On the flip side, what brands would you recommend for motherboards and GPUs?
For GPUs eVGA was the king, but they exited the GPU market because of Nvidia's requirements for the 4000 series. Again, nothing is particularly standout now.
Honestly I pay the premium at Amazon just so I can do hassle free exchanges, just drop the box off at Kohl's.
GPUs depend on the make and model, but mainly, you look at board design, warranty, and RMA turnaround.