3 gtx285 brands...but which is best of the best?

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May 30, 2008
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hi all,

i have nailed my choice of cards down to 3 but cant make my mind up as to which one is better and since this is a forum full of experienced and talented modders/builders could i by chance ask which would you have in you system if the choice was given to you for a Top Sli setup and later Tri-sli based on....

Hardware reliability..
Ease of warranty/rma in case of problems...
Brands quality control (cherry picked + may get extra o/c speeds)...
Cost...whether its worth the price compared to the other brands even if higher


1.. EVGA 1GB GTX285 SSC (Now Called FTW, Also Comes with cooling backplate), (£260 Inc.vat+del)
2.. BFG 1GB GTX285 OCX (£260 Inc.vat+del)
3.. ZOTAC 1GB GTX285 AMP! (£230 Inc.vat+del)

not waiting for gtx300 series as i live in the now and present :D

Im Heavily influenced by the cool looking EVGA with red stripe and cooling plate....ive only ever had sli 8800gt from evga and had no problems at all but that was 2 year ago and a lot can happen in 2 years as to standards ...so are evga still very High on their Quality Control?? compared to the other 2 or should i just go with the chapest brand as all overclocks are around the same numbers?


kind regards,


Rhino.
 
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evga, lifetime warranty and even though i used to be a bfg boy evga is just kinda...better
 
evga, lifetime warranty and even though i used to be a bfg boy evga is just kinda...better
But I'm assuming that since the op is listing euro prices that these cards will not be purchased in the united states so the warranties are different (assuming these companies lifetime warranties still do not cover non-american markets).

So assuming the warranties are not lifetime, I would suggest going with the best warranty option for you and it looks like EVGA's warranty is more flexible (though I dont know about Palit).

Then price would be the consideration...but if it were me I would go with BFG...that if EVGA's color scheme compliments your setup that much better then of course by all means go with EVGA.
 
I would go for BFG especially not in the US area.
Read in EVGA forum ppl complain their service is bad out of US, especially in Europe.
 
Sorry i forgot to mention im in the UK so items will be bought there.

i have looked into warranty's for the uk and it look like...

EVGA =

Warranty: 10 Years
Type: Direct
DOA Period: 28 days
Telephone: +498918904911 or 24/7 E-Mail support-eu@evga.com

Subject to 10 years manufacturer's warranty direct with EVGA, upon product registration within 30 days of purchase only!

90 Day Step-up/upgrade programme from day of purchase (Upgrade your card and only pay the difference direct with EVGA)

All Registrations, RMA's & Upgrades are dealt with between EVGA Direct and the Consumer on 0049 8918904911 or via email.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BFG =

Warranty: 10 Years
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ZOTAC (Made by Sapphire) =

Warranty: 5 Years


really dont know now as i spoke to a friend who sells zotac's and says good things i think he mentioned them being made by sapphire tho i could be wrong but i listed above as such but also he was selling Bfgs upuntill only recently as he now says he wouldnt touch bfg again after last stock due to 13/30 cards being DOA.
i thought it may be a bad stock but he said it cus the company has changed to mass production through china and quality has nosedived so theres a lot more card failures than there used to be, or at least in the uk :(

can i ask has anyone got a evga ftw or scc edition card with backplate? as i wondered how close the card would be in sli let alone triple sli as the plate would heat up wouldnt it being sandwiched?
 
I would definitely go with the EVGA FTW. You would have no problems sli'ing 2 of them, many on these forums have done so, the backplate is very thin and would not cause any heat issues.

EVGA has the best warranty and the 90 day step-up program. Plus if you ever want to put a diff cooler on your card, you can forget about your BFG warranty.

To me EVGA is a no brainer out of these 3. Go for it!
 
thanks m8 for the info...

so its settled 2 evga ftw/scc :) and another later on for triple sli :p


many thanks to everyone who replied.


regards.


Rhino"
 
Honestly, I would have gone with the BFGs.

EVGA Europe has had it's issues. Great in the US but forums are pretty replete with European concerns.

That aside either card is very high quality.
 
tho i must say im still puzzled as to why no-one thinks zotac are any good as no mention from anybody?

havent seen one bad report on zotacs stuff only bfg and evga complaints?

i know zotac are mainly europe and evga/bfg are usa but still, zotac is available in america for ati cards as well as nvidia ones...

maybe americans like moaning more than europeans or maybe american cards sold in europe are lower grade than ones sold by companies based in europe? :)
(refering to failure rates/DOA cards)

i dont know really...do nvida sell generic nvidia branded version from themselves??


regards,


Rhino"
 
I just got my BFG GTX 285 OCX today. still backing up and reinstalling my app.
I chose BFG brcause EVGA is a bit over priced and Zotac only comes with 5 years warranty.. but Zotac you get grip for free and some other programs and its cheap

the packaging from BFG is pretty shitty though.. will post some pics 2morrow

mike
 
I just got my BFG GTX 285 OCX today. still backing up and reinstalling my app.
I chose BFG brcause EVGA is a bit over priced and Zotac only comes with 5 years warranty.. but Zotac you get grip for free and some other programs and its cheap

the packaging from BFG is pretty shitty though.. will post some pics 2morrow

mike

who cares about packaging as long as it does it job. you are not going to use he package it's whats inside that counts.
 
go for Zotac, its cheap and comes with grip
its most likely u will be buying a new card in the next 5 years..
I bought BFG, cuz im going to run Tri-SLI.. and its decently OCed.
 
i was going to go Tri-Sli but wanted just to check which comapny is best for in the uk.

ive only ever had gainward (golden) and evga over the las 7 years and have never had to rma anything so i must have been lucky or something.
but as i read a lot of forums i now see people are complaining about cards from evga and bfg so was just checking around on brand reliability and ease of rma'ing should anything go wrong.

(system is gigabyte extreme ***i7 @3.8*** corsair 1000w psu****12gb ddr3)

the outlets i found can supply me with..

Triple sli......
Zotac 285 amp for £690 inc del (included Grid Game and Full copy of vantage)
Bfg 285 ocx and Evga 285 SCC for £800 inc del

so i was saying my selection was first Evga based on back plate and red stripe and second zotac on lower price as all three are roughly clocked the same give a little on shader and memory.

although the supplier offered me quad sli (single or double pcb) for £600 inc del and thats less heat and power and only 2 slots....also have a old evga 8800gt for physix i could throw in...

just looking for fastest on air but also careful on the pocket (cash)...currently available :)

regards

Rhino"
 
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