What brand of 6870 should I go with ?

[MrMeth]

Next week I will be ordering my 6870 CF set up just trying to narrow down the brand choices , I personally have had 1 sapphire card ( old school ati 9700 pro still works ) , I have had 2 evga cards ( Geforce 4 440 MX , 9800 GTX+) and a slew of asus cards all ATI. I'm hesitating between these brands. Some input would be helpful. I know they are all pretty much the same thing but I'm just wondering on the warranty.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102913

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121418

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150521

Im leaning towards the xfx even though i have never had one of there cards just for the lifetime warranty , but originally wanted to go with the Asus card because of the mild overclock and better cooling. Im just wondering if the Asus card will fit in my antec 1200 and if I'll loose any pci slots considering the heat sink and fan on it looks huge. Check the asus site but couldn't find the right info. My mobo is M4A78-E and I have a usb bracket that i don't want to loose and a sound card in there. Looking forward to see what you guys have to say

Thanks in advance.

 

[rolli59]

The Asus cards should fit fine in your 1200 all the cards are dual slot cards. Being dual slot cards the bottom card will block one PCI slot and the top card will block one PCIe X1 slot.
All the cards you list are good choosing between them is personal preference. XFX selling point is the dual lifetime warranty in North America, Asus is very popular for their overclock ability and cooling solution and Sapphire is the biggest producer (partner) of AMD (ATI) cards.

 

[MrMeth]

So from what i can Understand rolli your saying im going to loose my usb braket and my sound card ? The Sound card I can do with out ill just use the integrated one in my mobo but I don't want to loose my usb Bracket.

 

[MrMeth]

Sapphire is at the bottom of my list just because of the warranty so now the question is do i go for the double warranty of xfx or go with old faithful asus and the mild overclock with the extra cooling ?

 

[rolli59]

For me 2 years of warranty is enough since in 2 years time you will want to upgrade because there are new and more exciting things on the market. If you on the other hand plan to sell your cards when the time comes the XFX warranty is a selling point and should give a bigger return.

 

[ammu_10]

I would choose ASUS or MSI(if you can get it).Both are very reliable and dependable companies with great products.Both have great cooling and overclocking.I would go with ASUS.They are so dependable that you dont need a lifetime warranty.

 

[MrMeth]

I'm not crazy about MSI , I have had 2 boards die on me and another board sound card stop working , I'm not sure they are big on quality control over there , so automatically there out of the equation.

 

[MrMeth]

Ended up going with this

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150506

Came to $408.63 Canadian tax in and i have 20$X2 of mail in rebates to claim , ill do a follow up post to let you guys know how everything goes.