Why is Sapphire #1?

[rwayne]

I am relatively new to the gaming community. I just built my first gaming rig in March with a Sapphire X1950GT.

One thing I have not been able to figure out is why is Sapphire the #1 seller of ATI cards. Can anyone enlighten me on this?

I bought Sapphire because I heard they were the #1 seller of ATI cards.

I looked at their website, it really is not impressive. I emailed Sapphire thru their website and never got a response back. There Customer Service is practically non-existant or Self Serve. They don't appear to always be the cheapest either.

Are there cards really that much better?

They really seem to outsell the competition by alot.

Example: I just looked up ATI 2900XTs on NewEgg then did a sort order by most # of Reviews. The Sapphire 2900XT had 53 reviews where has the 2nd place 2900XT contender HIS only had 25 reviews.

Can anyone tell me why Sapphire is #1?

 

[justinmcg67]

I don't think anyone knows why, really. I know that I bought a Sapphire card and it was VERY stable, it was cheaper in this case, and plus it came with a cool sticker and had a fair amount of reviews. =)

 

[phamily]

hmm, i would guess its their pricing/performance ratio. GREAAAAAT prices.

 

[paq7512]

Easy they are number 1 because they offer the lowest prices.

 

[StevieD]

OEMs (Dell, HP etc) must get their graphics cards from somebody.

Sapphire may be selling ATI based cards to one of favorite OEMs thus increasing Sapphire's sales far beyond the needs of the DIY consumer base.

 

[skittle]

price...

I prefer eVGA my self.

 

[jevon]

I thought Sapphire cards (at least the older ones - AGP and early PCIe) were made literally in the same plant as ATI's own cards? Hence you were gettiing basically the same quality/performance if not slightly better.

 

[sojrner]

saphire has also been the contractor that ati went to in the past to build the "built by ati" branded cards. The 2 companies have had a very close relationship over the years.

as ati/amd seems to be phasing out their own branded cards saphire will fill in that gap...

...are they "better" than other brands? doubtful, as they are all made on ati's spec from tsmc etc. and almost all have the exact same components...

honestly, get the cheapest brand you can (for either ati or Nv) that has the best warranty. Physically (if there is no add-on sink) there is no diff, the warranty/service is about all that separates them.

JMO of course

 

[spuddyt]

price...

I prefer eVGA my self.

yeah.... ummm... ati?

 

[sailer]

I've bought one Sapphire card, mainly because the price was good and the specs were impressive at the time. As for customer care/service, it was all but non-existent. I had a problem with the card and had to send it back for warrenty work. The card was gone nearly two months. Good thing I had an old card to use in the meantime.

I can't really say too much about the service, as I've never had to RMA a card before, so I don't know how other companies would handle the problem. Would I buy a card from them again? Maybe, depending on their price. But if I gave them a second chance and I had problems, it would be their last chance.

 

[utaka95]

I've had more of their cards go bad on me than anybody else's, makes me wonder if they sell Ati's rejects....

 

[badge]

I've had nothing but problems with Sapphire Customer service. I had to report the company to the Attorney General's office and the BBB over their poor service to get their attention. I would suggest anyone to look elsewhere to puchase a video card.

 

[Houndsteeth]

saphire has also been the contractor that ati went to in the past to build the "built by ati" branded cards. The 2 companies have had a very close relationship over the years.

as ati/amd seems to be phasing out their own branded cards saphire will fill in that gap...

...are they "better" than other brands? doubtful, as they are all made on ati's spec from tsmc etc. and almost all have the exact same components...

honestly, get the cheapest brand you can (for either ati or Nv) that has the best warranty. Physically (if there is no add-on sink) there is no diff, the warranty/service is about all that separates them.

JMO of course

One thing to watch out for...while all the manufacturers use the same chipsets...not all manufacturers use the same memory. Not much of a problem if you are running the card at stock, but for overclockers, it does make a difference.

 

[sojrner]

One thing to watch out for...while all the manufacturers use the same chipsets...not all manufacturers use the same memory. Not much of a problem if you are running the card at stock, but for overclockers, it does make a difference.

they use whatever memory is on the provided spec. ati makes the spec, and they are the ones that allow chip x to be paired with memory y AND z. The board makers have a choice on what option to adhere to, but within the same spec all of them are still the same. Certain chips have more spec options than others, particularly at the mid/low range of cards.

You are correct about using caution on which one you buy. The spec used is not always obvious, especially if you are buying retail where neither the box nor the idiot working the counter will reveal the memory speed to you. (even if he DID know it)

Online is (generally) more clear on that.

 

[sailer]

I've had nothing but problems with Sapphire Customer service. I had to report the company to the Attorney General's office and the BBB over their poor service to get their attention. I would suggest anyone to look elsewhere to puchase a video card.

Thanks for the word of warning. I had wondered if I just had some bad luck with them. The problem that I suffered was that the memory chips had gone bad. Since the card was water cooled and the pump had failed, the chips fried. Sapphire said that they didn't cover damage due to water pump failure, so the card is now only good for basic stuff such as sending e-mails, etc, but no games. I decided to never buy a water cooled card from them again, though I might try an air cooled one. With your warning, I'll just steer clear of them. Lots of other companies out there to choose from.

 

[bliq]

I thought Sapphire cards (at least the older ones - AGP and early PCIe) were made literally in the same plant as ATI's own cards? Hence you were gettiing basically the same quality/performance if not slightly better.

actually Sapphire builds cards for ATI as their ODM/OEM. A couple years ago they decided to retail what they were building and since they already had all the manufacturing capability in place and not needing a third party to make their cards for them, they are able to often undercut the competition without reducing quality. competitors often buy from Sapphire and add a bundle and relabel cards. obviously, they must charge more.

 

[badge]

Thanks for the word of warning. I had wondered if I just had some bad luck with them. The problem that I suffered was that the memory chips had gone bad. Since the card was water cooled and the pump had failed, the chips fried. Sapphire said that they didn't cover damage due to water pump failure, so the card is now only good for basic stuff such as sending e-mails, etc, but no games. I decided to never buy a water cooled card from them again, though I might try an air cooled one. With your warning, I'll just steer clear of them. Lots of other companies out there to choose from.

If you buy from Newegg, Diamond and Sapphire have the Newegg 1 year return for replacement as opppsed to all other 30 day. Go with Diamond. MSI has 1 year at Newegg for Nvidia.

 

[badge]

All the company's who sell ATI video cards buy the card from ATI/AMD and put thier logos on it with thier packaging. None of the ATI/AMD 'distributors' have anything to do with the specs of the card beyond what they get from the MFG. Customer Service is the only major difference between the various distributors.

 

[ethel]

Their cards are often cheaper, they have a good range, and always seem to be quick to market.

 

[Biggins]

Go with Diamond. Their headquarters is in Chatsworth, California. So they probably want their American customers to be satisfied. Sapphire's HQ is in Taiwan.