Hi all, I'm currently in the market for a GTX 1070 card and looking at these two viable options:
ASUS GTX 1070 Dual OC
EVGA GTX 1070 FTW ACX 3.0
I've heard EVGA customer service is good but some reviews on amazon indicate an overheating problem in VRAM. Haven't heard anything about ASUS. Would like to hear your comments/recommendation.
I have seen most reviews plus user reviews as well. But there is not enough (clear) reviews to make a decision; hence, this post here. I though someone with first hand experience will chime in with their insight.
EVGA have released firmware to deal with the overheating issue. I don't know whether they've done any RMAs to fix the underlying hardware problem.
no RMAs from the reviews I read. The only RMA review stated that they just applied the bios update and sent the same card back.
They are also providing free heat pads if you want them. They say they are unnecessary but I got them anyhow.
So did I but it was a bit fiddly though. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who isn't game enough to, for example, replace a busted phone screen.
Are you planning on buying local stock or grey import? Additional information for your consideration if local stock, ASUS has a local repair centre located in Sydney, EVGA does not.
local stock, of-course, for warranty purposes. I always though that EVGA has a repair center in AU as they offer the best (3 year) warranty).
Based off what i've read, EVGA does not have one in AU. I know for a fact ASUS has one because I've been there a few times personally, all of which was for motherboard repairs iirc.
Alright, thanks. That's good to know. I'm currently leaning towards ASUS; however, build+aesthetics wise EVGA looks pretty damn good; especially those RGB LEDs.
How did you find Asus to deal with? I've read less than favourable things about them.
@crazyleo: Just found this on their warranty site.
EVGA provides repair centers throughout the world headquartered in: Brea, CA, USA; Munich, Germany; Taipei, Taiwan.
http://au.evga.com/support/warranty/
I personally have 2 EVGA GTX 780 and they were amazing when they first came out, however, after the recent issues with their cards, I would suggest ASUS just to be safe.
@ProspectiveDarkness: My personally dealings with them have been great IMO. I think the biggest problem I had with them was a DoA motherboard which took a while to get a refund because the place I bought it from was stalling.
My experience has been good in past. But to be honest I haven't used them in ages. My last update was a GTX 570 and before that a P6Deluxe mobo with a 9800GX2 :) that's like dinosaurs time now. However, my experience have been pretty good with customer service.
This is my though as well based on the review. Just wanted some re-assurance. I'm not a frequent up-grader so wanted to get some advice before I pulled the trigger.
I returned an EVGA card that died a few years ago. Got a working card back.
Just keep in mind that you can't really post a big GPU for less than $70 or so (more like a hundred for couriers). (Assuming the closest place is still the one I sent it to, I think it was Taiwan).
How did you find Asus to deal with? I've read less than favourable things about them.
I sent a Zenbook back for warranty with Asus.
Arrived back to me DOA.
Their call centre is a third party company in Asia, almost impossible to speak with some one at ASUS AU.
Arrangements were made for the laptop to be sent back again.
Arrived back with the fault not addressed, significant scratches to the metal body, split rubber feet and plastic hanging out of the case.
Sent the unit back again, still waiting on a result.
Has been 10 weeks since the laptop was first sent in for warranty.
I did eventually manage to make a contact at Asus AU.
They informed me the described faults logged by the Asian call centre was nothing like the faults I was describing to him.
Other than that I can highly recommend Asus in terms of warranty.
@ProspectiveDarkness:
Just my expirences mate, I am sure there are others that have had great experiences.
Some times when it rains it pours.
To clear up the VRAM issue, it's not because of "faulty hardware" it because EVGA thought they should build their new cooler and not cover the VRAM (lol). So the fix EVGA has is to ship you some VRAM heatsinks you simply stick on which solves the problem, even without the firmware update. The firmware update simply increases the fan speed defaults. I contacted EVGA for the free VRAM heatsinks and they are in the mail on their way to me :)
Thanks for clearing that. I assume it'd be pretty easy to open the casing and apply the heatsink yourself? What are you thoughts on the FTW card? How good does it overclock? Did you get any free games with it?
http://www.evga.com/thermalmod/thermal_pad_mod_installation_…
This is the exact pdf they sent out with the thermal pads. It's slightly beyond "simply stick on" but it's nothing overly complicated.
Wasn't just thermal pads and not a heatsink?
Yep, thermal pads. I got them for my 1080.
Sorry same thing nearly. Yes thermal pads.
First things first, look up reviews from multiple sources on both cards. This should be your first step whenever you go to buy new PC parts.
The multiple sources part is important, without it you won't have an unbiased view on things.