Point of View - What is people's point of view!!!

[drharvey12]

Hi Guys,

I've been looking at getting a GTX 680 and have a choice between EVGA and POV.

I've heard good things about EVGA and they seem to have a great reputation but unfortunately there appears to be a rather long wait for the cards to be available.

The other option is a similar card by Point of View. Apparently they are a European based company that have been around for 12 years or so. I've had a good look for reviews but they seem to be very few and far between. The one I was looking at is built by their TGT lab which is apparently their overclocking specialist labs.

I was just hoping that some of you guys might have either bought cards from them and could give me some feedback or just give general opinions on the two different companies.

The card price is essentially identical although the EVGA comes with a mild overclock and the POV one is at reference speeds.

Cheers guys.

[csgohan4]

They both offer pretty similar overclocks and prices on several models compared side by side. I would note the warranty and their differences. EVGA offer 3 years and you can also buy more warranty years if you so wish. Their RMA base is in Germany, so any problems you will need to send to them. However if you bought in SCan you can return to them with reduced postage costs. RMA should be quicker as SCAN will handle all RMA's for at least 1 year. Anything after you will need to ship to Germany at increashed cost.

POV you have 3 years. Their RMA base is in NEtherlands. But importantly SCAN does RMAs for 3 years so you save in postage costs and time.

Read this for a more indepth view

However do bear in mind, if SCAN do not stock your model then they may decide to send to the EVGA or POV for repair/Replacement assuming your cards won't fail for a long time.

[ltnmzh]

EVGA's policy is very well explained here:

http://eu.evga.com/support/warranty/

[drharvey12]

Cheers guys.

Looks as though EVGA do come out on top as far as RMA'ing is concerned.

Assuming that the cards aren't defective would you hold out for an EVGA card over a POV one?

These are the two I'd be looking at:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-p...cores-1536-2xd
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-e...es-1536-2x-dl-

I was just a bit worried that it could be quite a long time before the EVGA one was in stock given that there appear to be rather limited quantities available in the US.

Waiting on the EVGA cards will likely hold up the rest of the PC upgrade and whilst it's likely to be a month anyway before it gets done adding another month to that time significantly cuts into the summer holidays playing time

On the other hand I will be keeping them for 2-3 years so losing a month and getting a better product is ok - however if the POV cards should be just as highly binned as the EVGA ones then hopefully the overclocking performance should be similar too.

Any thoughts are much appreciated

[csgohan4]

You could try other retailers like Amazon or Ebuyer for example, Aria even if it's cheap enough.

[Phage]

I had a POV 8800GT back in the day. It's still running as far as I know, so I'd say their quality holds up.

[dangel]

Had no problems with POV stuff either - when I had them they were just reference cards anyway so no real difference.

[JoeHH]

EVGA's warranty and RMA process are second to none. I have had to return a motherboard once, and they practically took it and replaced it almost no questions asked. This is unheard of here in Europe, and is worth a lot. Highly recommended.

[DLUK]

Had 3 POV cards only one failed was under 6 months and Scan replaced it with a gigabyte model as POV was out of stock. Other 2 POV cards have been good as gold.

No issues with bios OC's on the cards either.

Amazon.co.uk and a few other places sell add on warrenties for stuff like GPU's (even if not bought directly from them) So if you go for a brand basically not EVGA or Gigabyte or MSI then you can add one of those 3rd party warrenties even covers accidental damage! Your house insurer may also offer a deal if you ask. EVGA charge more for better RMA, but there are other options now to add some protection. Sometimes asking a retailers for a EVGA model you want is like asking them to sell you 'rocking horse poo' as they are not going to be in stock for some time.

So the more 'budget brands-lesser known brands, Like Pallit, KFA, POV, VFX etc etc etc can save you a bit of cash and you re-spend that on insuring the card 3rd party.

[csgohan4]

Had 3 POV cards only one failed was under 6 months and Scan replaced it with a gigabyte model as POV was out of stock. Other 2 POV cards have been good as gold.

No issues with bios OC's on the cards either.

Amazon.co.uk and a few other places sell add on warrenties for stuff like GPU's (even if not bought directly from them) So if you go for a brand basically not EVGA or Gigabyte or MSI then you can add one of those 3rd party warrenties even covers accidental damage! Your house insurer may also offer a deal if you ask. EVGA charge more for better RMA, but there are other options now to add some protection. Sometimes asking a retailers for a EVGA model you want is like asking them to sell you 'rocking horse poo' as they are not going to be in stock for some time.

So the more 'budget brands-lesser known brands, Like Pallit, KFA, POV, VFX etc etc etc can save you a bit of cash and you re-spend that on insuring the card 3rd party.

I would be be careful of 3rd party insurers like Square trade, if you read their feedback on amazon and read the small print you will see why

[Greecean]

Personally i'd go with the EVGA just for their superior customer service

a just-in-case sort of thing

[5teviewonders]

POV have A1 and A2 cards. One is a 2 year warranty and the other is a 3 year warranty. I'm hoping this is merely down to the warranty and not the quality of the components. I have an A2 gpu.

[dokdek]

POV are fine, from what I've seen and read, but EVGA is still better if you can wait, but getting POV card isnt the worst thing you could do. If you need it now, go ahead, if not, then wait, or alternatively, you could go for other well known brands other than EVGA

[drharvey12]

Thanks for all the replies guys.

Since the vast majority of you reckon that POV are basically ok I've changed my order over to them with SCAN on the understanding that should the EVGA cards come into stock before they start the build that they will amend the order accordingly.

The two sales guys I spoke to at SCAN were also very positive about POV and from what I understand they insure the cards for 6 months and POV will cover them for 3 years which is as long as I'm likely to have them in my main PC for anyway.

I have a feeling that it could be quite a wait for the EVGA's and I really want the PC before the summer starts

[danroyle]

Thanks for all the replies guys.

Since the vast majority of you reckon that POV are basically ok I've changed my order over to them with SCAN on the understanding that should the EVGA cards come into stock before they start the build that they will amend the order accordingly.

The two sales guys I spoke to at SCAN were also very positive about POV and from what I understand they insure the cards for 6 months and POV will cover them for 3 years which is as long as I'm likely to have them in my main PC for anyway.

I have a feeling that it could be quite a wait for the EVGA's and I really want the PC before the summer starts

i doubt there would be that much of a wait for the evga cards stock comes and goes pretty quickly.

I like Pov but evga are superb and the stepup program is good as well as the option to extend your warranty to 5 or 10 years is nice if you plan on holding onto a card and also would give a slightly better resale value.

[drharvey12]

Thanks Danroyle.

I'm still hoping they will come into stock in the next week or so as they are already two weeks overdue.

From what I understand though chip yields for the GTX 680 are still rather low and I'm guessing the specialist GTX 680's that come with watercooling blocks pre-installed are seeing less chips than the more normal ones that would be suitable for a wider consumer base.

If the EVGA cards show up tomorrow I will be a very happy chappie but I wouldn't be particularly surprised if they are still out of stock a month from now.