Which Card Manufacturer Do You Prefer?

[Godsmack]

I'm just curious what manufacturer people are buying when it comes to their gpu. This is not a debate about who is better "AMD or Nvidia", just which manufacturer you bought or are going to buy.

List your reasons:

- Better specs?
- Better cooling?
- Better support?
- Better customer service?


- Better looking....
- ***Availability*** (Sorry I left that one out, damn... that should have been the poll..)


I have a EVGA GTX 780 Superclocked


*I only posted 7 manufacturers for each, the 7 for Nvidia cards comes from Nvidias website. I could not find a list for AMD easily so i just shopped for them and found these manufacturers.  If i missed a brand that you purchased or want on the list just mention it.


*Multiple choice
*Hypothetical EVGA added for AMD
*Gainward added for Nvidia

*HIS added for AMD

[zxcvbnmmssdh]

Probably a tie between EVGA and ASUS

[Benjamin G]

For Nvidia i chose MSI. I like the Twin Frozr coolers and "military class" components they use, also I have good history with them. Sapphire for AMD mainly for looks and my small history with them.

[torogitar]

I like EVGA. I am not really sure why but I have always used it and I like the design and cooling

[Ryan Leech]

EVGA, I only buy nvidia cards for myself. When I design a system for someone else, I always go with an MSI AMD card.

[Hans Christian | Teri]

EVGA for NVIDIA for their unparalleled warranty of which the step up program plays a big part. Absolutely amazing initiative from their side.

[Flyguygamer]

Can you make it so we can select more than one choice?

[Lord Pantaloons]

I didn't vote because EVGA don't do AMD GPU's

[Godsmack]

I didn't vote because EVGA don't do AMD GPU's

Yea, I read on other forums people not happy about that

[bosnian_guy]

EVGA and ASUS

[PillowSmoke]

EVGA and ASUS

 

Yea, I read on other forums people not happy about that

 

It might be the contracts and stuff that in place. Since EVGA is so good nvidia like's okay you're going to be our #1 3rd party card creator. And with that you are not to make ANY cards for amd.

[flibberdipper]

ASUS, then MSI, then EVGA.

[Str_Mape]

MSI, HIS then Asus

[Vic9mm]

MSI

[Tr3vor]

Gigabyte and Sapphire because the blue PCBs. I like it. It matches my motherboard.

Gigabyte specifically because their coolers are typically very quiet. I could not ever hear my 550TI windforce card. by friend's Gigabyte 7970ghz is relatively quiet too.

Sapphire because the generally cheaper prices, decently quiet cards and cool designs (except for that disgusting new R9 Toxic cards, ugh, ugly)

[BallaTheFeared]

I voted for all of them, I have no brand loyalty.

 

Whoever has what I want when I want it gets my money.

[tonychau77]

I would say MSI. The yellow on Lightning are really good. And they perform pretty well. Was not going to buy my Inno3D 660 if the MSI one was not out of stock.

[Strider]

You forgot both HIS and PowerColor on the AMD side. =P

I actually buy from most manufacturers, but I will stick to the ones I prefer for my own personal builds.

On the AMD side I often gravitate toward XFX and Sapphire. I like their cooler designs and they both make quality products. I have bought HIS for myself, but I have not done so since the 4000 generation, however I do like their cooler designs and their build quality as well.

On the Nvidia side it's EVGA. Great quality, cooling, and non-reference options. If for some reason I can't get my hands on the specific EVGA card I am looking for, my backups would be MSI or ASUS.

There are only a few manufacturers I tend to stay away from, even with customer builds, and those are PNY, Zotac, and Galaxy. Having been a tech for a very long time, and with more builds than I can count under my belt, these are the top three brands I have had more issues with over the years. So much so that I pretty much avoid them all together.

Funny thing, I can remember back when Sapphire was the brand to avoid due to quality issues, but now they are one of the top brands on the AMD side of the fence. They have really come a long way and now offer top quality hardware.

I have not owned a Diamond card is a VERY long time, while I used to like them many years ago, I have no idea on their current quality. Club 3D, also never owned one, they are not very popular here in the US. So I have no real opinion on them either.

 

I pick the ones I do, not based on "brand loyalty", but the fact they have earned my business time and time again by providing me with a quality product that has met or exceeded my expectations. If that ever changes, I will not stick with a brand for the sake of doing so. Like I said, being a system builder I have the privilege of using hardware from many different manufacturers, so I get to gauge their quality for myself and form my own opinions.

 

=]

[Jumper118]

you forgot HIS and Gainward

[Picklenuttz]

MSI is my go to brand lately, never had an issue with them over the many years of building PCs. Quiet, Cool and a great performer is hard to beat.

EVGA comes in second on my list.

[the pokemon kid]

I went with Gainward cards in my rig. A lot cheaper than the others and had a half decent cooler on it. However I took the coolers off and put waterblocks onto them... 

[MC_loud]

For me, it's all about the looks of the card when deciding on which vendor to buy from, since all their flagship models perform about the same. Another factor may include accessories such as freebies

[Jumper118]

 have 2 msi cards and the build quality is epic, my mates sapphire card is really nice and my gigabyte failed within a day.

[Godsmack]

I voted for all of them, I have no brand loyalty.

 

Whoever has what I want when I want it gets my money.

Many of us agree with you, but i specifically stated this was just what people wanted to buy, or what they bought, and i asked people not to just blanket vote for all of them.  It's not a big deal but please don't do that in the future, just state your position.  There are many people who really are curious about what members here are buying and why.

 

But I and many others agree with you, we have no brand loyalty and will either buy what has the best specs and performance or what meets our financial situation.

[Godsmack]

I went with Gainward cards in my rig. A lot cheaper than the others and had a half decent cooler on it. However I took the coolers off and put waterblocks onto them... 

nice, i dont know too much about OC'ing etc, but don't some brands OC better than others?

 

For me, it's all about the looks of the card when deciding on which vendor to buy from, since all their flagship models perform about the same. Another factor may include accessories such as freebies

I agree mostly with that, like i don't think most of us are gonna tell the difference between stock 980MHz and 1000MHZ etc lol, but i didn't think about freebies, i'm more concerned with cooling or customer support etc.

 

 have 2 msi cards and the build quality is epic, my mates sapphire card is really nice and my gigabyte failed within a day.

I have used an MSI card as well and it works great, i've read that Sapphire cards are really good too, and i almost bought the Gigabyte GTX 780 but after some last minute reading I decided to go with the EVGA GTX 780 SC w/ACX.