ATI Radeon HD 4890 Roundup (ASUS, Diamond, HIS, Sapphire, XFX)

Meet the Manufacturers and their Warranties

HIS (Hightech Information Systems) may seem too many as a relatively young company when compared to some of the other players represented here today but believe it or not, they have been around since the late 80s. Like Diamond, they only release cards based off of ATI chipsets which allows them to concentrate on one market without getting involved in the politics that come with being a dual solution provider. Even though they are based in Hong Kong, HIS cards can be found in retailers all over North America and Europe.

Out of all the ATI board partners, HIS is usually the first out of the gate with pre-overclocked and custom cooled models. Their ICEQ series has become synonymous with the term “high quality air cooling” to the point where we have seen people actually wait to buy an ATI card until they can get their hands on an ICEQ3 version. This in itself is impressive yet it also goes to show how far HIS has come in the market.


Warranty and Support Info

All cards from HIS come with a 2 year warranty and as best we can tell, there isn’t an area on the HIS site where you can register your card so you get the full 2 years the second you buy the card. RMA information is a bit sketchy as well but as best we can tell, you first have to contact HIS for an RMA number and then download this form (PDF) to complete the process. In North America a company called Lexy Pacific now handles all RMAs and shipping to their facility is paid for by the customer.

Customer Support URL: Support | HIS Graphic Cards
Customer Support Tel. #: (408) 331-8847
Customer Support hours of operation: Unknown (we will assume 9-5 PST)




When it comes to ATI board partners, there are few that can even approach the size of Sapphire’s operation. Being one of ATI’s major partners means that Sapphire cards are widely available everywhere; from large retailers to local shops that have limited selection. As such, this is one board partner that has been synonymous with the ATI namesake for years.

It used to be that Sapphire was content with releasing reference-based cards and nothing else. However, they have gradually moved towards offering their customers a more varied selection of cards ranging from custom cooled to overclocked. Advanced cooling technologies like Vapor-X and highly clocked Atomic cards have led the push for increased performance and judging from the way they have been received, enthusiasts are definitely on Sapphire’s side.


Warranty and Support Info

Sapphire’s warranty terms are pretty straightforward: 2 years and no registration required. The RMA process is a bit more complicated but shipping cards to and from Sapphire’s repair facilities definitely benefits us Canadians: we ship our cards to a location within Canada while Americans ship within the USA. Now we get to the interesting part. According to Sapphire, US customers have to pay shipping to the RMA facility and then pay a minimal processing fee if the RMA is done after the first 90 days of owning the product. Canadian customers on the other hand do not pay for shipping or any processing fees as long as the card was bought from an authorized retailer.

Customer Support URL: Sapphire Technology - support
Customer Support Tel. #: (905) 513-1228 (Canada)
Customer Support hours of operation: 9am to 5pm EST & PST




For years fans of ATI cards have been begging for a board partner to step up and offer the same kind of support, warranty and availability many of the larger Nvidia partners had in place. Their prayers were answered when one of those same Nvidia AIBs stepped out of line and showed us how things should be done. We are of course talking about Pine Technology’s XFX division.

With their partial defection into the ATI camp, XFX brought with them a full Double Lifetime, modder-friendly warranty (more on this later) and some of the industry’s best customer support. As such, it seems like ATI is putting a lot of support behind XFX, especially in the North American market where their cards can be found in abundance at all of the major retailers. This is one company that also tends to release their fair share of overclocked models as well with XT and Black Edition cards popping up soon after almost every new release.


Warranty and Support Info

XFX is the only company which offers a Lifetime Warranty to the original purchaser of their cards that can also be handed down to the next person who buys your card. They call this their Double Lifetime Warranty and to be covered by it you must register with them within the first 30 days after purchase, otherwise you will be looking at a 1 year warranty.

Since XFX is based in California (who isn’t?), all shipping is done through their main facility but Canadians won’t have to worry about customs or duties since all of the necessary RMA forms will be filled out. As for who pays for RMA shipping; the cost is split between XFX and the customer with each paying for shipping one way.

Customer Support URL: Support
Customer Support Tel. #: 1-800-880-3225
Customer Support hours of operation: 9am – 5pm PST