nVidia GTX295

[The Borg]

Hi all,

I can get hold of the above card from any of the following manufacturers. Can anyone suggest the better choice?

BFG
Gainward
XFX

Asus, Gigabyte, Leadtek and MSI are a no show. Should I wait and see for any of these?

Any suggestions would be most helpful

 

[Denithor]

XFX > BFG >> Gainward

 

[TidusZ]

I had a bfg 280 and have a bfg 295 now, I guess I'm kinda loyal to them at this point, there has been no reason not to be. Good service, good cards (both were relatively stock cards), Trade-Up went very well when I didnt have the box or cd. EVGA and XFX are considered the other 2 that round out the top 3 generally.

 

[JoshGuru7]

I'm not sure why EVGA isn't on your list, but if it's not a deliberate omission then they would be my first choice. I've never had a problem with either EVGA customer support or their double lifetime warranty and they have pretty friendly overclocking utilities.

I'd be less inclined to recommend XFX simply because I had to open multiple tickets in order to get an RMA for a noisy XFX 8800 (known issue) but that's obviously just my experience.

 

[Painman]

I thought XFX were the double lifetime warranty people?

Could be that BFG, Gainward, XFX are the companies whose cards are in stock @ the OP's vendor of choice... quick check @ newegg shows eVGA as the only brand of 295 in stock right at this very moment.

 

[OCGuy]

EVGA or XFX...EVGA if I had to pick a winner.

 

[error8]

I would pick the cheapest of them all. What is the point of double lifetime warranty or lifetime warranty, when you'll be keeping the card 1 year, maybe 1 year and a half at the max? For me that is not a criteria for picking up a videocard. Price and the cooling solution should be the things that matter when buying a card. Since GTX295 doesn't have any custom cooling version, I'd just take the cheapest out there.

 

[Painman]

Originally posted by: error8
I would pick the cheapest of them all. What is the point of double lifetime warranty or lifetime warranty, when you'll be keeping the card 1 year, maybe 1 year and a half at the max? For me that is not a criteria for picking up a videocard. Price and the cooling solution should be the things that matter when buying a card. Since GTX295 doesn't have any custom cooling version, I'd just take the cheapest out there.

That's your opinion, but personally I care about long term warranties. I often pass high-end GPUs on to family members (who also game) once I've tapped them out for my own purposes, and it's nice to still be able to call in for an RMA if something goes bad further on down the line.

Everyone's criteria is different, and no one's criteria is necessarily invalid.

 

[error8]

Originally posted by: Painman

Originally posted by: error8
I would pick the cheapest of them all. What is the point of double lifetime warranty or lifetime warranty, when you'll be keeping the card 1 year, maybe 1 year and a half at the max? For me that is not a criteria for picking up a videocard. Price and the cooling solution should be the things that matter when buying a card. Since GTX295 doesn't have any custom cooling version, I'd just take the cheapest out there.

That's your opinion, but personally I care about long term warranties. I often pass high-end GPUs on to family members (who also game) once I've tapped them out for my own purposes, and it's nice to still be able to call in for an RMA if something goes bad further on down the line.

Everyone's criteria is different, and no one's criteria is necessarily invalid.

Of course, I never said you have to do what I do, it's just how I see things, because I always sell my old videocards and never put them in other PCs, so that is why I really don't care about how much the warranty period extends.

 

[polarbear6]

WELL THINK ABOUT IT THIS WAY
xfx doesnt provide any guarantee if u screw up ur card by either overclocking
or if u replace the fan(dont tell me its a personnel experience)
i prefer evga only for there gaurantee policies

 

[The Borg]

Thanks guys. Those are the only suppliers I have access to. Live in Sunny South Africa, so a bit limited to supply - no Newegg or anything like that.

 

[chizow]

They're all going to be reference parts most likely, so cooling and performance should be the same. As some others mentioned it should come down to warranty and price, which you'll have to balance to whatever makes more sense to you. I know XFX also warranties overclocking, BFG doesn't explicitly, not sure about Gainward.

Another important consideration would be ease of RMA in case you'd ever need to exercise your warranty. Being in South Africa you may want to choose the brand that is closer to you or charges less, if any shipping/customs fees are involved. I know in the US, the big three of XFX, BFG, and EVGA are typically preferred, not only because of their superior warranties, but also because they're all based in the US which makes RMA faster and easier as well.

 

[TC91]

EVGA. I think they give you that backplate for extra cooling too.

 

[ronnn]

Originally posted by: error8
I would pick the cheapest of them all. What is the point of double lifetime warranty or lifetime warranty, when you'll be keeping the card 1 year, maybe 1 year and a half at the max? For me that is not a criteria for picking up a videocard. Price and the cooling solution should be the things that matter when buying a card. Since GTX295 doesn't have any custom cooling version, I'd just take the cheapest out there.

QFT. Except I usually change the cooling solution anyways. Warranties after 1 year are generally like buying paint protection on your new car. An expensive wax job.

 

[The Borg]

Hi guys,

I asked a while back re the best cards from a list. The supplier I can contact has increased the list of cards for the GTX 295. It now includes eVGA and a few others.

There was a helpful order above of the following:

XFX > BFG >> Gainward

Now that I can get the following cards, would someone care to update the list please?

Asus
BFG
eVGA
Gainward
Gigabyte
XFX

I understand eVGA is rather good.

Any comments please.

 

[OCGuy]

Originally posted by: The Borg
Hi guys,

I asked a while back re the best cards from a list. The supplier I can contact has increased the list of cards for the GTX 295. It now includes eVGA and a few others.

There was a helpful order above of the following:

XFX > BFG >> Gainward

Now that I can get the following cards, would someone care to update the list please?

Asus
BFG
eVGA
Gainward
Gigabyte
XFX

I understand eVGA is rather good.

Any comments please.

XFX, EVGA, BFG are the "big three".

As you can tell from my sig, I am rather partial to eVGA. However, I dont really have anything bad to say about BFG or XFX. You wont go wrong with any of them.

 

[The Borg]

Many thanks. Where do Asus and Gigsbyte fit in? I have always heard good things about their motherboards.

 

[smackababy]

I would personally go with eVGA because BFG and XFX tend to be a bit more pricey. And that I am rather indecisive so I step up at least one. Am about to grab a GTX295 myself, actually. Stepping up from my card will cut cost in half. I haven't heard of any first hand problems with XFX or BFG, I just see their prices are usually higher than eVGA. Sometimes, XFX are lower, but not always.