Difficulty finding the right video card - Best Brand? RMA?

SouthSeaPirate · Feb 29, 2016

Knowing the new card releases are just around the corner, but still having to do a new build, Im having a difficult time deciding what card to get.

I'm going with Skylake 1151 as it is probably the newest release with a new line of CPU's knowing to coming out for it sometime in the future.

That said, I am leaning towards an R9 390. It's not too expensive, but has plenty of power and can be Crossfired later for decent 4K (1080p as of now). I can also sell it later and go big on the new generation GPU's and not be out as much money; say if I were replacing a 980Ti
Is this sound logic?

After looking at many cards and reviews, I'm a little concerned about some of the support offered by vendors. Specifically, honoring their warranties and using serial based RMA's.
I'm worried about spending 350-400 bones on a DOA card (seems to be happening a lot more these days) that would be difficult to get replaced. So what are your experiences with the big names? Who should I go with, or stay away, etc?

Motherboard recommendations also welcome

Mandrake4565 · Feb 29, 2016

Don't read reviews on electronic websites, most people only post something when there is a problem. In general most cards are the same, I've had good experiences with the few RMA's I've done with components in general. As far as Gpu's I've only had one Gpu go bad and it was an EVGA, which was positive, though they do not do AMD cards. I've been on this forum quite some time now and have heard good and bad experiences from almost every brand. Chances of you getting a DOA card is slim and I feel you should just go with a Gpu that has a good warranty and cooling.

Motherboards well need some more info on what you're looking for, are you going with a k version of a Skylake, plan on overclocking, what size case/board etc?

wingman99 · Feb 29, 2016

A lot of people here that buy Graphics cards go with Gigabyte and Asus they both have a 3 year warranty.

SouthSeaPirate · Mar 1, 2016

Mandrake4565 said:
Don't read reviews on electronic websites, most people only post something when there is a problem. In general most cards are the same, I've had good experiences with the few RMA's I've done with components in general. As far as Gpu's I've only had one Gpu go bad and it was an EVGA, which was positive, though they do not do AMD cards. I've been on this forum quite some time now and have heard good and bad experiences from almost every brand. Chances of you getting a DOA card is slim and I feel you should just go with a Gpu that has a good warranty and cooling.

Motherboards well need some more info on what you're looking for, are you going with a k version of a Skylake, plan on overclocking, what size case/board etc?

Very great points! Im going with 6600k, and yes I plan to overclock. The case Im looking at is the H440 from NZXT. As stated, I would like to have the option to xFire, so full size ATX. Aslo, Im not totally stuck on AMD GPU's. It just seems to be the best bang for the buck and is more 4k ready than the 970 IMHO.

wingman99 said:
A lot of people here that buy Graphics cards go with Gigabyte and Asus they both have a 3 year warranty.

I have been leaning to ASUS as Im currently in the repair process of my AM3+ Sabertooth board. Only had to find the serial number

Mandrake4565 · Mar 1, 2016

Ok for a motherboard as long as you're not looking to push the Oc on extreme cooling pretty much any Z170 board will fit the bill. Just look for one that has all the features, Usb ports etc you want, but I would at the very least get one that has heatsinks on the Power section of the board. Something along the lines of the Asrock Pro 4/ Extreme 3/4, GIGABYTE GA-Z170XP, ASUS Z170-E would be fine. All depending on how much you want to spend. Spending more doesn't necessarily mean you'll get higher overclocks to a point.

On the Gpu front, you're always better off going single high end card vs SLI/X Fire. I'm no expert on 4k gaming so take this with a grain of salt, but I'm pretty sure for 4k you're going to need at the least a 980Ti, R9 Fury or Fury X. I'm not sure if 3.5 g of Vram is enough for 4k gaming ie. if going Sli on GTX 970.

SouthSeaPirate · Mar 1, 2016

Mandrake4565 said:
Ok for a motherboard as long as you're not looking to push the Oc on extreme cooling pretty much any Z170 board will fit the bill. Just look for one that has all the features, Usb ports etc you want, but I would at the very least get one that has heatsinks on the Power section of the board. Something along the lines of the Asrock Pro 4/ Extreme 3/4, GIGABYTE GA-Z170XP, ASUS Z170-E would be fine. All depending on how much you want to spend. Spending more doesn't necessarily mean you'll get higher overclocks to a point.

On the Gpu front, you're always better off going single high end card vs SLI/X Fire. I'm no expert on 4k gaming so take this with a grain of salt, but I'm pretty sure for 4k you're going to need at the least a 980Ti, R9 Fury or Fury X. I'm not sure if 3.5 g of Vram is enough for 4k gaming ie. if going Sli on GTX 970.

For cooling I have the Nepton120XL from Cooler Master. I don't plan to go crazy on the overclocking, prob very little, perfect stability comes first.
I don't need any special features like SATA Express or M.2 as of now, but would like to be future proofed. Ill go M.2 for my next SSD for example. Kabylake will still be the 1151 socket. I will spend more on the MB to be future proof if necessary.
My goal isnt to xFire, but rather have the option. The 390 I believe will do everything I need as of now, but in time, 4k becomes the norm, I can xFire or sell it and go all out on the new GPU releases. The VRAM is exactly why I was leaning 390. At least thats my thinking. Just don't want to spend all that money on a Ti with the new stuff just around the corner.

SouthSeaPirate · Mar 1, 2016

Alright I finally did it!
Thanks guys for the assist!

Mandrake4565 · Mar 1, 2016

Looks good! If you haven't pulled the trigger yet, maybe get a bit faster ram either 2800 or 3000 Mhz. It's not going to make a huge difference but for about $15-20 more it may be worth it. I will also say that 1000W Psu is total overkill, even on a Dual Gpu setup you can easily run it on a 650 to 750w Psu. Something like this Evga GQ 750 w would save you like $100.00

wingman99 · Mar 1, 2016

+1 on the EVGA GO 750w and save some money, memory I would go for 3000Mhz. Do you have a CPU cooler?

SouthSeaPirate · Mar 2, 2016

The 750 was the one I had selected and was told it was not enough

I didn't realize Trident Z 3200 were only like 15$ more errrr

Doesn't look like I can cancel any part of my order...

Mandrake4565 · Mar 2, 2016

SouthSeaPirate said:
The 750 was the one I had selected and was told it was not enough
I didn't realize Trident Z 3200 were only like 15$ more errrr

Doesn't look like I can cancel any part of my order...

Don't sweat it noting wrong with the build, was just looking to save you some Cash. In real world usage, unless you're rendering videos for hours upon end or doing something like CAD work, you're not going to see much difference with the 2400 sticks over the 3200. The Psu is fine also, the Pc will draw the amount of watts it needs through it. It's not like it will draw more wattage if you have a larger Psu. We see it all the time with Psu's, manufacturers of Gpu's recommend X wattage Psu but in most instances it's total overkill. Good luck with it and post some pics when you build it. :thup:

SouthSeaPirate · Mar 2, 2016

Mandrake4565 said:
Don't sweat it noting wrong with the build, was just looking to save you some Cash. In real world usage, unless you're rendering videos for hours upon end or doing something like CAD work, you're not going to see much difference with the 2400 sticks over the 3200. The Psu is fine also, the Pc will draw the amount of watts it needs through it. It's not like it will draw more wattage if you have a larger Psu. We see it all the time with Psu's, manufacturers of Gpu's recommend X wattage Psu but in most instances it's total overkill. Good luck with it and post some pics when you build it.

Thanks!
Now I realize NE is fufilling it through a 3rd party that doesnt exactly have good reviews.
I would have rather saved the $20 and have the faster memory... I do toy with CAD.
At least Ill be good later if I ever need 1000w. 10 year warranty is awesome!

Mandrake4565 · Mar 2, 2016

I wouldn't worry about the review, you hardly ever see people review when they have a positive experience, hence the reason why most of the time you'll see negative ones. That Evga Psu is arguably one of the best on the market, you have no worries on that end, It's a Super Flower unit. Here's a review if you want to read.

SouthSeaPirate · Mar 3, 2016

PSU was able to be canceled

Got an EVGA G2 850 for 119 and free two day shipping from Amazon.
Glad it got canceled as the other guys were charging $35 and change to ship and they didn't even have it processed in two days...

Mandrake4565 · Mar 3, 2016

SouthSeaPirate said:
PSU was able to be canceled

Got an EVGA G2 850 for 119 and free two day shipping from Amazon.
Glad it got canceled as the other guys were charging $35 and change to ship and they didn't even have it processed in two days...

Nice and that saves you a nice amount of money!

Boogle · Mar 9, 2016

I don't know about best brand but the worst is definitely Gainward. Their customer service is completely abysmal. Their card failed soon after I bought it and they wouldn't even look at it when I returned it on warranty because one of the stickers on the back was damaged. When I complained I got a very rude response basically saying it was my fault!

wingman99 · Mar 9, 2016

How was the sticker damaged?

Mr.Scott · Mar 9, 2016

Boogle said:
I don't know about best brand but the worst is definitely Gainward. Their customer service is completely abysmal. Their card failed soon after I bought it and they wouldn't even look at it when I returned it on warranty because one of the stickers on the back was damaged. When I complained I got a very rude response basically saying it was my fault!

There are worse than Gainward.

There are a few companys where CS doesn't even exist. HIS comes to mind first.
Asus does the same thing you just described.

Boogle · Mar 9, 2016

wingman99 said:
How was the sticker damaged?

Half of the sticker covering one of the screws came off. IMO it was never properly attached. I didn't think much of it at the time because I wasn't expecting the card to fail.

wingman99 · Mar 9, 2016

I would spend more time trying to tell your story so you can have it fixed.

Difficulty finding the right video card - Best Brand? RMA?

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