I was wondering if someone could educate me about the difference between manufactures. I would like to purchase a gtx480 but I don't know if I should choose asus or evga or if it matters. I have always been loyal to evga based on solid reputation. Thanks in advance

I was wondering if someone could educate me about the difference between manufactures. I would like to purchase a gtx480 but I don't know if I should choose asus or evga or if it matters. I have always been loyal to evga based on solid reputation. Thanks in advance

I stick with eVGA for the lifetime warranty and actual human beings that answer the phone, are actively present in their forums and provide real support. ASUS builds decent stuff, but my experience with their support is that you would need to get on a plane, fly to Taiwan, and put a pistol to someone's head to get a question answered.CheersBob ScottColonel, USAF (ret)ATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-VColorado Springs, CO

Thanks Bob, I appreciate your advise.

At the moment all gtx470/480 are made from nvidia directly (PCB & all components, expect water blocks of corse). So technically it does not matter which brand do you choose.

I stick with eVGA for the lifetime warranty and actual human beings that answer the phone, are actively present in their forums and provide real support. ASUS builds decent stuff, but my experience with their support is that you would need to get on a plane, fly to Taiwan, and put a pistol to someone's head to get a question answered.CheersBob ScottColonel, USAF (ret)ATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-VColorado Springs, CO

LOL! Another rare but priceless answer that colours our otherwise grey and drab world!! :( Stephen

My personal experience with gcard RMAs:evga: An RMA number was issued withing 24 hours of my first notification, a replacement was shipped the day they received my card and the replacement was a better card than the failed card (got a 8800 gts 512 in exchange for a 8800 gt that had a dual slot cooler).Asus: Received a replacement card after nearly 6 weeks of waiting with zero feedback from them, though the transaction was handled through the shop where I had purchased the custom built computer. Ended up buying a new card after 3 weeks of waiting and sold their replacement on e-bay. At least it too was a better card than the failed card but after 6 weeks of waiting that really didn't matter (other than I got a better price for it).The only Asus product I'll buy are their mobos (well maybe their monitors too), and even then I still cringe a bit at the thought of an RMA. I'd have gotten an evga mobo for my latest build if they made one with a feature set that fit my neeeds.

I stick with eVGA for the lifetime warranty and actual human beings that answer the phone, are actively present in their forums and provide real support. ASUS builds decent stuff, but my experience with their support is that you would need to get on a plane, fly to Taiwan, and put a pistol to someone's head to get a question answered.CheersBob ScottColonel, USAF (ret)ATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-VColorado Springs, CO

I

Evga has great support!

I've had too many problems with ASUS brand products. I highly recommend EVGA.

I've had too many problems with ASUS brand products. I highly recommend EVGA.

Does anyone know what about Gainward GPUs?

Does anyone know what about Gainward GPUs?

As somebody posted up-thread, right now all of the nVidia 470/480 video cards are made in the same factory by nVidia and marketed by a variety of different vendors (eVGA, Gigabyte, ASUS, and Gainward among others).The difference is in the support you get...I can't help with Gainward, but I'd look for their forums and see how (or if) they answer questions, google them looking for problems etc.I have experience with ASUS and eVGA support--ASUS required a largely self-help journey through a lot of Chinglish documentation on an unfriendly FTP server and virtually no vendor support. eVGA has active forums with vendor experts helping, they answer their phones, and their warranty response on my misbehaving 285 has been great...so much so I waited for one of their hard-to-find 480's to come into my sights rather than buy from another vendor earlier.I do understand that eVGA RMAs are a bit harder to deal with from outside the US/Canada/EU areas (mostly due to shipping/phone issues).CheersBob ScottColonel, USAF (ret)ATP IMEL Gulfstream II-III-IV-VColorado Springs, CO

Thanks to everyone who responded. Very helpful. I currently have a evga 9800 gtx card on RMA and I have been waiting for three weeks for it now. The RMA is through a local shop and not evga. I am going to drop that card into a new build specifcally for 55" LED tv. I orderd the evga gtx 480 sc from tigerdirect. I guess it is like sticking with the resturaunt where you know you are going to get a good meal.