've never had a problem with cheaper companies like Powercolor or XFX, so I tend to go for them. I'd happily pay a bit more if I thought it was worth it but I really don't think there's much in it.

Silent UK · 21 Sep 2009 at 11:39

I've always stuck with EvGA & BFG, both of which you pay alittle more for but if your planning on keeping the card for some time it worth it for the extra service if RMA is needed.

C64 · 21 Sep 2009 at 15:39

If I am going nvidia I get bfg, if I am going ati I get Gigabyte because both have UK rma's I don't want to support company's that cannot be bothered to have a uk rma centre.