What is the best manufacturer?

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Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 10, 2004
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What is the best manufacturer of video cards? I mean quality componants. Please no answers of "I've been using X for years and never had a problem", or "X has great tech support and will send you another crap card if your first crap card dies".

Please provide explanations for your answers. Thanks in advance.
 
Well first of all which one do you prefer, Nvidia or ATI?

Honestly I do not think there is very big difference with manufacturers, all the big players seem to be using reference designs from both companies and good components. There has been some screw ups at Nvidias camp lately with faulty components but I have not seen anything on their latest gen of cards (if you dont count squeeling G80s).

The biggest difference between manufacturers is their warranty policy and EVGA has its stepup program, which personally I think is over hyped, but thats just personal opinion.
 
I don't mean to thread crap, but that's the worst question I've ever heard.

I guess I'll try to answer it though... EVERYBODY uses reference cards these days, so every manufacturer is identical pretty much. The only thing that matters is their warranty and tech support/RMA process. In that respect, XFX leads the pack with a lifetime warranty for both you AND whoever you eventually sell the card to. BFG and e-Vga have lifetime warranties. All three of these vendors sell factory overclocked cards. XFX seems to OC the most, followed by BFG and then e-Vga. On the ATI side of the fence I think Powercolor offers lifetime warranties? connect3d may also have a lifetime warranty, but I'm not sure on either. ATI manufactures and sells their own cards under their own brand name, so you may trust them more than third-parties. They offer a 6 year warranty I believe, but 6 years is huge for video cards.
 
For nVidia the 3 to go with would be:
eVGA
BFG
XFX

Saddly in my opinion ATi's board partners are horrible.
 
What is the best manufacturer of video cards? I mean quality componants. Please no answers of "I've been using X for years and never had a problem", or "X has great tech support and will send you another crap card if your first crap card dies".

Please provide explanations for your answers. Thanks in advance.

Well you just killed pretty much any answers you couldve gotten.

Either way its all down to preference and everyone has thier own. Personally i like EVGA and BFG. EVGA because of their outstanding customer service and warranty. and BFG because whether its luck or not i have never had a card of thiers go bad on me in any way and their widely available in brick and mortar stores (Not a huge plus to some but to me it helps).
 
What is the best manufacturer of video cards? I mean quality componants. Please no answers of "I've been using X for years and never had a problem", or "X has great tech support and will send you another crap card if your first crap card dies".

Please provide explanations for your answers. Thanks in advance.

What you need to understand is that most manufacturers have the exact same parts with the exact same quality of components, since they arent the ones that manufacture the cards. So yes, it does come down to bundles, tech support, and warranties, as well as other programs they offer.
 
What is the best manufacturer of video cards? I mean quality componants. Please no answers of "I've been using X for years and never had a problem", or "X has great tech support and will send you another crap card if your first crap card dies".

Please provide explanations for your answers. Thanks in advance.

Asus hands down....
 
He's asking board quality and components. As such XFX and eVGA are not even in the top 5 (many of their 7x00 series failed miserable early deaths due to cheap components).

Quality wise you've got Asus, BFG and MSI on the nVIDIA side. On the ATi side you've got Visiontek, ATi and HIS.

ATi cards are built with stricter quality guidelines therefore ANY Powered by ATi board is using top quality parts as it's strictly enforced.

On the nVIDIA front, things are not as severe and quite often highly overclocked cards do not contain the proper voltage regulators etc.. to ensure a long life. Many of these said companies (eVGA and XFX come to mind) counter this with what are most probably the best warranties in the business.
 
eVGA - and I am going to ignore that whole part about us not explaining that we have had a good run with them - or about how you dont care about their warranty - because like everyone else has said - what else matters? Its all the same components and design.

eVGA - lifetime warranty. Sure XFX has a double lifetime warranty - but eVGA will warranty you for ANYTHING - overclocking - bios flashes - new cooling units - SODERING ON NEW COMPONENTS

eVGA is rad.

Accept it :)
 
eVGA - and I am going to ignore that whole part about us not explaining that we have had a good run with them - or about how you dont care about their warranty - because like everyone else has said - what else matters? Its all the same components and design.

eVGA - lifetime warranty. Sure XFX has a double lifetime warranty - but eVGA will warranty you for ANYTHING - overclocking - bios flashes - new cooling units - SODERING ON NEW COMPONENTS

eVGA is rad.

Accept it :)

Components differ actually. Unlike ATi based cards, nVIDIA based cards give the manufacturer more freedom to choose the components they like (usually the cheapest). So a BFG card may not have the same brand capacitor as an XFX card for example. Same with Voltage regulators.

This is why Asus cards rarely fail and weren't hit nearly as much as XFX or eVGA during the whole 7900 series fiasco.
 
Normally I dont get involved in these types of threads, however I do like to read them to get feed back as well as make any corrections about our policies that may be required. Recently we have made changes to our warranty at the request of our customers. Now overclocking and hardware modifications do not void your warranty for our North American customers. Here is a link to the new warranty terms if you guys have any questions please let me know:
http://www.xfxforce.com/web/viewFeature.jspa?featureId=1067748


XFX Support
 
eVGA - and I am going to ignore that whole part about us not explaining that we have had a good run with them - or about how you dont care about their warranty - because like everyone else has said - what else matters? Its all the same components and design.

eVGA - lifetime warranty. Sure XFX has a double lifetime warranty - but eVGA will warranty you for ANYTHING - overclocking - bios flashes - new cooling units - SODERING ON NEW COMPONENTS

eVGA is rad.

Accept it :)

This is why EVGA is hands down the best out there. They also have the step-up program
 
Normally I dont get involved in these types of threads, however I do like to read them to get feed back as well as make any corrections about our policies that may be required. Recently we have made changes to our warranty at the request of our customers. Now overclocking and hardware modifications do not void your warranty for our North American customers. Here is a link to the new warranty terms if you guys have any questions please let me know:
http://www.xfxforce.com/web/viewFeature.jspa?featureId=1067748


XFX Support

I have 4 XFX Video cards, 3 7800GTX's and 1 8800GTX, please since you work for XFX can you explain the differences in warranty between the States and Europe ?

maybe this link will help

http://www.xfxforce.com/web/support/showWarranty.jspa?regionId=2&productGenerationId=730964

I was under the assumption that the double lifetime warranty applied to ALL XFX video cards of series 6 and above regardless of which country they were purchased from, now that I can see that XFX treats its european customers differently and refuse to offer them any kind of warranty whatsoever as they state that its the RESELLERS obligation to help you unless for some reason the reseller wont help you get a replacement or your money back for whatever reason then XFX MAY help you in that case but in this country a resellers warranty = 1 year, so can you answer this:

Why does XFX feel that it can treat us Europeans with such disregard when it comes to warranties ?

Now that I know that XFX only give a resellers warranty for their cards in Europe, then this will be my last ever XFX video card that I will be buying, even tho I have had great success with them, but to spend all that money and to only get a 1 year resellers warranty is disgraceful, especially when compared to the double lifetime warranties that the states get.

EVGA will be my next video card company, not that it will bother XFX any, but for me to spend my hard earned cash on such expensive things as high end video cards, I atleast expect to get a decent warranty and to not get rubbed in the face with what XFX offer the States.

Do XFX have any plans on making the UK or European warranties the same as the states that you know of ?
 
actually sirs, evga, last I checked didn't have a lifetime warentee

they had a double lifetime warentee.
 
Components differ actually. Unlike ATi based cards, nVIDIA based cards give the manufacturer more freedom to choose the components they like (usually the cheapest). So a BFG card may not have the same brand capacitor as an XFX card for example. Same with Voltage regulators.

This is why Asus cards rarely fail and weren't hit nearly as much as XFX or eVGA during the whole 7900 series fiasco.

8 series cards were all made by one company (Want to say Foxcon but I think it was another F-something company)
 
What the hell is a "double" lifetime warranty?

It is what XFX has that allows you to register the card for your lifetime warranty then if you ever sell the card the next owner just has to register the same as you for a lifetime warranty as well.

All the other manufacturers technically dont cover a card once its sold/given to someone else.

Its more or less a pretty term for a transferable lifetime warranty.
 
well i would Say BFGtech and Evga as the top Two ....Thier products usually work right outa the box and Both have That Lifetime Insurance incase of a fatal CardAttack...

Ive been happy with thier public awareness to produce of the hook Cards ...Ive delt with both for Rma's and was never let down. The only differance is my newest Evga card will let me Step up if i choose too in 90days... I woulda Grabbed another BFG but this time around i need too take full advantage of the Step up With Evga Due too New Cards being Released too Fast!
 
Normally I dont get involved in these types of threads, however I do like to read them to get feed back as well as make any corrections about our policies that may be required. Recently we have made changes to our warranty at the request of our customers. Now overclocking and hardware modifications do not void your warranty for our North American customers. Here is a link to the new warranty terms if you guys have any questions please let me know:
http://www.xfxforce.com/web/viewFeature.jspa?featureId=1067748


XFX Support

Wow i missed this the first time i read this thread! This is real competition here finally If someone has no intention of using the step up program now XFX is the clear choice as far as warranty terms go!

actually sirs, evga, last I checked didn't have a lifetime warentee

they had a double lifetime warentee.

Actually sir thats XFX, EVGA does not have a double lifetime warranty
 
Well you just killed pretty much any answers you couldve gotten. Either way its all down to preference and everyone has thier own

I can get baseless preferences a thousand times over on any hardware forum without having to ask. I'm obviously asking about quality because it's not an issue I've seen addressed in any objective way.



sam0t said:
The biggest difference between manufacturers is their warranty policy
RussianHAXOR said:
What you need to understand is that most manufacturers have the exact same parts with the exact same quality of components, since they arent the ones that manufacture the cards. So yes, it does come down to bundles, tech support, and warranties, as well as other programs they offer.

My understanding is that the manufacturers in Taiwan recieve the specifications from ATI/Nvidia engineers (Indian engineers working via H1b in silicon valley ha ha). They then take their reference design to mainland china manufactories to which they specify the required cost and quality of components, perhaps with the tiawanese company even sourcing the components themselves. What I am looking for are the tiawanese companies that specify components that exceed spec, rather than components that just meet spec. I am especially trying to avoid manufacturers that cut corners.

(yes i know BFG is american)




ElMoIsEviL said:
He's asking board quality and components. As such XFX and eVGA are not even in the top 5 (many of their 7x00 series failed miserable early deaths due to cheap components).

Quality wise you've got Asus, BFG and MSI on the nVIDIA side. On the ATi side you've got Visiontek, ATi and HIS.

ATi cards are built with stricter quality guidelines therefore ANY Powered by ATi board is using top quality parts as it's strictly enforced.

On the nVIDIA front, things are not as severe and quite often highly overclocked cards do not contain the proper voltage regulators etc.. to ensure a long life. Many of these said companies (eVGA and XFX come to mind) counter this with what are most probably the best warranties in the business.

Well put. I am currently waiting to see ATI's next gen cards before choosing, simply because ATI cards will be guaranteed to meet spec without cutting corners. In regards to XFX and EVGA... I got that same impression you did. However XFX's presumably bargain basement build quality is mitigated by their unmatched looks (alas I too am swayed by the hypnotic appeal of chrome and tinsel).





Endrithius said:
eVGA - and I am going to ignore that whole part about us not explaining that we have had a good run with them - or about how you dont care about their warranty - because like everyone else has said - what else matters? Its all the same components and design.

eVGA - lifetime warranty. Sure XFX has a double lifetime warranty - but eVGA will warranty you for ANYTHING - overclocking - bios flashes - new cooling units - SODERING ON NEW COMPONENTS

oooooh a warranty. Who cares about a stupid warranty. Every manufacturer has a warranty. I could buy a video card with a two trillion year warranty but that doesn't change the fact that I'm going to throw it away in two years. Meanwhile, if a poorly built card fails, the end user is left waiting for weeks for an RMA. A few weeks is a LONG ASS TIME to be out of action. Whole guilds form, clear Karazhan and disband in a matter of a few weeks.




ElMoIsEviL said:
Components differ actually. Unlike ATi based cards, nVIDIA based cards give the manufacturer more freedom to choose the components they like (usually the cheapest). So a BFG card may not have the same brand capacitor as an XFX card for example. Same with Voltage regulators.

This is why Asus cards rarely fail and weren't hit nearly as much as XFX or eVGA during the whole 7900 series fiasco.

It could be that there are more XFX and EVGA sold and in systems than there are Asus videocards, in which case you would see alot of complaints about XFX and EVGA and few about Asus. However I am familiar with Asus's reputation as a quality manufacturer.





Endrithius said:
eVGA - and I am going to ignore that whole part about us not explaining that we have had a good run with them - or about how you dont care about their warranty - because like everyone else has said - what else matters? Its all the same components and design.

Linksys has a good no questions asked policy on their routers. That doesn't change the fact that my linksys dies every year. And it's annoying. If the best thing you can say about a company is they have good RMA then maybe it's time to look for a different vendor.





8 series cards were all made by one company (Want to say Foxcon but I think it was another F-something company)

Link?




gOtVolTage! said:
well i would Say BFGtech and Evga as the top Two ....Thier products usually work right outa the box

Usually work? that doesn't sound very appealing.

gOtVolTage! said:
Ive delt with both for Rma's and was never let down

See, the whole idea is to avoid the RMA process, not streamline it.







Thanks for the responses
 
8 series cards were all made by one company (Want to say Foxcon but I think it was another F-something company)

All reference designed 8800GTX's (and I believe every 8800GTX still is reference design) is manufactured by asus then shipped out to other AIB's

I'll try to find a link, but im positive its asus.

for Nvidia
1. EVGA
2. XFX (prob more of a tie for first)
3. BFG (were the best but the others have stepped up)

For ATI
1. Sapphire
2. Built by ATI (which is still sappire unless its an XTX card)
3. HIS

Everyone else for ATI is garbage.
 
I don't think its Asus, and none of the handful of links I was just looking at stated who it was, but here is a quote from guru3d (http://www.guru3d.com/article/content/412/2/)

In today's review we'll actually include a good number of results from other G80 brands as well. Fact is, pretty much most boards are supplied by NVIDIA to the manufacturers and that's a bit of a shame. This means that all 8800 cards are roughly the same. What do you need to remember when you buy the product ? Well you should not focus on the actual hardware itself. As stated look at other things such as additional software, special coolers, extended warranty, faster clocked models and so on. Look at the little extra's if you are going for that reference cooled model.

Which sums up what the rest of us have been saying.
 
oooooh a warranty. Who cares about a stupid warranty. Every manufacturer has a warranty. I could buy a video card with a two trillion year warranty but that doesn't change the fact that I'm going to throw it away in two years. Meanwhile, if a poorly built card fails, the end user is left waiting for weeks for an RMA. A few weeks is a LONG ASS TIME to be out of action. Whole guilds form, clear Karazhan and disband in a matter of a few weeks.

That's bad stance to take on things on a hardware forum. I like to know that my warranty covers me tinkering with the card and then some. If that's not covered then I won't buy the item.
 
That's bad stance to take on things on a hardware forum. I like to know that my warranty covers me tinkering with the card and then some. If that's not covered then I won't buy the item.

No warranty is going to allow you to "tinker" with the card. I can't believe I just read that. This whole warranty thing is marketing at its best. Companies that give these so called life time warrantees are basically saying this: Our card is no more better then anyone else’s card, but to keep you coming back as a customer we will offer you a life time warranty.

That is all it is. And not once have I ever read a company allowing tinkering. That is like Intel saying it is perfectly ok to do whatever you want with the CPU as we will replace it no matter what LOL

I couldn't care less about a life time warranty. I won't have the card more then a few years anyways so the warranty is bullocks to me. What I care about in a card is the overclockability and the cooling solution on it. Also the card bundle plays a role. I tend to stay away from companies with lame names like BFG or XFX or HIS or crap like that. If the company can't even pick a decent name then I won't buy there shit! BFG totally reminds me of quake2 with the big fucken gun. LAME-O. ANd what about "his" WTF kind of company name is that anyways?
 
So lemme get this right... you don't care about warranty, and would rather have a crappy one than a good one, even if the cards are made by another 3rd party and are exactly the same expect for the customer support?
 
No warranty is going to allow you to "tinker" with the card. I can't believe I just read that. This whole warranty thing is marketing at its best. Companies that give these so called life time warrantees are basically saying this: Our card is no more better then anyone else’s card, but to keep you coming back as a customer we will offer you a life time warranty.

That is all it is. And not once have I ever read a company allowing tinkering. That is like Intel saying it is perfectly ok to do whatever you want with the CPU as we will replace it no matter what LOL

I couldn't care less about a life time warranty. I won't have the card more then a few years anyways so the warranty is bullocks to me. What I care about in a card is the overclockability and the cooling solution on it. Also the card bundle plays a role. I tend to stay away from companies with lame names like BFG or XFX or HIS or crap like that. If the company can't even pick a decent name then I won't buy there shit! BFG totally reminds me of quake2 with the big fucken gun. LAME-O. ANd what about "his" WTF kind of company name is that anyways?

EVGAs warranty covers OCs and other issues. I'd call that tinkering.
 
So lemme get this right... you don't care about warranty,
Correct. All manufacturers have warranties that cover the expected life of a card, thus all this talk about warranties is a waste of time.

and would rather have a crappy one than a good one
Incorrect. Don't put words in my mouth.

even if the cards are made by another 3rd party
Correct

and are exactly the same expect for the customer support?
Incorrect
 
I don't think its Asus, and none of the handful of links I was just looking at stated who it was, but here is a quote from guru3d (http://www.guru3d.com/article/content/412/2/)



Which sums up what the rest of us have been saying.


Thanks jmackay for enlightening me on this development in Nvidia graphics cards. A quick search on newegg basically confirms this. Throughout the 7 series, XFX cards have the XFX trademark neon green DVI ports. The XFX 8500 and 8600GT retain them, but all their 8800 series cards have standard white DVI ports, a spartan design that I highly doubt XFX would willingly accept unless forced to.
 
Interesting. Thanks!



It is what XFX has that allows you to register the card for your lifetime warranty then if you ever sell the card the next owner just has to register the same as you for a lifetime warranty as well.

All the other manufacturers technically dont cover a card once its sold/given to someone else.

Its more or less a pretty term for a transferable lifetime warranty.
 
No warranty is going to allow you to "tinker" with the card. I can't believe I just read that. This whole warranty thing is marketing at its best. Companies that give these so called life time warrantees are basically saying this: Our card is no more better then anyone else’s card, but to keep you coming back as a customer we will offer you a life time warranty.

That is all it is. And not once have I ever read a company allowing tinkering. That is like Intel saying it is perfectly ok to do whatever you want with the CPU as we will replace it no matter what LOL

I couldn't care less about a life time warranty. I won't have the card more then a few years anyways so the warranty is bullocks to me. What I care about in a card is the overclockability and the cooling solution on it. Also the card bundle plays a role. I tend to stay away from companies with lame names like BFG or XFX or HIS or crap like that. If the company can't even pick a decent name then I won't buy there shit! BFG totally reminds me of quake2 with the big fucken gun. LAME-O. ANd what about "his" WTF kind of company name is that anyways?

As Sd11 said EVGA allows you to tinker with their card and i suppose you missed the post by XFXSupport where he mentioned that XFX has started to allow this as well...
 
Correct. All manufacturers have warranties that cover the expected life of a card, thus all this talk about warranties is a waste of time.


Incorrect. Don't put words in my mouth.


Correct


Incorrect

While its nice you chose to quote me, I wasn't talking to you, I was referring to this, the post right above mine:

I couldn't care less about a life time warranty. I won't have the card more then a few years anyways so the warranty is bullocks to me. What I care about in a card is the overclockability and the cooling solution on it. Also the card bundle plays a role. I tend to stay away from companies with lame names like BFG or XFX or HIS or crap like that. If the company can't even pick a decent name then I won't buy there shit! BFG totally reminds me of quake2 with the big fucken gun. LAME-O. ANd what about "his" WTF kind of company name is that anyways?

So I hardly put words in your mouth ;)
 
All reference designed 8800GTX's (and I believe every 8800GTX still is reference design) is manufactured by asus then shipped out to other AIB's

I'll try to find a link, but im positive its asus.

I'm pretty positive that it's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, LTD, or better known as Foxconn and not Asus.
 
No warranty is going to allow you to "tinker" with the card. I can't believe I just read that. This whole warranty thing is marketing at its best. Companies that give these so called life time warrantees are basically saying this: Our card is no more better then anyone else’s card, but to keep you coming back as a customer we will offer you a life time warranty.

That is all it is. And not once have I ever read a company allowing tinkering. That is like Intel saying it is perfectly ok to do whatever you want with the CPU as we will replace it no matter what LOL

I couldn't care less about a life time warranty. I won't have the card more then a few years anyways so the warranty is bullocks to me. What I care about in a card is the overclockability and the cooling solution on it. Also the card bundle plays a role. I tend to stay away from companies with lame names like BFG or XFX or HIS or crap like that. If the company can't even pick a decent name then I won't buy there shit! BFG totally reminds me of quake2 with the big fucken gun. LAME-O. ANd what about "his" WTF kind of company name is that anyways?

So I don't mean to flame.....well...yes I do actually. Here you are - posting in a HARDWARE forum, giving advice - or just bsing so that you can sound smart - but yet you do no research and get upset whenever anyone posts anything that you don't like. Please, do us all a favor - research - offer something useful to say - or just shut up.

eVGA offers a full lifetime warranty covering "tinkering". You can replace the hsf - overclock the card - reflash the card - as well as a number of other physical mods.

Again Maleficarus - learn your facts - stop trying to a know it all and get over it - and for god's sake - stop saying a company makes bad equipment because you dont like your name.

Word to the op - your asking a question about who makes the best and what not - your going to get a lot of answers - do research based upon the answers you get. Don't blindly believe anything anyone tells you here.


Later guys!
 
No warranty is going to allow you to "tinker" with the card. I can't believe I just read that. This whole warranty thing is marketing at its best. Companies that give these so called life time warrantees are basically saying this: Our card is no more better then anyone else’s card, but to keep you coming back as a customer we will offer you a life time warranty.

That is all it is. And not once have I ever read a company allowing tinkering. That is like Intel saying it is perfectly ok to do whatever you want with the CPU as we will replace it no matter what LOL

I couldn't care less about a life time warranty. I won't have the card more then a few years anyways so the warranty is bullocks to me. What I care about in a card is the overclockability and the cooling solution on it. Also the card bundle plays a role. I tend to stay away from companies with lame names like BFG or XFX or HIS or crap like that. If the company can't even pick a decent name then I won't buy there shit! BFG totally reminds me of quake2 with the big fucken gun. LAME-O. ANd what about "his" WTF kind of company name is that anyways?

Dude, you're the most foolish person I've come across on these boards. Good job showing your ignorance by stating that you choose your video card manufacturer based on their company name. I hope your foot is firmly in your mouth for your Intel comparison now that multiple people have told you that eVGA DOES in fact let you tinker, overclock, and flash their cards without voiding the warranty.
 
Dude, you're the most foolish person I've come across on these boards. Good job showing your ignorance by stating that you choose your video card manufacturer based on their company name. I hope your foot is firmly in your mouth for your Intel comparison now that multiple people have told you that eVGA DOES in fact let you tinker, overclock, and flash their cards without voiding the warranty.

I have to agree with you. I dont not buy a product due to product name. That does seem ridiculous..
 
Dude, you're the most foolish person I've come across on these boards. Good job showing your ignorance by stating that you choose your video card manufacturer based on their company name. I hope your foot is firmly in your mouth for your Intel comparison now that multiple people have told you that eVGA DOES in fact let you tinker, overclock, and flash their cards without voiding the warranty.

Bla, bla bla... Was just my personal beef with lame ass names. I never said I would never buy them. You guys take this shit way too seriously. It is like I insulted your mother or something lol...

Suggestion: It is a piece of silicon, not your first born. Get a life dude...
 
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