Good ATi brands

[TJ Tom]

AnandTech readers,

I've been reading the forums for quite some time now but only recently decided to register, so incase you feel like I'm using you, I am ^_^

I'm not going into the nVidia/ATi debate here, I just buy as many bang for as little buck is I can get. So at the moment ATi is my only choice.

I figured I should go for a HD5850 or HD5870 if I want my videocard to last a little while and go crossfire later on but them cards are not available (atleast not the XFX ones) and XFX is the brand I prefer because you don't void the waranty when you remove the stock cooler. And since I'm watercooling them I would lose my waranty from day 1 if I go for another brand.

So, instead of waiting for XFX to come with some cards I've decided to go with another brand instead and hope it turns out to be a good choice. Basically my only choices are MSI and ASUS. And since I don't like ASUS when it comes to videocards MSI is my only choice.

So what I'm asking you here is -> ...

Is MSI a good choice?
Do they put stickers on the cards so they know when the stock cooler is removed?
And is their waranty good in general?

Thanks for wasting your time on me! D:

 

[Meghan54]

Must not live in the U.S., eh?

XFX's are available at Newegg, among other places.

As for Asus vs. MSI......since both will be reference cards, pretty much pick one.

 

[TJ Tom]

Europe, Belgium to be exact. Both are reference cards yes, but I'm not concerned about the cooler or anything just wondering what brand is the best to go with when it comes to warranty. I've heard about brands (Powercolor?) that use stickers you have to remove in order to change the coolers. I don't want a brand that uses this kind of stickers =)

 

[darckhart]

i've owned two msi cards and removed the hsf to put 3rd party ones on them and have not noticed any breakable stickers etc that would give immediate evidence of tampering.

regarding their warranty policies, i made a post about all manufacturer's here. it's a little dated, and i really was only looking at USA/North America, but most aren't region specific i think:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=236270

 

[MarcVenice]

From what I know, MSI does not put stickers on their cards that break when you remove the cooler. In fact, I wouldn't know of any brand that does this. Asus doesn't for sure. I'm not sure why you don't like Asus, but I can vouch for their videocards. I can't vouch for their customer service though, but if you do run in to trouble, be it MSI or Asus, let me know

Btw, have you considered ordering from a Dutch webshop? From what I know, most of them ship to Belgium for very little extra cost. Use the Tweakers.net pricewatch to find the right shop Might be a little hard though if you only speak French. That what you might be able to find a card to your liking. Club3D is usually pretty cheap, and popular, and so is Sapphire.

 

[TJ Tom]

Personally I prefer Sapphire, have a HD4850 from sapphire atm. I speak dutch but wish I spoke french though I never heard a single bad word about XFX or Sapphire or HIS that's why I prefer those. And I don't like ASUS because of their support. I know they make quality stuff but support is more important to me.

And I could order in the Netherlands but then again I'm bothered with transport costs when my videocard would break down on me. And I'd have to wait days and days, I hate waiting. I'm on tweakers.net too and use the pricewatch all the time but none of the good priced cards are available and I figured I rather spend an extra 40 euro's so I can get it NOW and return it anytime I want.

 

[Seero]

I believe removing HS won't void warranties. Sometimes you need to remove the vent cover to clean the dust on the HS, and sometimes it means you need to remove the HS as screws are under it. To RMA however, you need to return the card with the HS.

 

[NoQuarter]

You should carefully read the warranty if you are outside the US. XFX's double lifetime warranty doesn't apply outside the US.

 

[nyker96]

I have an MSI and owned XFX from NV side, both are decent although XFX seems to have better warranty. The thing I like about the MSI is their custom heatsink which is double slot and very big kept the temp down about 10C on load compare to regular single slots. It's just excellent for cooling.