GPU brand
 

Ok... here I am thinking of possibly buying another GPU... I'm just curious what brand you prefer, because I don't know. Does it even matter?

MSI
Gigabyte
HIS
Sapphire
Powercolor etc. etc.

Reasons would be nice too :razz:

[QUOTE=kracker;371556]Ok... here I am thinking of possibly buying another GPU... I'm just curious what brand you prefer, because I don't know. Does it even matter?

MSI
Gigabyte
HIS
Sapphire
Powercolor etc. etc.

Reasons would be nice too :razz:[/QUOTE]
I can give you some input because I was doing research for where to get the R9 295x2 from. Short answer is Sapphire for AMD, Gigabyte for Nvidia, but I'll go through each thing in the list.

MSI and Gigabyte have some good non-reference cards, but their customer service for RMA and such has a terrible reputation. But I've had a good experience with Gigabyte Nvidia cards myself, never had to RMA and the cards last for years.

HIS and Powercolor are cheaper cards, but as such are hit and miss with reliability. I've heard their warranties are good, though.

Sapphire has a great reputation for warranties and non-reference cards. My first non-integrated GPU was a Sapphire, so it's kind of nostalgia. But if you're looking for an AMD card, every one has nice things to say.

EDIT: But also, if you're looking for a recently launched card, many manufacturers start out with reference card and then after some time iterate to a non-reference card for overclocking with a better aftermarket cooler, etc. The 295x2 in this case doesn't really have that problem because its cooling system is liquid/air hybrid and they've put a decent amount of effort into the stock card, so it's definitely worth buying a reference at launch.

Intresting. As a note, Gigabyte sells both AMD and NVidia cards "fully".

EVGA or ASUS. Preferably EVGA.

[QUOTE=Xyzzy;371563]EVGA or ASUS. Preferably EVGA.[/QUOTE]

I hear EVGA(Nvidia only btw) is great for warranty, but I'm not sure about their coolers at all..

I have Gigabyte (GTX 570) Super OC, which has a three-fan cooler.
I have an Asus (GTX 580) DirectCU, with a two fan cooler, very similar in [I]fan[/I] proportions to the MSI card mentioned above.

The Gigabyte is, I think, the third replacement I've gotten. Originally I got a GV-N570OC-13I on Ebay. It ran for a while, then blew a few capacitors. Fortunately, Gigabyte only cared about the serial number. From that they determined that the card was still under warrantee. They RMA'd it, and sent another like it. It blew something, too, after a while. At this point they offered a 660ti as a replacement. When I balked, they came up with the GV-N570SO-13I I now have. It ran well, and overclocked very nicely until one of the fans started to seize. At this point, they sent me a new set of fans.

This GTX 570 does mfaktc running at 861 (732 Fact. OC) MHz, makes rather soft sound, even when manually turned to 100% fan. It is also cooler than the other card by 2-3 C, though it does have the advantage of being in a lower slot. Idling the 580 makes no difference in its temps. mfaktc says it is producing 332 GHz-d/d. It draws ~255 W at full load.

The Asus 580 has larger fans which can rev a bit higher. It is always noisier than the 570 except at idle. It [U]can[/U] run at 861 (782 fact. OC), but I hold it to 844 because of heat. That would be worse, except for the two spot fans ramming air into the gap between the cards, and a 2700 rpm actual, 120x 38mm side port fan. It actually stays pretty cool if the 570 is idle, dropping 6-7 C.

At 844 MHz it draws 275 W, and delivers about 470 GHz-d/d.

EDIT: Both cards are running on stock voltage.

Wattage determined by starting and stopping mfaktc and watching the Kill-a-Watt.

The Asus also came from Ebay, and also developed a problem with one fan. I did not investigate RMA this time. Instead, I managed to oil the fan. I really need to follow through on the replacements I have found. They aren't cheap, at $15-19 shipped from China. I have also looked at Ali.

All in all, Gigabyte has easy warrantee, based only on Serial #. It is a pain that their first model I had, proved unequal to the task of 24/7 number-crunching. I am not the only one here to experience this. The SO card I have now is doing OK right now.

I can't address the warrantee on the Asus. It is massively built, and is triple slot. Still, the 3 fan Gigabyte solution seems to cool as well, is quieter, and in a slightly thinner package. I might guess that it would be better to get the SO version 580, not the OC.

The ASUS DirectCU is something I am really impressed with.

My GTX 670 is from EVGA but it was a blower fan I'm just not keen on overall.

Gigabyte looks good, gets great reviews. My friend is running an HD 7870 from Gigabyte and is pleased. Cool and quiet.


Sapphire almost feels like an "elite" brand. I feel like it's more inclined to enthusiast gamers but I couldn't explain why.

[QUOTE=TheMawn;371584]The ASUS DirectCU is something I am really impressed with.

My GTX 670 is from EVGA but it was a blower fan I'm just not keen on overall.

Gigabyte looks good, gets great reviews. My friend is running an HD 7870 from Gigabyte and is pleased. Cool and quiet.


Sapphire almost feels like an "elite" brand. I feel like it's more inclined to enthusiast gamers but I couldn't explain why.[/QUOTE]

Hmm... let me ask you though: How loud exactly is the blower fan you have?

Right now, I'm leaning to gigabyte or ASUS, although ASUS is in general more expensive compared to others...

There are many people who consider multi-fan coolers worse than a single turbine. This is not entirely fair to either kind.

If a case is a budget case and has mediocre flow <<insert "it sucks/it blows" humor here>>, then surely the argument that "every component fights for its own life on itself" works and it is likely better to have a single-fan card that blows out.

If a case has excellent flow, then multi-fan coolers will do their job (locally, and the general flow will pick up the exhaust) and arguably will be less noisy. I prefer this sort of setup. (I had a 3-fan Gigabyte 570, and still have its 3-fan replacement 570SO, just like k.ladner. I also had a two-fan EVGA 560Ti448 but after a recent RMA, the best they could find was a 1-fan plain 570. The latter is more noisy, but it is better than 650Ti :rolleyes: )

If the ASUS is not a reference design, and instead uses their "DC2" system or whatever they have now, it will be significantly quieter than the average card of similar specifications. (In our experience! YMMV!)

[url]http://promos.asus.com/US/GTX700Series/DC2/[/url]

Our Asus 580 is quieter when it does not have a 570 in a lower slot feeding it hot air. But still, it tends to be more noticeable [I]for me[/I] than the Gigabyte 570.
As you say, Mike, YMMV.