Going Green

[Tsavo]

Ok, I was going to grab a 5850, but the GTX 470 from EVGA is only $49 more, and it has a limited lifetime warranty and is (from what I read) backed by great service.

Does EVGA still kick the Llama's ass in customer service?

 

[Tsavo]

To fend off some sayers of GTX 470 nay:

It's hot.
I hate Al Gore, so who cares!

It's loud.
I'm married. The louder the card is the better!

 

[Powermoloch]

I have no experience with their warranty, but as a previous owner to a 7600GT OC. The card is very reliable.

 

[George Powell]

As a user of a stock 5850 I can confirm that it is both fairly quiet and doesn't suck the juice that much.

For games the 470 is a little quicker and for many general purpose stuff is a lot quicker (folding being a key example) however you will spend more on electricity and you will have to put up with more heat output, good in winter, bad in summer.

 

[tincart]

It sounds like you want to buy the 470, so buy the 470.

Had an eVGA card once but had no problems and did not have to deal with tech support. They certainly seem to have a good reputation.

 

[ramj70]

I've owned quite a few evga cards over the years and I have never had to send one in for repair. I used their step-up program once and it was quick and painless. The only time I have e-mailed them is a question regarding a free digital download and they were very quick in responding.

The 470 isn't loud and I haven't noticed any brownouts when using my 470 or 480

 

[Madcatatlas]

To fend off some sayers of GTX 470 nay:

It's hot.
I hate Al Gore, so who cares!

It's loud.
I'm married. The louder the card is the better!

NO! DONT!



lol, nice one about the wife!

 

[at80eighty]

It's loud.
I'm married. The louder the card is the better!

goddamn i lol'd!!

 

[sandorski]

Congrats?

Short for a Blog, more like a Tweet.

 

[Attic]

lol @ the crack on the wifey.

 

[PCTC2]

I have used the eVGA warranty a few times. They're very helpful and generally get your RMA moving within a business day or two.

MAKE SURE YOU REGISTER WITHIN 30 DAYS OF PURCHASING and then upload your receipt before you lose it. You can pay for cross-shipping when first register but ONLY at that time. If you don't upgrade to EAR and stick to standard RMA, then you have to ship in your product first, then they send out the replacement. I have bought EAR for their 680i motherboard back in the day and for some of my more expensive eVGA products. It's nice, but not necessary. And if they no longer have the product (as in the case of my 7950GT), they will replace it with an equivalent refurbished (they replaced my eVGA 7950GT with an 8800GT when it started artifacting).

 

[faxon]

To fend off some sayers of GTX 470 nay:

It's hot.
I hate Al Gore, so who cares!

It's loud.
I'm married. The louder the card is the better!

it draws a lot more power than a 5850 also, thats totally not green! al gore would have a fit

ed: with that said though, the 470 is quite a good gaming gpu if you throw out all the deal killers for me (hot, loud, low milkway RAC vs cypress).

 

[Tsavo]

Thanks for the replies.

Normally, I'd be all over the 5850, but the price is just too close to a 470 with a killer warranty.

Too bad EVGA doesn't offer ATI GPUs.

 

[faxon]

Thanks for the replies.

Normally, I'd be all over the 5850, but the price is just too close to a 470 with a killer warranty.

Too bad EVGA doesn't offer ATI GPUs.

yea there's a lot of stories about XFX quality going downhill on the net recently. had a few customers @ frys telling me the same tales as well, and i had a couple issues with my first 5870 which could be attributed to the same issues. their service isnt what it used to be or i would say why not just get the XFX for the killer warranty. evga is probably a lot better if you care about support in the long term

 

[zerocool84]

Performance per dollar the 5850 is the king out of the top cards. XFX has a lifetime warranty but EVGA is awesome and will never buy another Nvidia card from anyone else except from EVGA but it seems like you've already made up your mind.

 

[Tsavo]

Performance per dollar the 5850 is the king out of the top cards. XFX has a lifetime warranty but EVGA is awesome and will never buy another Nvidia card from anyone else except from EVGA but it seems like you've already made up your mind.

75% mind made up. The killer warranty is the only thing that's tipping me towards the 470. For $300+, I want a company that will stand behind their product. Not as if makers of ATI cards don't, but for this amount of coin I want as few headaches as possible.

 

[zerocool84]

75% mind made up. The killer warranty is the only thing that's tipping me towards the 470. For $300+, I want a company that will stand behind their product. Not as if makers of ATI cards don't, but for this amount of coin I want as few headaches as possible.

Which I totally understand and would not buy an Nvidia card from anyone except EVGA and even pay a little more to get them as they are awesome. XFX is very reputable as well but my 5870 is my first card from XFX and it's been fine no problems so far.

 

[mfenn]

I have used the eVGA warranty a few times. They're very helpful and generally get your RMA moving within a business day or two.

MAKE SURE YOU REGISTER WITHIN 30 DAYS OF PURCHASING and then upload your receipt before you lose it. You can pay for cross-shipping when first register but ONLY at that time. If you don't upgrade to EAR and stick to standard RMA, then you have to ship in your product first, then they send out the replacement. I have bought EAR for their 680i motherboard back in the day and for some of my more expensive eVGA products. It's nice, but not necessary. And if they no longer have the product (as in the case of my 7950GT), they will replace it with an equivalent refurbished (they replaced my eVGA 7950GT with an 8800GT when it started artifacting).

This is why I hate EVGA.

They should not advertise their warranty as lifetime. It is really a 1-year warranty with a extension if you register. I know every GPU maker that has a lifetime warranty is the same, but it doesn't make EVGA any less guilty. A true lifetime warranty is the Crucial Ballistix warranty. If it says "Ballistix" on the DIMM, it's covered, no matter if you registered it or not.

Also, having to pay for advance RMA when you register is absolute bullshit. First, you shouldn't have to pay for advance RMA at all. You should just let them put a hold for the value of your card to your CC when you create and then lift the hold when they refund your card. Second, why should I have to let them hold onto my money just in case the card breaks?

 

[Puffnstuff]

Well I run evga mb's and gpu's and they are a first rate company. I've also used the step up program and it works great. Their requiring you to register within 30 days of purchase to get the lifetime warranty is a known policy but I agree it could be changed.

 

[Jhatfie]

I personally would normally go with the HD 5850 for many of the reasons stated, but $49 more really is not much more and you do get some additional performance that makes for a tougher decision. With some looking around you can often get 5850's for $275 or sometimes less shipped (Got both my sapphires for around $260 each after bing cash back). Current example $299.99 - 12% BCB from tigerdirect + $6.03 shipping = $270.02, but I suppose you can apply the same logic to the the 470 ($350 - 12% + 6.03 shipping = $314.02). Most warranty's are at least 2 years, which at least for me is the maximum I would keep any graphics card anyway, with 1 -1 1/2 year being more realistic.

If you want to go the GTX470 route, EVGA is a great company and I have never had any issues with their RMA policy. I had two back to back DOA GTX260's from them that they handled swiftly.

Either way, both cards are great performers and neither is a bad choice.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I found a used 5850 for $250 shipped and it's been kicking ass. It's small, uses little power, runs cool and stomps my gtx 280. I'm sold on ati. I don't need the absolute fastest card gaming at 1080p so for me it's great.

 

[Ayah]

I have to say, eVGA support is unmatched. I bought my 5850 at release because I didn't feel like waiting for Fermi. I don't think you'd be disappointed by either card though.

 

[Interitus]

I was in this position before I bought my XFX 5850.

Argument for a 470:

eVGA support is awesome. They're a first rate company and they will treat you right. I've had to replace 2 GPU's with them, both times I was returned a card of higher caliber. (6600GT -> 6600GT OC, 7800GT -> 7950GT). Down time was minimal in both cases and my shipping was covered both ways. The simple fact that reps on the eVGA forums promote OC'ing and tweaking that most companies dance delicately around was really nice as well. I would go as far to say that EVGA gained my business when they backed up their products. A lot of companies claim products that are designed to OC well or are highly customizable, but when it comes to getting help doing that, you get silence in return or warnings about your warranty.

Argument to Pick up a 5850:

XFX also has a lifetime warranty, and IMO if you go with a reference cooler model (didnt see you mention OC'ing it) I don't think you'll run into problems as most of the complaints I've seen are with non-reference designs.

The 5850 was also a no-brainer for me in terms of heat, efficiency, and bang for the buck. This is my first ATI card in almost a decade and I don't regret it one bit. I sure don't miss PhysX either.

In the end, I think I miss having an eVGA card more than having one made by team green.

Also if you think about it, there's always something slightly better for a little more cash. If you get caught in that vicious cycle, you'll be justifying purchasing a 5970 in no time, lol. Buy what you need for what you want and for features that are important to you. For me, this was a 5850 due to heat, power consumption, and performance per dollar.

 

[Tsavo]

Am I going to have to reinstall Windows going from ATI to Nvidia?

 

[happy medium]

Am I going to have to reinstall Windows going from ATI to Nvidia?

no