AMD convert. What brand doe?

S

seanclayton

Gawd
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Oct 25, 2008
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I'm used to evga's killer support. But for AMD and after googling like crazy for best Radeon makers, I still don't know which brand has the best customer support. I want a company that has the less bs.
 
Gigabyte, MSI, and Asus have the best warranties, you can buy these brands used and the warranty will transfer, whereas Sapphire, Powercolor, XFX require the original sales receipt
 
I've had excellent experiences with Powercolor support, and they have CSRs local in the US. On both occasions, I had a dedicated rep (Hugo, I think his name was) who was very responsive emailing back-forth and took care of the issue quickly.

Asus had a bit more red tape and non-local level 1 support, if I remember, when I had an issue with their card.
 
Gigabyte has been flawless for me so far. No red tape to speak of. Warranty based off the serial # on the card. I've even exchanged out Ebay cards for replacements.
 
Which ones allow for replacement of the heatsink with a water cooling block while retaining the warranty?
 
Ihaveworms said:
Which ones allow for replacement of the heatsink with a water cooling block while retaining the warranty?
Click to expand...

I know MSI and Asus have the little RMA stickers on the HSF screws on the back of the card, while Gigabyte does not. I've sent back a couple Gigabyte cards that i had attached the Artic Accellero to and didn't have any issues. I just put the original HSF back on and you coudn't tell if it had been taken off in the first place.
 
You hear horror stories from about every company once and while. Recently MSI seems to be doing pretty good though. And even though Fidel above isn't happy with XFX, they do have a rep on this forum and have always been very helpful (as long as your card is still in warranty).
XFX is the only company I've ever had to RMA a gpu to, and it went super smooth. They even replaced my card even though their testing couldn't replicate my issue.
If I was looking for an AMD card, I'd be looking at XFX, MSI, and even though I've seen a couple horror stories about RMAs, I'd check out ASUS too, mainly cause those Strix cards are pretty dope.
 
atp1916 said:
I know MSI and Asus have the little RMA stickers on the HSF screws on the back of the card, while Gigabyte does not. I've sent back a couple Gigabyte cards that i had attached the Artic Accellero to and didn't have any issues. I just put the original HSF back on and you coudn't tell if it had been taken off in the first place.
Click to expand...

XFX and MSI both have the stickers on the HSF screws... but replacing the heatsink/redoing the thermal compound doesn't void the warranty.
 
DraginDime said:
You hear horror stories from about every company once and while. Recently MSI seems to be doing pretty good though. And even though Fidel above isn't happy with XFX, they do have a rep on this forum and have always been very helpful (as long as your card is still in warranty).
XFX is the only company I've ever had to RMA a gpu to, and it went super smooth. They even replaced my card even though their testing couldn't replicate my issue.
If I was looking for an AMD card, I'd be looking at XFX, MSI, and even though I've seen a couple horror stories about RMAs, I'd check out ASUS too, mainly cause those Strix cards are pretty dope.
Click to expand...

Agree! Both seem to be good for support. And XFX does allow changing heatsinks.
 
XFX Support here,

What I like to do now when buying hardware or anything expensive for that matter, is call the company and ask them about an issue I could have.

"Hello, what happens if this happens in 14 months? Whats the protocol?" etc. I've found by simply asking honestly yields more honest answers. Google the company, if the phone # you find doesn't work, don't keep looking for the number. If they don't have it posted easily, they're probably trying to avoid people contacting them.

And Fidel, once again, im sorry... The unit you have was far out of the 2 year warranty, and even if I tried to bend it, it would have been rejected at the amd-factory level and I would have been busted for it.

Thanks,
XFX Support
 
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I have been pretty lucky and even though I go through lots of GPU's, I personally almost never have any problems with them outside a couple DOA's. However I can say that I have had great service with XFX and their power supply that I had to RMA due to a bad fan. Very painless and easy. That being said, if I was currently looking at a 290x, the MSI Lightning would be at the very top of my list.
 
And Fidel, once again, im sorry. The unit you have was far out of the 2 year warranty, and even if i tried to bend it, it would have been rejected at the amd-factory level and I would have been busted for it. I make as many exceptions as i know i can get away with.

Thanks,
XFX Support
Click to expand...
I purchased this unit for XFXs lifetime warranty. Sorry for being upset that I feel absolutely lied to.
I would change my mind if maybe XFX could explain why this GPU did not receive lifetime support.
It just makes no sense that buying the highest end GPU you had at the time would come with the most lackluster warranty support possible.
I feel completely deceived as to what I bought. Sitting here thinking I had a lifetime warranty, registering within 30 days, and then when things actually get bad I cannot get any support whatsoever.
Before this whole ordeal the XFX 295X2 or XFX R3x0 series was on my to buy list, even with the lackluster XFX HSF (Did you guys forget the VRM cooling?), but now I am looking to MSI, Asus, Sapphire, and Gigabyte for my next board unless XFX can show me that they actually care about their consumers and their warranty reputation.
 
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My Gigabyte 290x has been treating me fine so far, I bought it right after the holidays.
 
{NG}Fidel said:
I purchased this unit for XFXs lifetime warranty. Sorry for being upset that I feel absolutely lied to.
I would change my mind if maybe XFX could explain why this GPU did not receive lifetime support.
It just makes no sense that buying the highest end GPU you had at the time would come with the most lackluster warranty support possible.
I feel completely deceived as to what I bought. Sitting here thinking I had a lifetime warranty, registering within 30 days, and then when things actually get bad I cannot get any support whatsoever.
Before this whole ordeal the XFX 295X2 or XFX R3x0 series was on my to buy list, even with the lackluster XFX HSF (Did you guys forget the VRM cooling?), but now I am looking to MSI, Asus, Sapphire, and Gigabyte for my next board unless XFX can show me that they actually care about their consumers and their warranty reputation.
Click to expand...


Was it a Double Dissipation? Those were the only XFX 7970s with lifetime warranty... all the other variants were only two year... at least that's what I remember when I was looking at them.
 
When I got my ref card at launch I had no idea that it was not equipped with a lifetime warranty, no one told me that, I had no reason to guess that XFX would randomly decide not to give their warranty support to their top end freaking video card.
Why even have a lifetime warranty if you are going to bail on it randomly with select GPUs.
It pains me to no end that people with 7870s, 7950s and the like are getting great warranty support and i am left out here hanging.
Sorry if I sounded upset, but I am.
 
{NG}Fidel said:
When I got my ref card at launch I had no idea that it was not equipped with a lifetime warranty, no one told me that, I had no reason to guess that XFX would randomly decide not to give their warranty support to their top end freaking video card.
Why even have a lifetime warranty if you are going to bail on it randomly with select GPUs.
It pains me to no end that people with 7870s, 7950s and the like are getting great warranty support and i am left out here hanging.
Sorry if I sounded upset, but I am.
Click to expand...

Where did you buy your 7970 from? Was the warranty listed as lifetime on their product page? If it was listed incorrectly, you could maybe fight with them about it. You should never assume a product has a lifetime warranty just because normally a company offers them.
 
I bought my 7970 from NewEgg, also expecting a lifetime warranty from XFX sounds reasonable when the company often likes to tout that line. I do not think that feeling cheated over my top of the line GPU purchase is unreasonable. The 7970 was the halo card, why would I expect XFX not to stand behind their top of the line GPU?
 
Apparently the warranty was change about a month or so into the 7970s lifespan. It was not immediate that I recall. I mean my card is at 87% fan speed right now at the desktop causing a huge roaring sound in my bedroom. Its quite ridiculous.
This is an Image I recently took of my desktop at 60 celsius and 74% fan speed (LOUD).
IMG_20150130_131250.jpg

This overheating got as high as 92% fan speed and 100 celsius. Nothing cools the card down even with an intake of cool air from the outdoors (Its snowing outside right now where I live).
I cleaned dust out of the HS, I removed a HDD rack by the front intake to increase intake airflow, I added one more intake fan, and I cleaned the entirety of my case and yet it still overheats to ridiculous amounts no matter what I am doing.
 
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Fidel, as a VERY temporary solution, try running your 7970 from only one display (unplug one of your monitors)....

I notice that when I am only running off a single display, my 6950 drops 10-15c for some reason.
 
{NG}Fidel said:
I bought my 7970 from NewEgg, also expecting a lifetime warranty from XFX sounds reasonable when the company often likes to tout that line. I do not think that feeling cheated over my top of the line GPU purchase is unreasonable. The 7970 was the halo card, why would I expect XFX not to stand behind their top of the line GPU?
Click to expand...

Because you've been a computer hardware enthusiast for at least ten years (judging from your registration time) and should know to read the fine print? Unless you saw specifically on the card's box or the web page or in the warranty documentation that XFX would have a lifetime warranty for that card, I don't see how XFX lied to you. Many GPU and other computer hardware manufacturers changes the warranty on certain parts to cut down on costs. Not to mention that Sapphire and Powercolor only had two year warranties on their 7970 IIRC.

I think XFX made the right call here. It still falls on the consumer to do their due diligence before buying a computer hardware part. I know it sucks and I feel for you. But you really can't blame XFX for a mistake and misunderstanding that you made.

Also, if your 7970 is out of warranty, just replace the heatsink with a 3rd party heatsink. What else are you going to do? Keep getting agitated at XFX and let the card die or just go with a solution that's not perfect but still better than the status quo?
 
I honestly cannot really change my opinion on the situation. These are my thoughts on the issue. I also expect a 2 year warranty with Sapphire and other vendors. I guess yeah its my fault but the whole thing just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I was always told that XFX had lifetime warranties, heck at one point I believe they had double lifetime warranties? (correct me if I am wrong).
Anyway I will leave the issue be.

As for running it on one monitor I have done that in order to decrease the power load on the card and yet it still over heats. My solution at this point is simply buy a new GPU.
 
So, if you buy something that says it only has a 2 year warranty, you only get a 2 year warranty even though you think it should have a lifetime warranty instead?

wow, they are jerks


Anyways, I have two XFX cards running since the release of BF3 and they work great... -anecdotal evidence. I would stick to lifetime warranty companies myself since I keep my stuff so long.
 
Ok I said I would drop it but if you want to continue this article kind of sums up the situation to me.

http://www.techpowerup.com/159346/xfx-discontinues-double-lifetime-warranty-with-new-radeon-graphics-cards.html
With the introduction of its Radeon HD 7970 graphics cards, XFX silently discontinued its famous "double-lifetime" product warranty policy, which made XFX graphics cards a worthy buy for overclockers
Click to expand...

It entirely caught me off guard, that it.
I dont want to continue this anymore as Dangman has given his input on the matter.
 
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I've had good luck with all of them. I'm on a sapphire right now. In the past I've had Powercolor, evga, gigabyte, xfx (both red and green), and a few others that died out. Can't recall a bad one in the lot.
 
I've purchased:

2x Sapphire 290Xs
1 XFX 290
1 XFX 6870
1 Sapphire 285

Never had a problem with any of them. XFX puts more care into the packaging and customer experience, but product wise the Sapphire's seem nice as well. I tend to buy XFX for other people's machines because the Support is usually easy to work with.

If I was purchasing for myself right now, I would probably go for the MSI Lightning, Powercolor PCS models, or the Sapphire Vapor-X. XFX doesn't have the best VRM cooling :(
 
With a backplate I think the XFX DD would be nice,cool vrms and a really nice look.
See I can be nice...
 
Personally, I've used:

HIS
Powercolor
Sapphire
XFX

Powercolor ran a little hot etc. (x1950 Pro 256MB)

Sapphire 3850 512MB was legit (looked cheap though).

XFX 5850 1GB lasted barely a year.

My current HIS 6950 2GB I've owned for over 3 years and it's still pretty awesome.

Based on my experience, my vote is for HIS.
 
I have this, this, and this.
All 3 still running.

Will not be buying Sapphire products in the future, though. Too hit-and-miss these days.
That specific 4870 was a masterpiece.
 
{NG}Fidel said:
Apparently the warranty was change about a month or so into the 7970s lifespan. It was not immediate that I recall. I mean my card is at 87% fan speed right now at the desktop causing a huge roaring sound in my bedroom. Its quite ridiculous.
This is an Image I recently took of my desktop at 60 celsius and 74% fan speed (LOUD).
IMG_20150130_131250.jpg

This overheating got as high as 92% fan speed and 100 celsius. Nothing cools the card down even with an intake of cool air from the outdoors (Its snowing outside right now where I live).
I cleaned dust out of the HS, I removed a HDD rack by the front intake to increase intake airflow, I added one more intake fan, and I cleaned the entirety of my case and yet it still overheats to ridiculous amounts no matter what I am doing.
Click to expand...

Did you remove the heatsink and doublecheck thermal compound and fitting? Are we positive the cooler is doing its job and or your sure its not the cooler? If it was just a cooler thing wink wink xfx could send me a replacement which magically ends up on your card. Not sure if it fits reference cards but it seems to cool fine on mine. anyways just a thought but i guess it would not fit anyway
 
I mean the fan is spinning, I do not have any thermal compound to apply to it so checking would be worse than leaving it alone at this point. A new cooler is something I am willing to try out but XFX said no.
Either way I am a bit more calm about the situation now and I am willing to try them again, I just feel burned by a mistake I made because I didnt realize that the warranty was not applied to all their GPUs.
Ive been looking at the XFX295X2 because its so cheap and it would allow me to ignore the next GPUs that come out.
 
{NG}Fidel said:
I mean the fan is spinning, I do not have any thermal compound to apply to it so checking would be worse than leaving it alone at this point. A new cooler is something I am willing to try out but XFX said no.
Click to expand...
Why would XFX saying no stop you? The card is out of warranty so it doesn't matter if you modify the card or not. That's why it's puzzling to me why you haven't installed a 3rd party HSF on that card yet.

{NG}Fidel said:
Ive been looking at the XFX295X2 because its so cheap and it would allow me to ignore the next GPUs that come out.
Click to expand...
Honestly, I say wait for those next-gen GPUs but replace the cooler on your card.
 
If I could have replaced the cooler at this point I would have but I have tons of things on my plate moving, new job) so I am kind of stressed. Anyway the point being is financially its not feasible right now, yes its that bad (not making the big bucks sorry).

The new cards tempt me, I think most enthusiasts realize that HBM is going to be a big jump for us if it ends up happening.
 
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I am strongly considering going with AMD when the new cards are released. Which brand has been a big question for me too. Like the OP, I've been spoiled with EVGA. Their customer support is second to none, they have great warranty that transfers to secondary owners, and they have very lax policies on changing coolers and even allow modified bios' on cards with multiple bios'.

Another thing is that I really don't want an axial style cooler that dumps heat in the case, but that is basically a must on current AMD cards as the reference cooler is better served as a paper weight. Hopefully next gen won't be that way.

I haven't had a chance to read through this thread yet but am going to do so. It's just the thread I've been looking for :).

Edit: After reading the thread I still have some questions. I'm not so much concerned with this card ran a long time or that card died. All manufacturers have good and bad eggs. It's how you are taken care of for a bad egg that matters to me along with leniency towards cooler changes, etc.

Which manufacturers, if any, have:

- At least a 3 year warranty
- Warranty attached to the card and not initial buyer
- Allow removal of the cooler

Those three are must haves for me. I honestly don't really expect EVGA quality CS, although that would be a bonus. Those guys have offered me an advanced RMA with cross-shipping before when that is a service they sell that I didn't pay for. Completely blew me away and they went way above and beyond what they had to do. I don't really expect that level of CS from anyone, but the three in my list up there are musts.

Any help from experienced AMD users is appreciated!
 
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Sapphire is attached to the card.
XFX will do lifetime for the buyer (DD only) and 2 years for everyone else.

ASUS doesn't care, but their RMA service is useless.
MSI and Gigabyte ... ?

HIS, VisionTek, and PowerColor are bottom-tier cards.
HIS and PowerColor are 2 years only.
 
For nVidia cards Gigabyte goes by the serial# only and doesn't care about original owner. Also no warranty sticker on the screws. If the same holds true for their AMD cards my vote would be for Gigabyte.
 
My last 7 cards have been
eVGA 9800GT - This one died after 4 years or so and they replaced it with a GTX460
eVGA GTX260 - This one had a strange artifact happen in Counter Strike Source, game would freeze with a funky pattern on the screen. Used the Step-Up Program and got the GTX285
eVGA GTX285
XFX HD5850
XFX HD6950
XFX HD7970
eVGA GTX980

No issues with any of the other cards. eVGA was great with their support for my issues.
 
XFXSupport said:
XFX Support here,

What I like to do now when buying hardware or anything expensive for that matter, is call the company and ask them about an issue I could have.

"Hello, what happens if this happens in 14 months? Whats the protocol?" etc. I've found by simply asking honestly yields more honest answers. Google the company, if the phone # you find doesn't work, don't keep looking for the number. If they don't have it posted easily, they're probably trying to avoid people contacting them.

And Fidel, once again, im sorry... The unit you have was far out of the 2 year warranty, and even if I tried to bend it, it would have been rejected at the amd-factory level and I would have been busted for it.

Thanks,
XFX Support
Click to expand...

{NG}Fidel said:
I purchased this unit for XFXs lifetime warranty. Sorry for being upset that I feel absolutely lied to.
I would change my mind if maybe XFX could explain why this GPU did not receive lifetime support.
It just makes no sense that buying the highest end GPU you had at the time would come with the most lackluster warranty support possible.
I feel completely deceived as to what I bought. Sitting here thinking I had a lifetime warranty, registering within 30 days, and then when things actually get bad I cannot get any support whatsoever.
Before this whole ordeal the XFX 295X2 or XFX R3x0 series was on my to buy list, even with the lackluster XFX HSF (Did you guys forget the VRM cooling?), but now I am looking to MSI, Asus, Sapphire, and Gigabyte for my next board unless XFX can show me that they actually care about their consumers and their warranty reputation.
Click to expand...

I have to chime in here. I bought a GPU (6950) that absolutely *was* guaranteed under the lifetime warranty, was registered on time, made it through the RMA approval process, and then lo and behold, one day, XFX suddenly "lost" their entire warranty record database (really, wth?), and as such, there was suddenly no more record of my card having a lifetime warranty. I even still have pieces of the RMA-approval conversation with the XFX techs in my email inbox (pieces because the XFX notification emails only contained the first line or so of the message, but it's still enough to see that the RMA was approved).

Anyway, I've been wary of XFX since.
 
Coldblackice said:
I have to chime in here. I bought a GPU (6950) that absolutely *was* guaranteed under the lifetime warranty, was registered on time, made it through the RMA approval process, and then lo and behold, one day, XFX suddenly "lost" their entire warranty record database (really, wth?), and as such, there was suddenly no more record of my card having a lifetime warranty. I even still have pieces of the RMA-approval conversation with the XFX techs in my email inbox (pieces because the XFX notification emails only contained the first line or so of the message, but it's still enough to see that the RMA was approved).

Anyway, I've been wary of XFX since.
Click to expand...

I also have an XFX 6950 that no longer has a lifetime warranty because they "lost" the database and I've sworn off XFX because of that, I actually paid extra over the other reference 6950s because of the lifetime warranty. I'm just glad that it's a reference card because there's a better chance that I would have needed the warranty with one of their custom 6950s.
 
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