BFG, Evga, XFX

[nyker96]

Originally posted by: Noema
I like eVGA because they have the least ridiculous box art.

well BFGs in that respect also has plain no crazy-stuff boxes for that matter. But I don't think I would care for the box design much as long as you got a nice card inside.

 

[Cheex]

Originally posted by: Captante
(1) EVGA provides a lifetime warranty as long as you register your card withing 30 days of purchase, has very good customer service, overclocking & swapping out the factory heatsink/fan are all covered under the warranty, plus they tend to offer aggressive pricing so I'll give them the slight edge for number one.

(2) XFX used to be third on my list, but recently they amended their Lifetime warranty (registration within 30 days still required) to cover overclocking & replacement of the factory heatsink/fan to better compete with EVGA, so despite the worst customer service of the 3 choices here by a small margin I'll give them second place.

(3) BFG has a lifetime warranty (no registration required) as well, but overclocking or replacing the factory heatsink/fan will void it. They also have the best customer service of these three companies, but not allowing modifications drops them to 3rd place in my opinion.

Bottom line is cards made by any of these companies are solid choices.

Perfectly said...:thumbsup:.

 

[Captante]

Originally posted by: TrandM

Originally posted by: Captante
....

(2) XFX used to be third on my list, but recently they amended their Lifetime warranty (registration within 30 days still required) to cover overclocking & replacement of the factory heatsink/fan to better compete with EVGA, so despite the worst customer service of the 3 choices here by a small margin I'll give them second place.

...

Where did you see that? In Dec '05 I rma'd my xfx 7800gt without any problems, took like 2 weeks or so before I received my replacement. I've been happy with it but immediately swapped out the stock heatsink (too noisy) and overclocked the card. It would be nice if it was still under warranty.

There was an article about it on Maximum PC's website, but I don't think it'll do you any good because its a recent developement, dated 5/2007.

XFX Amends Lifetime Warranty, Gives Green Light to OC

 

[2Dead]

Originally posted by: Captante

Originally posted by: TrandM

Originally posted by: Captante
....

(2) XFX used to be third on my list, but recently they amended their Lifetime warranty (registration within 30 days still required) to cover overclocking & replacement of the factory heatsink/fan to better compete with EVGA, so despite the worst customer service of the 3 choices here by a small margin I'll give them second place.

...

Where did you see that? In Dec '05 I rma'd my xfx 7800gt without any problems, took like 2 weeks or so before I received my replacement. I've been happy with it but immediately swapped out the stock heatsink (too noisy) and overclocked the card. It would be nice if it was still under warranty.

There was an article about it on Maximum PC's website, but I don't think it'll do you any good because its a recent developement, dated 5/2007.

XFX Amends Lifetime Warranty, Gives Green Light to OC

Thanks for the link. My card was registered within 30 days of purchase so I emailed them to find out if it would still be covered if I were to overclock it or swap out the heatsink. No worries if it is not but I'll definitely be happier if it is.

 

[Brent]

Out of curiousity, would XFX's "Double Lifetime Warranty" add into your equation at all?

I'm leaning rather strongly towards EVGA just because of their accessibility for and friendliness toward their customer base. But knowing that I will be inclined towards reselling whatever card I get, XFX's offering becomes a good deal more tempting as a result, IMO.

 

[Matt2]

EVGA >>>>> XFX > BFG

EVGA has the best warranty and customer service is good. XFX has a similar warranty plus a double lifetime warranty, but from what I hear lacks in the CS dept. BFG has the best CS, but no overclocking and no replacing the stock HSF is major negative points for me.

If I were to buy new, EVGA all the way. They're cheaper and the warranty covers everything. If I were to buy u8sed, XFX for sure because I would still be covered under the double lifetime warranty.

 

[2Dead]

I've received a response from XFX regarding OCing and swapping the heatsink on cards purchased and registered before the policy change. Below is the response.

[DANIEL_E - 06/19/2007] Hi TrandM, you may change the cooler on the video card as well as adjust the clock speeds. However any physical damage caused to the card as a direct result of affixing a 3rd party cooler to the video card will not be covered (i.e. say a capacitor was damaged or knocked off the card during the installation of a 3rd party cooler, water damage from a water cooling leak, etc..). Essentially as long as the fault occurred during normal use the card will be covered under warranty. Also ensure you keep all the stock components for the video as before an rma can be issued the video card must be returned to all stock factory specifications (i.e. ensure you remove any 3rd party products and affix the stock factory parts back on the card) before returning the card to us. Daniel

And this is exactly the kind of response I was hoping for. It looks fair to me and I'm happy my card is now back under warranty.

 

[n7]

I'd put eVGA at the bottom of that list for the very simple reason that they f*ck over anyone but the card's original owner.

I'm gonna ask a simple question. How many people here resell their cards to someone via FS/FT, eGhay, Craiglist, etc?
Yeah, basically everyone here.

XFX is obviously the best for that w/ their double lifetime warranty, even with the registration hassle.
BFG doesn't require registration, which may mean it's easier for the second owner to get help for warranty, rather than getting thrown out the door, like eVGA has so clearly stated.

So my order would be XFX > BFG > eVGA

I know people like to blindly recommend eVGA, but until they change their explicit direction that only the original owner is warrantied, i don't consider them all that hot, not to mention how they seem to like screwing over customers w/ lower end card RMA replacements.