EVGA, Asus, MSI, Gigabyte uses same hardware and same components, on standard GPUs at least.
It is proved that 95% of the time buying a custom PCB card is useless.
 
The only difference between those brands are:
1) Customer Service
2) Efficiency of the cooler and bells and whistles like LEDs
3) Price and availability
 
 
Let's analyse EVGA in Europe when compared to the competitors.
1) EVGA is well known to have a good customer service
2) They scores all the same, asus scores a little bit better but who cares, one or four degrees are not game changer. You can't beat Asus Aura ecosystem.
3) Since they costs all the same price is a non important factor. EVGA is one of the worst in terms of availability in Europe.
 
So the only reason why I buy EVGA is for the first point, because I want a piece of mind experience.
If I spend 1600€ for two cards, I want to have a piece of mind experience and I want to minimize the stress for some problems that may occur.
Doing RMAs requires time, time is money or it can be better spent doing other than an RMA. Leave alone the time needed to identify the problem, ecc. ecc.
 
My via crucis started when I bought two 980 SC,
after some months cards started freezing my system at default frequency.
Those two cards were not able to handle the slight factory overclock, lowering frequency well under the factory overclock solved the freeze problem.
 
For this reason I asked an RMA and due to some lucky time I was able to do a step up from my two 980 to two 980 Ti.
They gave me nothing, I paid good money for the step up and for the two backplates needed since they gaved me cards without backplates.
 
Two months ago one of this two cards died, PC does not boot with that card connected.
I have done another RMA for the broken card and received a new card.
 
This card have some serious thermal problems, fans never stops, I can see 60°C in idle and up to 92°C degrees in full load with some graphics artifacts and huge frequency drops.
I tried to troubleshoot the problems with the customer care and after various tentative the cards doesn't want to maintain a normal temperature.

This is the third defective card I received. Leave alone the fact that I have some problems with customer service because they don't wanted to accept the rma for some dates error done by EVGA.

If a problem may occur, a second problem should not occur but it can occur, a third problem must not occur specially after only two months from the last RMA.
The sticker where the serial number is written is consumed on the third defective card, a sticker consumed? Did you send me a defective card from someone else who had some problems? How many hands are needed to consume a sticker? Is this a card that saw 10 RMAs?
 
Bad quality control can't be my problem, since I was victim of a bad quality control for three times I want to have a special treatment.
I think that I deserve it after all the time spent doing RMA, dismanteling my PC and reinstalling new components.
Leave alone the fact that I did not enjoyed what I bought because it was more the time spent doing RMAs and troubleshooting the problems than using those cards.
 
For this reason I asked to upgrade my cards to two newer gpus BY PAYING the difference.
I don't want a fourth old card that will die in three months because they will send me a regenerated not tested one.

Customer service said me that they offer a fourth RMA of my card with an exact same model and that they can't upgrade my two cards even by paying the difference.
 
For this reasons I see no more convenience in choosing EVGA, they have bad quality control with a customer service that don't know when it's time to recognize their errors and ask sorry to a customer with a kind (and paid) move.
 
From now on, I'm an Asus customer.

Same products, a little bit "more cool" thanks to Asus Aura and some other cool addition, easyer to find in Europe with the same bad customer service.
 
Bye bye guys!
 
 

Mattukr
You shouldn't expect EVGA to accept your offer of upgrading 2 cards with side-payment, that's not how RMA's work.
 

 
I should not even expect to receive a broken card for the third time and do an RMA for a fourth time.
 

Mattukr
Although it does seem like you've been unlucky with your cards, and I agree the card should never reach such high temps and throttle that much, even in SLI. To me it sounds like it needs a repaste on the GPU die though. Have you been able to try this yourself? I know you shouldn't have to but it's worth a try.
 
Regarding your "consumed" sticker, is the serial number not legible at all? If not, did you report this upon receiving it from EVGA?
 
 

 
Yes serial number is legible.
 

Mattukr
Oh and btw, Asus Aura is the RGB software, not the cooler 
You shouldn't expect EVGA to accept your offer of upgrading 2 cards with side-payment, that's not how RMA's work.
 

 
Probably a language barrier,
I meant "more cool" instead of "cooler". :)

87°C on one of the lightest game.
heavier game like FC5 or rendering with ZBrush creates 92°C until image corruption.
 

 
this is a card sent me by EVGA two months ago as a third replacement of a defective card.
 
is this a good service?

Hoggle
If the cards are the same regardless of board partner wouldn’t the risk of faulty cards be the same? Also does ASUS step customers up to newer generations of cards?

Sometimes the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence until you are in that field.

You can't ask a customer to RMA for the fourth card.
A "good brand" should step up and say sorry without arguing.
 
The only good thing in EVGA customer care is that they RMA things but people working there don't even know their own rules. I had to escalate to the manager to do the third RMA because the man behing the customer care doesn't accepted my RMA because he doesn't knew the EVGA rules and policy.
 
A good customer service means even good quality control.
You can't send me a card that reaches 92°C with image corruption as a third replacement.

I'm so nervous of the time spent on this thing that I think that I will sponsor on every forum I know my bad experience.
1) I spent a lot of time troubleshooting problems
2) I spent a lot of time doing RMA (open ticket, wait for the master of obvious that suggest you to try the obvious, dismantle PC, wait the courier, send it back, wait EVGA that with calm resend you the card, wait the courier, reassemble the PC)
3) I work with PC and I have few time to use my PC at home, I spent 1600€ to not enoy my cards because most of the time cards where in RMA
 
I should ask for a refund not for a step up

Thanks for replying Markus

EVGATech_MarkusK
Hi,
 
regarding your RMAs, so basically we tested all products, which were sent in from 2015 till now and TWO out of THREE were working without any issues - again, we offered as you are running an SLI System, to get the product replaced within the same model, so just let us know if you want to get it replaced, nonetheless that the warranty period is already over for 4 weeks,
 
Markus

It's fan to see that you sent me a broken card two months ago and now you say that the warrenty is expired.
It's too easy to replace a broken card with another broken card and than say that the warrenty is expired.
 
I don't understand what you want to mean with "we tested all products, which were sent in from 2015 till now and TWO out of THREE were working without any issues".
First of all I demonstrated that the card is running extremely hot with graphics corruption with photos and screenshots. 
 
The card you sent me is the proof that your quality assurance tests worth nothing. It's easy to say that you tests all the cards, if this is true how this things can happen?
Three defective card in one generation is the proof that your tests is pretty useless.
 

sblantipodi
At the end I decided to sell those cards but I surely don't want to sell a defective product.
Please send me back a new card and please give me a return label, I don't want to pay any shipping cost.

I think that since you sent me three defective card this is the minimum you can do.

EVGA normally doesn't reply in the forums so it is best to send a PM to Markus.

 
You should call them on Monday.