Don't buy a gainward. Anyone recommend a card with decent warranty?

[caevyn]

I had a gainward 7900gt 512mb card for about a year before it started getting artifacts. Sent it back for warranty and after 5 weeks they send it back because a serial number sticker fell off sometime during the lifetime of the card. The card was handled with care and the only reason it needed replacement was because it was faulty. If they void warranty because a sticker falls off then thats pretty poor. Anyone know of any brands of card that do not have this policy? I'd like to get a card from someone who will replace faulty hardware regardless of a sticker being present or not.

 

[evongugg]

EVGA has liftetime warranty.

http://www.evga.com/support/lifetime/

 

[evongugg]

If they cannot identify the serial number, they can deny warranty.
I would keep the box as a second measure.

 

[caevyn]

They have the same policy it seems

Removal and or Defacing of Serial/Part number sticker(s) on ANY EVGA products WILL void ALL warranties.

Its one thing to 'deface' serial numbers its another when crappy stickers fall off. If the serial number is attached to the warranty it should be printed on the board or on a warranty card or something. Maybe im just having a whinge but its a pretty petty policy.

 

[Kamrooz]

You might want to look into XFX as well.

IMO XFX is better then EVGA...Yes EVGA has the step up program. But XFX has a double life warranty. If you sell your product at any time...The buyer gets the lifetime warranty as well since they have a Transferable Warranty program...It can only be done once..But by then it's out of your hands. Make it easier to sell. Plus they have a no hassle overclock warranty as well. Overall imo a better buy...

With the EVGA card you can step up within 3 months. With the XFX you can always just sell it on ebay for 50-150 less then its current value...Since it has a lifetime warranty as well it makes it easier to sell as a "Buy it now" option. Then just pop down 100-250 ontop of it and get the next high end.....This way you'll always have the best high end card. You're also not limited to the 3 month step up which is nice....Just make sure you sell it a few weeks or month before a new high end is released...That way you can get the most value for it when you sell...

I'm planning to do this with my next rig..got a x700 pro for the downtime already in this rig....But I'll always have a cutting edge graphics card...Then I can just swap the CPU, mobo, ram whenever one needs to be upgraded. Works out better imo for staying up to date.

 

[xtrovert]

I bought an GTX 295 and the cooler just stopped working. I was refused warranty by Gainward because the serial number sticker partially lost grip from the video card, the sticker however is intact. The reason the sticker glue lost its grip is because it was put over the SMD's. I would definately stay clear of any Gainward products

 

[JDFan]

The problem is if the sticker is removed you might have bought a second card that is newer and placed the new sticker on an older card in order to get warranty service so I can see why they say removal of the sticker voids the warranty -- but like you say the serial # or manufacture date should be stamped on the card itself instead of a sticker that can easily fall off -- could always file a claim in small claims court.

 

[dalta centauri]

Most if not all companies request that a warranty will only be valid if it's tickets and original stickers are on the card. What I first took from what you said was, "They kept it for 5 weeks to send it back saying the sticker was removed." As in they had it and the sticker was removed while they were holding onto it.
Sapphire, EVGA, XFX, PALIT are decent. MSi is also good, but based off of experiance with one of their motherboards it took them 3 full days before replying to me with a single sentence that I should make sure it's the motherboard at fault.