GeForce GTX 275 Roundup (Gigabyte, EVGA, MSI, Sparkle, BFG)

BFG is one of the old hands in the North American market with a huge presence at not only online retailers but at brick and mortar shops as well. They have a long tradition of high performance products that come at a more than reasonable price while offering some of the better customer support available to consumers. Much like EVGA, BFG has instituted a Trade Up program by which a customer has 100 days from the date of purchasing a BFG graphics card to trade it in towards the cost of a new, higher-end model. According to posts we have seen on various forums, their program works quite well even though it is not widely marketed.

With their stock, OC, OC2, OCX and Thermointelligence cards BFG has a foot in literally every price category for most Nvidia cards.


Warranty and Support Info

BFG offers a Lifetime Warranty (10 years in the EU) with every single one of their cards as long as you register your purchase within the 30 days following your purchase. Without registration, you are looking at a one year warranty (2 years in the EU) but you will still have access to their tech and customer support. For us Canadian residents, BFG has something which will be sure to make some quick fans: an RMA facility that is actually located within Canada. Even though Trade Ups are not processed through their Canadian facility, the mere fact that us northerners don’t have to worry about customs charges and duties is reason alone to seriously consider a BFG card. Americans on the other hand return their cards directly to BFG’s facility in Illinois. As in most other cases, you pay for shipping to BFG while they will ship the new / repaired card to you on their dime.

Customer Support URL: BFG Tech - Free Tech Support2
Customer Support Tel. #: 1-866-BFG-FIXX
Customer Support hours of operation: 24/7 365 days a year




When we think about high performance graphics cards, MSI isn’t a name that is usually near the top of our lists. We all know their motherboards which until recently have been on a bit of a hiatus here in Canada but they are making a comeback with some strong designs at reasonable prices. When it comes to graphics cards, MSI has begun a marketing push to increase awareness of the fact that they have cards which cater to everyone from the most cost-conscious penny pincers to upscale buyers looking for the best of the best. Even though availability of some of their products remains spotty particularly here in Canada, cards like the GTX 275 are allowing MSI to put their best foot forward. One way or another, MSI is and always has been one of the largest manufacturers of both motherboards, graphics cards and other products so we are always interested to see what they have up their sleeves.


Warranty and Support Info

MSI’s warranty length is the usual 3-years (with registration) as seen with other board partners but there is a bit of fine print here as well. Basically, within that 3 years the parts and labor is completely covered for two years while ONLY the parts are covered in the third year. That means after the first two years of warranty coverage, all repair and handling expenses will be charged to you if you RMA your card to MSI. The cost isn’t extreme; a mere $45CAD per RMA’d item after the first 2 years and $65CAD if you are requesting out of warranty repairs.

To lessen the sting of what amounts to a mere 2-year bumper to bumper warranty, Canadians can take solace in the fact that MSI –like BFG- has an RMA facility that is based in Canada. Residents of the US of A return their cards to California and as with Canada, MSI pays for the shipping to you but won’t front the money for the shipment to their facility.

Customer Support URL:
USA: http://us.msi.com/company_service.asp
Canada: Welcome to MSI(Canada) RMA Department

Customer Support Tel. #:
USA: 626-581-3001
Canada: 1-888-614-6674

Customer Support hours of operation: USA/ Canada: 9am – 6pm PST