Graphics cards can be tricky to rate as many ‘manufacturers’ simply ‘rebadge’ products from Nvidia and AMD (nee ATI). On top of this everyone updates drivers directly from Nvidia’s and AMD’s websites – not manufacturer’s own sites. However, most manufacturers offer additional proprietary and third-party software and are obliged to service and support their products. If any differences between brands exist then the verdicts of 9881 respondents should highlight them.
Chipsets
But first we measured the differences between the chipset manufacturers themselves. 68% of card buyers bought Nvidia. AMD had 24% of the market, Intel had 6% and VIA had 1%. There was little difference between the big two in terms of Support: 81% were satisfied with Nvidia while 79% were satisfied with AMD. But this dropped to 74% for Intel and 67% for VIA.
In terms of Reliability the overall average level of customer satisfaction was high at 89%. Intel scored lowest with 82% while VIA scored 83%.
82% of AMD and Nvidia customers were satisfied with Value For Money with Intel only 3% behind. 76% of VIA customers were satisfied here.
Nvidia commanded the most brand loyalty with 93% of buyers saying they’d buy again. 88% of AMD customers said likewise as did 84% of Intel customers and 82% of VIA’s. So overall Nvidia triumphs, though AMD was nipping at its heels.
Market share for chipset manufacturers among graphics cards
Winners and losers
But the overall winner of the Graphics Cards category was Asus – a company which sells both AMD and Nvidia-based cards. The company dropped marks for Post Sales Support – which won’t be surprising to those who’ve used Asus’ website – with 83% of customers saying they were satisfied with it. Highly Commended Gainward (who makes only Nvidia cards and was Highly Commended last year too) satisfied 80% in this regard.
But both companies scored higher for Reliability. 92% of Asus’ customers were satisfied here while 93% of Gainward customers were too. The average for the market was 89% and the lowest was 79% - from GeCube.
GeCube also scored lowest for satisfying customers with Value For Money - only 75%. However, the industry average was 82%, so it’s not a shocking result. The highest figure was Palit’s 88%. Inno3D satisfied 86% of its customers while Asus satisfied 83%.
Brand loyalty was very high across the industry with 91% of all buyers saying they'd buy from the same company again. Asus surpassed this figure with 95% saying they’d be back, while 94% of Inno3D, Gigabyte and Leadtek customers said likewise. The lowest scores came from Abit and GeCube who saw only 80% of customers saying they’d be back.
