So I think this lifetime warranty thing is worthless

[Barfo]

I'm ordering a 6850 soon and while researching which board partners are best, I come across several people recommending XFX for it's double lifetime warranty. Lifetime as in the lifetime of the card. I understand having a real lifetime warranty is just not going to happen and I wouldn't want to hold on a video card for more than 3 years anyway. So are XFX 5850 owners screwed because the card is going to be EOLed soon (if it hasn't already)? How is XFX's warranty better than other brands'? I feel I'm missing something.

 

[dguy6789]

They give you an equivalent or better performing card if they can't replace the exact model in the future. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[faxon]

PNY is the company that expires the warranty as soon as the card is EOL, XFX still honors it afterward, you just get a newer (usually faster) card if they cant. EVGA works the same way, but they are more frequently quoted for sending people upgrades as well. know a few ppl who had bumpgate 8800GTX 768s die and get back 260 core 216s as repalcements with EVGA. me, im currently all XFX 5870s across the board, RMAed 2 now (killed em running DC 24/7, bad ram, and california summers are HOT), their service has always been great, get my cards back in a timely manner every time

 

[Sickamore]

In a way the warranty is good. Because if you do decide to sell it to some noob they have warranty.

 

[BathroomFeeling]

In a similar vein, does the XFX lifetime warranty extend to those living in other countries? I can grab an XFX brand card locally in shops, but I'm not sure if it's worth considering compared to other brands if the warranty is non-existent to those not in the US. Their Warranty Information page only states the validity to those in the US & Canada, nothing about anyone elsewhere.

 

[Leyawiin]

PNY is the company that expires the warranty as soon as the card is EOL

Not as of September 2009. They have a two-tiered warranty now. The "XLR8" line has a lifetime of the purchaser warranty with a registration at their website required within three months of purchase. The rest of their line has a lifetime of the product on the market warranty - the one you're speaking of.

Its one of the reasons I bought a PNY GTX 460.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

The XFX 6870 is much more expensive on Amazon. HIS, Sapphire, and VisionTek are all at MSRP. Any recommendations between those?

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I guess I should say I'm debating between a 6870, a GTX 470, and an OC GTX 460. I'd pick EVGA for the nVidia cards.

 

[Sickamore]

if your going ati go with xfx if your going with nvidia go with evga. I would buy from newegg better deal there.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

if your going ati go with xfx if your going with nvidia go with evga. I would buy from newegg better deal there.

I have $200 in Amazon rewards to spend, so I have to get it from Amazon.

 

[edplayer]

I would consider Asus over XFX. Not too many people report their RMA experiences here but take a look over at Hardforum. XFX does not have a good reputation. Its nowhere near as bad as Diamond but ATI doesn't have a partner that has a reputation anything close to that of EVGA.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I would consider Asus over XFX. Not too many people report their RMA experiences here but take a look over at Hardforum. XFX does not have a good reputation. Its nowhere near as bad as Diamond but ATI doesn't have a partner that has a reputation anything close to that of EVGA.

What about Sapphire or HIS?

 

[Rifter]

Its worthless and you will get screwed. I had a XFX 4890 OC card that would hit 1Ghz core no problem, great card and i loved it. But it developed coil whine and i RMA'ed it, XFX was very nice and easy to deal with, didnt even care that i OC'ed it to 1Ghz but since the 4890's were no longer available when i RMA'ed it(less than 2 years after i bought it). I eneded up with a regual non factory OC'ed 4870 as a replacement that doesnt OC worth crap, guess its been long enough now and XFX is binning the chips well for there OC edition cards so the regular cards dont OC worth crap.

 

[faxon]

Not as of September 2009. They have a two-tiered warranty now. The "XLR8" line has a lifetime of the purchaser warranty with a registration at their website required within three months of purchase. The rest of their line has a lifetime of the product on the market warranty - the one you're speaking of.

Its one of the reasons I bought a PNY GTX 460.

ill have to check what i have then hehe, i may have 2 of both

 

[Sickamore]

I personally would go with asus or gigabyte or msi. XFX i don't like. I have no reason not to like them. I just don't feel good using their card. For nvidia i would go with evga.

 

[Powermoloch]

xfx is really reliable for their service. They were fast to send a new working HSF w/ fan for my 4650HD !

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I may just stick with EVGA and go nVidia then. Though I think the 6870 is what I should get.

 

[Sickamore]

i can tell you to wait because new cards coming out this month so you have better selection. I would go with two asus 6870 if i didn't want to wait. Two of these cards are absolute power.

 

[bryanW1995]

I had an HIS 3870 that was great. with nvidia there's evga and everyone else, with amd it's xfx and everyone else. if xfx is too expensive, btwn sapphire/his/VT I would probably go with VT as long as they still have the lifetime warranty.

if you end up going nvidia get a stock evga gtx 460 and just oc it. not worth the huge price bump for the higher factory oc'd cards. make sure that you get a non-tr one, however. in fact, this is funny, but if you buy a ftw then you get a 2 yr warranty, if you buy a stock card you save lots of $$, can get a non-tr model with a lifetime warranty, and they will still warranty it even if you tell them that you oc'd it to ftw speeds.

 

[blastingcap]

I would consider Asus over XFX. Not too many people report their RMA experiences here but take a look over at Hardforum. XFX does not have a good reputation. Its nowhere near as bad as Diamond but ATI doesn't have a partner that has a reputation anything close to that of EVGA.

I am only one person but in my experience, XFX is good with warranties and such. I'd definitely choose them over ASUS, all else equal. Speaking of EVGA they shipped me a mildly broken GTX460-768 (which I'm not bothering to send to EVGA RMA... who knows when I'll get it back? I am sending it back to the etailer). Even if EVGA has stellar RMA, their packaging leaves something to desired. XFX on the other hand, has always shipped stuff in good packaging to me.

 

[Cheesetogo]

Doesn't XFX's "double" lifetime warranty just mean that it's transferable if you decide to sell it?

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I had an HIS 3870 that was great. with nvidia there's evga and everyone else, with amd it's xfx and everyone else. if xfx is too expensive, btwn sapphire/his/VT I would probably go with VT as long as they still have the lifetime warranty.

Thanks. VT still does have a lifetime warranty. I'll probably just go with them in that case.

if you end up going nvidia get a stock evga gtx 460 and just oc it. not worth the huge price bump for the higher factory oc'd cards. make sure that you get a non-tr one, however. in fact, this is funny, but if you buy a ftw then you get a 2 yr warranty, if you buy a stock card you save lots of $$, can get a non-tr model with a lifetime warranty, and they will still warranty it even if you tell them that you oc'd it to ftw speeds.

Thanks. You're referring to an EVGA non-FTW, right?

 

[IndyColtsFan]

i can tell you to wait because new cards coming out this month so you have better selection. I would go with two asus 6870 if i didn't want to wait. Two of these cards are absolute power.

I thought about that as well because the 6970 and 6950 will probably cause downward price pressure on the 6870 and 6850. I've just got this irritating itch to upgrade now. The 6950 and 6970 will be more than I want to spend in all likelihood, though if the 6950 hits $300 that would be interesting. Even if the 6950 MSRPs at $300, however, I imagine that it might be several weeks before we see availability at that price.

 

[taltamir]

I'm ordering a 6850 soon and while researching which board partners are best, I come across several people recommending XFX for it's double lifetime warranty. Lifetime as in the lifetime of the card.

no, MANY companies say "lifetime* and then *Lifetime means lifetime of the card which is X months/years", I have seen X be between 6 months and 5 years.
XFX explicitly states that it is lifetime of the PURCHASER, as long as YOU, the purchaser, is alive, you have warranty.
The "double lifetime" comes from the ability to transfer it... it is the lifetime of the original purchaser AND a second lifetime warranty for whomever the purchaser SOLD the card to.
The caveat is that you must register your purchase within 30 days or its a 1 year warranty (a caveat made by ALL companies that offer lifetime warranty, including eVGA and BFG)... Note however that there is another issue here... lifetime of the company. BFG is out of the graphics card business and thus their lifetime warranties are now all gone.

 

[Rhezuss]

When I shopped for the HD 6850 I had tho choices from 2 different etailers:
- Sapphire at 185CAD + 12CAD shipping + 5%GST = 207CAD
- HIS at 183CAD + 11.50CAD shipping + 5%GST = 204CAD
- Gigabyte at 190CAD + 12CAD shipping + 5%GST = 212CAD
- XFX at 200CAD + free shipping + 5%GST = 210CAD

I decided to go with the XFX since the price was good as theire reputation (from what I read). Some etailers have the XFX for 215-225CAD BEFORE shipping and tax so it was worth is IMO.

But from ASUS, Sapphire, HIS, Gigabyte, MSI, XFX, etc, take the less expensive if your on a budget, you won't regret it.