AMD Radeon R9 card makers. Which company is the best?

[i nEeD HeLp]

I was just wondering which card maker has the best reputation, for the R9 280X I see:

ASUS
Gigabyte
HIS
MSI
Sapphire
VisionTek

from what I see the prices are all in the same range the the only difference is the colour and design lol. Whats the difference between the companies? is it just a preference thing like AMD vs Nvidia

Edit: found this http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-r9-280x-third-party-round-up,3655.html somewhat explains for the R9 280X card differences

 

[erocker]

This is why reviews exist.

 

[i nEeD HeLp]

yeaaaaa I know but no time to read all of them. I was hoping you smart people would give me your personal preferences . i heard that Sapphire, ASUS, and MSI are the top 3?

 

[Batou1986]

Asus, Gigabyte or Sapphire.
Reviews don't really give you the QC aspect as reviewers almost never get a bad card.
I know personally 3 people that have had MSI R9 - 280X's with memory issues.

 

[TRWOV]

Every manufacturer is bound to have a few lemons, I've had bad cards from Sapphire, Asus and MSI, so sticking with one or two brands isn't going to guarantee anything. Just think about it, if a manufacturer made consistently bad cards they wouldn't be in the market anymore.

That being said Powercolor usually uses cost cutting measures on their base models. Visiontek and Diamond are two less known brands that are actually good but they mostly make reference cards.

I usually stick with Sapphire (Vapor-X or Dual-X versions), HIS (IceQ Turbo versions) or Gigabyte (Windforce versions).

 

[i nEeD HeLp]

Im most likely going with the Gigabyte card (its currently in my cart on newegg ) over the Vapor-X because according to the link in my first post it runs way cooler when under load.

 

[GhostRyder]

Im most likely going with the Gigabyte card (its currently in my cart on newegg ) over the Vapor-X because according to the link in my first post it runs way cooler when under load.

From experience with friends and my own I personally have (On AMD side) liked PowerColor, Sapphire, and MSI as my favorites for cards from the red team. Gigabyte is also very good as well and would probably be next down the list as my choice.

From experience though new Vapor-X cooler is a bit better overall for cooling the card compared to the Gigabyte. They both do an excellent job but the Gigabyte I have seen spins its fans harder to achieve those temps versus the sapphire. I maybe mistaken on the 280X as I have not tried one yet but on the 290X the Vapor-X is quieter than the Gigabyte 290X from what I have seen.

Though I will say as far as brands go, any will be fine in terms of reliability on the main side and either will serve your purpose well.

 

[erocker]

yeaaaaa I know but no time to read all of them. I was hoping you smart people would give me your personal preferences . i heard that Sapphire, ASUS, and MSI are the top 3?

Fair 'nuff! I personally tend to get what is least expensive, then I do a little research about the particular card just to make sure everyone isn't getting duds. I tend to slap waterblocks on most things, so I usually don't look at the cooling that comes with it. With the 280x (which I still own) most coolers that come with the card work better than good... with the exception of the stock cooler, which I don't think you can really get anymore anyways. The Gigabyte seems to be one of the best for sure as far as cooling goes.

 

[RejZoR]

Personally, Gigabyte with WindForce 3X cooler. The best graphic card I've veer had. The R9-390 that I'm planning to buy will most certainly be from Gigabyte again with the same cooler.

The second option would be either ASUS StriX or Sapphire Tri-X. Quite similar coolers.

 

[st2000]

Gigabyte or Sapphire

↑ this
but i prefer xfx - got some problems and their support made me satisfied, also cooler is very beautiful

 

[natr0n]

I'm an MSI guy.

Good quality and RMA support.

 

[NC37]

Gigabyte fans will hold up till the warranty expires. Then they'll start to die. At least that is what the ones on my 460 did. Have had to MacGyver some fans in that have held up much better. Just cause I don't want to pay $10 to get a replacement fan from China. If one fan dies or acts up, you notice it in heat temps. Quickly hit over 80C.

But as for build quality. I've never had major problems with Gigabyte products. Whether GPU or mobo.

 

[RejZoR]

Do the math how old HD7950 is now. And I'm running it pretty much 24/7.

Sudden boosts in RPM do the most damage to the fans imo. It's better of card slowly changes speed of fans with small fluctuations than going from 2000 RPM to 4500 RPM just because the fan curve was designed by an idiot.

 

[PLAfiller]

IMO, For AMD, Sapphire hands down Then Gigabyte. May be both are equal.

I don't favour Asus that much. I don't get on what basis they charge more for their cards. Even the low-end one's. XFX and MSI, I've never had one.

 

[Vayra86]

Sapphire, MSI, Gigabyte. Asus has made some bad cooling solutions in the recent past (bad heatpipe design) and is overpriced while adding no real value over others. I also have less than great stories about their support. Gigabyte probably wins when it comes to support and claiming warranty and is also pretty low on most rankings when it comes to return rates (though all of these companies score within the same margin of 1-3% depending on card model, the differences are marginal).

Avoid XFX and Club3D. Old glory.

 

[Hiryougan]

I right now have the R9 290 Windforce and this particular cooler has underwhelming performance. I can't raise the voltage almost at all, because then it won't be able to stay under 90 degrees even at 100% fan and changed thermal paste(Arctic MX-4). I think it's because they took exactly the same cooler that was on 780, but the distance between heatpipes and the core is bigger than in 780 they used small plate. I got this card when i RMAd my reference one and i must say that even though blower one was loud as hell, with custom fan curve it could keep things cool with oc.
I can't say anything bad about their warranty policy though, it's really great. So if it was only one time mistake on their part, i would take them.

Back to the topic. I recommend Sapphire definitely, they have simply the best coolers. Quietest and with best performance. Vapor-X is the best, but Tri-X is still better than almost all competitors.
Only downside of Sapphire is their only 24 months warranty.

 

[Vayra86]

^ correct about the R290 Windforce. Gigabyte made the same error as Asus did.

 

[Countryside]

Every manufacturer is bound to have a few lemons, I've had bad cards from Sapphire, Asus and MSI, so sticking with one or two brands isn't going to guarantee anything. Just think about it, if a manufacturer made consistently bad cards they wouldn't be in the market anymore.

That being said Powercolor usually uses cost cutting measures on their base models. Visiontek and Diamond are two less known brands that are actually good but they mostly make reference cards.

I usually stick with Sapphire (Vapor-X or Dual-X versions), HIS (IceQ Turbo versions) or Gigabyte (Windforce versions).

I could not say it better myself

 

[GreiverBlade]

ASUS(8800Ultra, GTX580MP, and my current 290) here, got quite a pack of brand on the long term as i also got XFX(7950) Club3D(7870) (who both ended on my "DO NOT BUY EVER AGAIN!" list), Sapphire (R9 280X), MSI (R9 270 gaming), Gigabyte(R9 270X windforce3) and Zotac (GTX 580 GTX 770)
AMD and Nvidia banded together (i know you ask for AMD don't worry )

all of them where good, all of them except the "DNBEA" listed got no problem or required RMA, the best cooler design hmmm Sapphire i'd say.
not really concerned by custom cooler since my 290 is a reference stock who got a waterblock on it (and if i jump on a 3XX serie ... it will be a ref with a WB)

 

[jboydgolfer]

ive stuck with TUL over the years..Powercolor, VTX , diamond, Club , most if not all are part of the same company, and they have ALWAYS treated me good quality wise, and Support wise.

 

[Tatty_Two]

I have the Sapphire VaporX 280X, it is a near silent and very efficient cooler, I am also a great fan of the Giga Windforce coolers as I have had a few of them, I used to like the MSI and Asus (DirectCU) offerings but personally I feel they have fallen a little behind the competition, if not on the cooling then on the noise levels but that's just me, we all have our preferences.

 

[MrGenius]

MSI or die.

 

[The Mac]

Vapor-X, best cooler in existence.

Plus: backplate, light panel, fan control.

 

[GorbazTheDragon]

Asus, MSi, and Sapphire are best IMO.

Get that Tri-x DD