Buying a HD5850. Which brand to get?

[Smartidiot89]

I am buying one of these babies early november hopefully if stocks are somewhat better than now here in the cold frostbitten sweden :D

I have no idea which brand to pick, usually I don't care to be honest but this will be my reference card for my reference sytem when writing reviews (mainly CPUs for a swedish AMD site) so I really only have 2 simple questions:

1. Being able to adjust vGPU with software (MSI Afterburner; do all brands support voltage adjustments?)

2. Have the best possible RMA and Customer Support (This is really the most important). I want a company that doesn't leave me stranded without a graphiccard for several weeks because they feel like it. I suppose one with a European or even better, Swedish office would be to prefer?

I've been looking at Sapphire and ASUS, both include a Dirt 2 Coupon so that's always a bonus... Any suggestions on which brand to choose?

[punkrockpolak]

All of the cards should be identical as they are all reference designs, just like the 5870. As far as best support, XFX has a double lifetime warranty and is known to be nice to overclockers. I'm not sure about adjusting vGPU, but if MSI's app does it then it's only a matter of time before other apps are able to do it (if they don't already).

Edit: My XFX 5870 also came with a voucher for Dirt 2 though it wasn't advertised when I bought the card, so the 5850 may as well.

[Locke]

Anyone having trouble with the Sapphire cards? This seems to be the easiest one to get. I was hoping to get an MSI or Gigbyte card, but they are all gone and now the EGG is starting to increase their pricing on them.

[Exeodus]

I recommend the ASUS over the Sapphire. ASUS has a better warranty (3 years) and in my experience they tend to overclock better. The bios' tend to have higher overclocking limits, my ASUS 4890 does 975/1100 on stock voltage with no issues. Also Voltage Tweak is a nice addition as well.

[Jamesrt2004]

asus RMA is :banana::banana::banana::banana:e... XFX isnt actually that good as its only for "lifetime of product" ... imo i would just go saphire they seem ok rma wise

[Smartidiot89]

asus RMA is :banana::banana::banana::banana:e... XFX isnt actually that good as its only for "lifetime of product" ... imo i would just go saphire they seem ok rma wise
"lifetime of product" so for example, if I baught a HD4890 and that part goes EOL do their warranty end there?:confused:

[trans am]

diamond has great cust serv and his is excelent. both are easy for flashing/mods. asus is always different in that respect. you need to use asus drivers/soft from my past experience. harder for driver updates..you get the idea

[Mungri]

Gigabyte also have a 3 year warranty, but only from the manufacturer date of the card, not from the date you buy it on.

[Locke]

i have a diamond on the way, ill cross my fingers fro a decent clock...

[Jor-El]

I'd vote XFX thanks to their fantastic support and double lifetime warranty