Diamond HD 5850

[xbonez]

So, as most of you must be aware, the only thing about the ATi HD 5850/5870 thats failing miserably right now is availability. I want to purchase one, and monitor Amazon, Newegg, Tigerdirect, ZipZoomFly etc etc (you get the point) regularly but all brands of the HD 5850 are our of stock except Diamond. So, my questions is:

What is Diamond's reputation? Should I buy the Diamond HD 5850, or would I better off waiting for a better brand like Sapphire / XFX / Asus etc?

 

[Mousemonkey]

Want to get a feel for Diamond?, read this thread.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/272534-33-buyer-beware-bought-gddr3-card-diamond-sold-ddr2-instead

 

[daedalus685]

Yeah... Given that all of the cards are reference at this stage in the game you will get a solid card that is exactly the same as any other brand.. but may the universe have mercy on you if you ever need support for it..

 

[xbonez]

well, so I guess its a no go for Diamond then. If I'm spending upwards of $250, I sure as heck don't want crappy customer service.

 

[Mousemonkey]

I'd prefer an XFX card myself regardless whether it's an ATi or Nvidia.

 

[fatkid35]

whats the deal with customer service bashing. maybe i've been really lucky but i've never had to call on an issue. most of the time i can resolve it myself. i went to frys today to see if they were going to carry the 5850's and low and behold they had one diamond 5850 left in a big empty space where the rest used to be. grabbed it without hessitation and bought it. i feel pretty lucky actually to find one at all. all the e-tialers are out. they are all the same at this time so why sweat it.

 

[invisik]

Get a brand with good warranty. XFX is the brand i would go for because of there support.

 

[megamanx00]

If you register the card with Diamond you will get a two year warranty. Chances are if it's gonna fail due to a defect it's gonna be in the first year or so. I'd go for it, but if you feel more comfortable waiting for the XFX card then just wait a bit. I'm waiting for non reference PCB designs to see if they come up with something a little shorter. I also wish they used the whole second slot as an exhaust port rather than blocking it with one of the DVI ports. I mean really can't they just put a display port between two DVI ports and use adapters for VGA and HDMI like they do with previous Radeon cards? What's the deal with that?