Galaxy GTX 660?

[ozzman1997]

Just wondering if any of you have had any experience with Galaxy because they have a GTX 660 for 194.99 after rebate. I usually don't trust rebates, but for some reason it's making me lean toward this card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162122

 

[mace200200]

There's nothing wrong with Galaxy cards, I had a Galaxy gt 220 for a while. But, I killed it because I OCed it as high as I possibly could and made it play Skyrim for hours on end, and it eventually gave out. I don't see people bring problems with Galaxy cards to the forums hardly ever either.

 

[bigshootr8]

Yea I don't really have an issue with Galaxy cards they make good product. However in the review they did for the 670's it had a pretty crazy coil whine however different card different cooler.

[flash=560,315]http://www.youtube.com/v/76895n3d7cg?hl=en_US&version=3[/flash]

 

[littleleo]

Galaxy cards are fine they even have some cutting edge models from time to time. If you're worried or feel uncomfortable about them you could try a GIGABYTE GV-N660OC-2GD $209 after rebate.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125443

 

[mace200200]

I like Gigabyte boards, but if you want my opinion, I see more people on here with problems with Gigabyte cards than anything else. I always like MSI cards, me, my brother, and all my friends run MSI cards because that's what I tell them to buy and I haven't had problems with them yet. I also wouldn't think twice about buying a EVGA, Asus, Sapphire, or another Galaxy.

 

[bigshootr8]

Gigabyte just has quality issues I think there is maybe a higher return rate with them then a lot of other companies. ASUS probably gets a lot of returns as well but only because of how much they produce.

 

[photonboy]

This Gigabyte 660 is only slightly more expensive ($15, $4 shipping but $20 instead of $30 rebate):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125443

Gigabyte board advantages:
- slightly faster (betwen 2.7% and 8%; average maybe 5%; see GPU BOOST comment at bottom)
- quieter (*quote from video, "the cooling was incredibly efficient")
- more reviews (all good)
- probably higher quality
- Gigabyte has GREAT support in my experience, but I've heard complaints from people about Galaxy.

Cons:
Slightly more expensive (unless the Rebate doesn't work).

GPU BOOST:
The new Kepler (GTX600 series) uses something called "GPU BOOST"; it's similar to Turbo Boost and allows the cards to overclock, if needed, by a small amount.

I'm stating this because the Gigabyte card linked has better cooling so it's going to be faster than the Galaxy in situations that it requires this (any time you can't achieve the highest set frame rate such as 60FPS). This is in ADDITION TO the already higher base clock.

So basically the Base Clock for this board is 2.7% higher than the Galaxy but in some cases this Gigabyte will boost whereas the Galaxy might not due to the temperature. That difference can add up to 8% maximum.

 

[akshayghai29785]

go for gigabyte in my opinion

 

[iam2thecrowe]

i have a gigabyte card, and its a piece of crap. Crashes constantly in games, mainly crysis 2 and 3, unless underclocked, and then it still crashes, but less frequently. But maybe i just have a dud card and need to send it back, they may not all be like this. One positive is it stays cool, hasn't gone past 60c, the cooler is excellent. Its starting to make me think i should have just got the 7870, although then i would have to deal with AMD's crappy drivers again.

 

[bigshootr8]

I would suspect it being the card. However you would have to part with the card for a few weeks.

 

[photonboy]

i have a gigabyte card, and its a piece of crap. Crashes constantly in games, mainly crysis 2 and 3, unless underclocked, and then it still crashes, but less frequently. But maybe i just have a dud card and need to send it back, they may not all be like this. One positive is it stays cool, hasn't gone past 60c, the cooler is excellent. Its starting to make me think i should have just got the 7870, although then i would have to deal with AMD's crappy drivers again.

Any card can die, but AFAIK Gigabyte is a fairly reliable company for quality control.

As for "I should have just got the HD7870" be aware that going with a different GPU isn't the solution. When a card has physical problems it tends to be because of one of the OTHER components on the board.

Graphics cards are built something like this:
- AMD or NVidia design the GPU (and drivers)
- the GPU is manufactured at a separate company
- the GPU (in bulk) is sent to Gigabyte
- Gigabyte puts the GPU on a circuit board along with many other components

Gigabyte Warranty for graphics cards is THREE YEARS.

Galaxy Warranty for graphics cards is TWO YEARS (however if you register within 30 days of purchase you can extend it to three years. Really? Sigh.)

 

[bigshootr8]

A warranty is only as good as the service the company renders. Why do you think people stay with EVGA despite the fact that other manufactures put out a superior product. Galaxy may provide a stronger service then Gigabyte does I know the service I received was pretty dismal from Gigabyte. Being out of a 400 dollar card for 4 weeks yea right!

 

[photonboy]

A warranty is only as good as the service the company renders. Why do you think people stay with EVGA despite the fact that other manufactures put out a superior product. Galaxy may provide a stronger service then Gigabyte does I know the service I received was pretty dismal from Gigabyte. Being out of a 400 dollar card for 4 weeks yea right!

FYI, I contacted Gigabyte when my motherboard failed and they will offer CROSS SHIPPING if possible. It's not really advertised however if the same product is in stock they can ship you one right away.

I can't speak for Galaxy or EVGA, though I can say if you look closely ANY company has it's share of people who've been happy and those who have been dissatisfied.

 

[bigshootr8]

Right but you probably have to pay a premium for cross shipment and that isn't really a service its more of a charge for a service.

EVGA is really great they don't pay for shipping at least last I checked. They do on the other hand take care of things in a timely manner and they don't dick around like other companies tend to.

 

[photonboy]

Right but you probably have to pay a premium for cross shipment and that isn't really a service its more of a charge for a service.

EVGA is really great they don't pay for shipping at least last I checked. They do on the other hand take care of things in a timely manner and they don't dick around like other companies tend to.

Let's just drop this, okay? I don't want to keep debating this. I would recommend many of the main companies and they all have Pros and Cons. Personally, I have the Asus GTX 680 DC2T ("TOP") which is the 3-slot card and it's quiet, fast and just plain awesome. I had a Sapphire Tech card in the past (Vapor-X HD5870) and it was great too.

I have noticed it's important to look at Customer Reviews at NCIX, Newegg and Amazon (all three) when you narrow down a few models just to see if that EXACT MODEL has had above normal returns due to failure, or some other major issue.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

it depends on your location with warranty also. They may have to ship the card further and it will take longer depending where you live.

 

[bigshootr8]

I'm sorry I had seen the post before from Photon. I'm sorry If i tire you out with talk of company reliability I just find it important to relay experience with companies with others. At one point or another things break so I just found it prudent to share.