SAPPHIRE 100354OCL Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 CrossFireX Support Video Card

Pros: Decent card, was cheap when I got it on sale. I should have checked reviews though and not cheaped out. Works great actually, when actually playing, doesnt get too hot either.

Cons: Get what you pay for, I experienced random crashing, and slightly underclocked it. I still get crashing to this day, except im starting to get them significantly more. Judging from other reviews, its just a poorly made card. I have been updating my drivers since i got it. No fixes from what i Know of.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear User,

Please contact tech@althonmicro.com they will be able to assist with your problems with this card. And offer RMA service if necessary.

Sapphire Technology

Pros: -They just issued my card 90days later for the $15 rebate.. 90 day on the dot, I'd have to say they're a bit late.

Cons: -Card started crashing again even after a clean install of all programs.
I finally uninstalled this card after it crashed 3 times within an hour.
-RMA process is rediculous, you go through Sapphire tech then they send you to Athlon Micro, Inc.. more info below.

Other Thoughts: -I started the RMA gave a copy of my invoice afterbeing told "It might be the card since it does this is multiple systems."
I had no issues on another computer running the same drivers and games on a similar computer, it's the card.
Well after I was sent an email by Athlon I had to send them proof of invoice, like Sapphire didn't pass any info at all.

-The form looks like a scan of a document automatically converted into a pdf, which makes it a bit of a pain since the format was off.

-I think I will be selling this card after I get it back so I don't have to deal with Sapphire ever again, just hope they don't try and tell me there's nothing wrong with it.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear User,

Please contact tech@althonmicro.com any support needed for the card, if you need RMA service please contact RMA@althonmicro.com.

Sapphire Technology.

Pros: -Still works haven't had to rma

Cons: -Still no rebate, this is one of 2 out of 3 items I haven't received my rebate on. It's well past time for you to get it to me and I know you have all my info, it has been more than 90days since you've received it.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear User,

For rebate request, please contact sapphire@help.4myrebate.com or phone them at 1-800-286-9146.

Sapphire Technology

Pros: -Received my gold membership, found I had to take a pic of the serial on the card and email it to them.
-The black screen issues have gotten better with the driver updates, but if it crashes again on this newest driver I will be RMAing.
-They followed through with their rebate very quickly, I'd have to say this was by far my quickest and smoothest rebate. They send email updates even. So Sapphire gets a thumbs up for customer server.

Cons: -Had one black screen in the past couple months.

Other Thoughts: I'm trying to avoid RMAing due to the fact of possibly getting someones junk card they beat up in return.
If the RMA is no good then more money comes outta my pocket, more money that could have been spent on a more reliable card.

Pros: -worked perfectly fine for 2 months

Cons: -since the middle of last month, I have been getting black screens due to the loss of video signal. The audio is still running fine in the beginning but the screen becomes black. Another issue is when the card crashes into vertical lines

Other Thoughts: Don't get this product. Go for Nvidia.

Pros: Worked great for 1 full day.

Cons: Started black screens, white screens, system crashes, and driver failure/recovery errors.

I have tried updating drivers, rolling drivers back, using beta drivers, updating bios, used driver sweepers to clean rogue driver files, tried re installing operating system, and anyother idea you can think off ( including changing clock settings and testing every other component).

I cannot bring myself to ever associate myself with sapphire again.

Other Thoughts: Since this card has been discontinued, they have released what I believe is a version 2 of this which probably fixed some engineering issues that is causing all the problems listed in mine and others reviews. It still infuriates me.

Pros: Quiet
Great Performance
No Crashes

Cons: -None So Far

Other Thoughts: I know other people have had issues but thought I would risk it and give it a try. Have had none of the issues I know others have had.

Running Windows 7 Ultimate
AMD Phenom II x4 965 CPU
Radeon HD 7870
8 GB G.SKILL Ripjaw 1333

Pros: Very fast and mine OC'ed well (1255\1375)

Cons: But after reading more and more reviews I figured I would just be better off to set it back to stock speeds. Why gamble with fate?

Other Thoughts: I gave this a 5 star rating because it deserves it from my viewpoint. But I know that Sapphire is a shadow of what they once were when it comes to quality and customer service. Like Newegg. I had a 6 week old Sapphire 6570 crash and burn last fall. Newegg reps seemed almost amused that I was asking them for help after 30 days (It was 44) and trying to RMA with Sapphire made me feel like I was trying to poke them in the eyes.

In fact the only reason I have this card (and got it from Newegg) is because my wife picked it out for me for Christmas because of the games that came with it.

Pros: None.

Cons: I originally wrote a 5 star review encouraging people to buy this card. I wish I could redact that review because this card is TERRIBLE! Crashed with black screens constantly. Sapphire agreed to RMA it and the new card crashes in two separate system. Wow... I'm sorry to anyone who bought this card on my advice. I wish I never had.

Manufacturer Response:

We are very sorry that you have had such serious problems with your graphics cards.

We do hope that your return with Newegg went smoothly

Pros: Fast and quite initially, before the problems started

Cons: The problems started after about 10 days of use. The noise it makes is so close to constant hard drive access that I first thought I had a virus or a failing drive. Then during BF3 play, about 10 minutes in, my system locked up and I had to do a hard reset. Manually setting the fan speed up to 80% works.

Other Thoughts: The worst part of all of this is that Sapphire refused to do a cross shipment so I would be without my computer for a week or two. They refused to pay for my shipping the card to them. The worst of all is their refusal to guarantee I would not get refurbished card back. Bought it 5 weeks ago but only used it for 2 weeks. Very bad situation - no more Sapphire for me.