How important is warranty to you for video cards?

[fuzzybabybunny]

Being in California it has been really tough to get a good deal on a 4890. 10% tax pretty much kills the deal from anyplace like Newegg, ZZF, ewiz, etc.

Finally found one from TigerDirect for $160:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/app...&body=MAIN#detailspecs

but the warranty's only 1 year. Is this still worth it?

 

[nickbits]

On something with no moving parts I generally don't care about the warranty.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Video cards usually die in the first month or last for years. *

Do you have a Visa or MC that doubles warranties?


* (Barring a design flaw like nv's laptop GPUs or the Microsoft's xbox GPU RRoD)

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Video cards usually die in the first month or last for years. *

Do you have a Visa or MC that doubles warranties?


* (Barring a design flaw like nv's laptop GPUs or the Microsoft's xbox GPU RRoD)

Nope, no doubling warranty. What I get is what I get.

 

[OCGuy]

Very important. That is why I stick with EVGA/XFX/BFG, or if I went ATi it would be Visiontek or XFX.

 

[Stoneburner]

I only worry about warranties when I actually need them

 

[s44]

Given the temperatures at which these things are run, very.

 

[Eureka]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Video cards usually die in the first month or last for years. *

Do you have a Visa or MC that doubles warranties?


* (Barring a design flaw like nv's laptop GPUs or the Microsoft's xbox GPU RRoD)

Truth.

I've never had a video card issue out of warranty. Its either DOA or dying after its prime (my x850xt is still 3-4 years and going).

 

[dguy6789]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Video cards usually die in the first month or last for years. *

Do you have a Visa or MC that doubles warranties?


* (Barring a design flaw like nv's laptop GPUs or the Microsoft's xbox GPU RRoD)

QFT.

 

[shangshang]

I'd say with these modern hot running GPUs, and higher board complexities... warranty is definitely more important than they used to be on video cards.

 

[thilanliyan]

Very important for me. Just for peace of mind...plus with XFX I can sell it and the next owner also gets the warranty.

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: Stoneburner
I only worry about warranties when I actually need them

hehe, true. I don't expect video cards to last very long(2-3 years). So Warranty is not really part of my criteria for purchasing.

 

[octopus41092]

Eh, just like a year or two is fine for me. I usually upgrade by then and sell the old one.

 

[akugami]

Originally posted by: shangshang
I'd say with these modern hot running GPUs, and higher board complexities... warranty is definitely more important than they used to be on video cards.

The last few years, video cards have pretty much been running under similar thermal envelopes and power requirements. This is because both ATI and nVidia knows the limit on what they can reasonably get away with using a stock cooler for acceptable fan noise to alleviate heat and power consumption. So while having a longer warranty is always better, it's not any more important now than it was three years ago.

As DaveSimmons says, it'll die within the first month (or first few months) or it'll last pretty much years.

Having bought well over 10 video cards in the last 5 years (for friends, family as well as self) I can say that I've only had one die on me and that was an X1900XT within its first month. The rest have been going strong. Even if some of the older systems are way outdated at this point the cards still work fine.

So while I would always choose a card with longer warranty vs one with shorter warranty if prices are similar, I'd go with a card with lesser warranty if it was noticeably cheaper.

 

[Sylvanas]

Don't care about warranty. I either void the warranty using aftermarket cooling or upgrade in a year or two anyway.

 

[konigswagger]

Warranty is incredibly important. I don't know which idiot said a video card doesn't have moving parts... there's fan there -.-

It gives out, and your card is toast.

ALSO, the resell value is usually higher for cards with good warranties. Usually companies with bad warranties are cards that will sell lower later on if you no longer want the card.

 

[Forumpanda]

I don't understand why most people consider it so important, not sure what the standard warranty is in the US, but here in Denmark all consumer products must have a 2year warranty, after 2 years the value of the card is so low that I generally do not see the point.

Generally I also end up with a spare card or 3 that are 2-3 years old anyway so even if a card out of warranty dies then I have spares around anyway.

Warranty past 2 years on computer equipment = not very valuable in my book.

I consider it mostly a sales trick, people buy what they don't need in order to feel good.

 

[ronnn]

After one year, lucky if it is worth half the price. Anyways haven't had a card fry yet.

 

[Pantalaimon]

Originally posted by: Forumpanda
I don't understand why most people consider it so important, not sure what the standard warranty is in the US, but here in Denmark all consumer products must have a 2year warranty, after 2 years the value of the card is so low that I generally do not see the point.

Generally I also end up with a spare card or 3 that are 2-3 years old anyway so even if a card out of warranty dies then I have spares around anyway.

Warranty past 2 years on computer equipment = not very valuable in my book.

I consider it mostly a sales trick, people buy what they don't need in order to feel good.

I feel the same. I live in Finland and there's not that big of a used video cards market here either. So double lifetime warranties are not worth it for me.

 

[Hauk]

Originally posted by: OCguy
Very important. That is why I stick with EVGA/XFX/BFG, or if I went ATi it would be Visiontek or XFX.

+1

 

[imported_nightwalker]

i keep my cards for very short amounts of time, and i buy from newegg so i could return it if it comes broken, i usually go for whatever has the best looking shroud / cooler lol

 

[FalseChristian]

Many uninformed consumers would think that a card's quality depends on how long the warranty is. This is simply not true. How many people actually make use of a life-time warranty or even a 1 year warranty? Only a small minority need to make use of warranties. I never have in my own experiences with CPUs and GPUs and I've owned alot of 'em!

 

[nOOky]

Truthfully warranty is not a factor for me. I buy based on what does best in my chosen games at the time of purchase, based on price and performance. I don't really worry about whether the next person I sell it to gets it warrantied or not. I usually buy in the mid range segment though, right around $200 or under. If I were to kick down $500 or so and intend the card to last 2 years it might be a factor. I consider a $150 computer part that becomes obsolete in a year or two more or less "disposable". Hell, sometimes it's even fine to have things go up in smoke, it's a good excuse to upgrade

 

[WelshBloke]

3 years is a good length for me, after that the value of the card is so low its not worth the postage and hassle of sending it in.

 

[fleshconsumed]

My ECS 8800GT card died twice on me now. I RMA'ed it once, but too lazy to RMA it second time as those guys were really dragging their feet. I probably should before warranty runs out, the card is still worth more than $12 it costs to RMA it.

So to answer the question, yes warranty is important.