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Whats the difference with Gforce graphics cards?

eddywatson

eddywatson

eddywatson

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Hello

I am a bit f a n00b when it comes down to this... but I just wanted to ask, whats the difference between for example:

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 680

and

MSI GeForce GTX 680

and

EVGA GeForce GTX 680

as they are all Gforce GTX 680, but all have a different brand name at the front of their titles. Its abit confusing

If anybody can shed some light on this I would really appreciate it
Thank you for your time
 
Just the company that makes the graphics cards. The same way you get different motherboard manufacturers that make motheeboards with the same chipset.

Like Asus and Gigabyte making motherboards based on the say, X79 chipset.

If you're looking for a new graphics card, you'd likely be better off getting an AMD 7950 as GTX 680s are quite expensive for the performance they offer.
 
eddywatson said:
Hello

I am a bit f a n00b when it comes down to this... but I just wanted to ask, whats the difference between for example:

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 680

and

MSI GeForce GTX 680

and

EVGA GeForce GTX 680

as they are all Gforce GTX 680, but all have a different brand name at the front of their titles. Its abit confusing

If anybody can shed some light on this I would really appreciate it
Thank you for your time
Click to expand...

EVGA is the best here in the UK. Very quick turn around's and amazing warranty. When I buy green it's always EVGA, but as spoffle as said AMD is the cheapest option.
 
The name which precedes the name of the card is the name of the vendor: Asus, MSi, Gigabyte et cetera.

Also worth noting (and it's not in the name), is whether the card is reference or not.

Reference means that it sticks to the layout which AMD/nVidia have designed for that particular card and non-reference means that the vendor may have made additional changes to the card, most likely proprietary coolers: Twin Frozr, Direct CUII, WindForce, Vapor X et cetera.

Reference cards (example here) usually have one fan at the back card and push air out of the front IO. This means that much less of the heat from the card enters your case but the fan may be a bit louder than a non reference card. It is useful in poorly ventilated or small cases to keep the surroundings from heating up.

Non-reference (example here) is where the vendors can make a difference. These designs are more elaborate and exotic (and carry a price premium). They can have multiple fans and are more likely to have an open design, meaning the heat can spread out inside the case. The upshot is that they are usually quieter due to a more effective heatsink, more heatpipes and more fans which can spin more slowly than a reference card. However, you need a setup which is able to deal with the hot air a non reference card will throw into your case.

Last thing about the nomenclature, some cards have 'OC' 'Overclocked' or some variant (Superclocked) in the name if they come pre-overclocked.
 
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Some are good brands e.g (msi, gigabyte, asus, evga etc), others are budget brands e.g( palit, inno3d etc) and the rest are budget brands trying to pretend to be a good brands e.g gainward
 
ArchAndroid said:
The name which precedes the name of the card is the name of the vendor: Asus, MSi, Gigabyte et cetera.

Also worth noting (and it's not in the name), is whether the card is reference or not.

Reference means that it sticks to the layout which AMD/nVidia have designed for that particular card and non-reference means that the vendor may have made additional changes to the card, most likely proprietary coolers: Twin Frozr, Direct CUII, WindForce, Vapor X et cetera.

Reference cards (example here) usually have one fan at the back card and push air out of the front IO. This means that much less of the heat from the card enters your case but the fan may be a bit louder than a non reference card. It is useful in poorly ventilated or small cases to keep the surroundings from heating up.

Non-reference (example here) is where the vendors can make a difference. These designs are more elaborate and exotic (and carry a price premium). They can have multiple fans and are more likely to have an open design, meaning the heat can spread out inside the case. The upshot is that they are usually quieter due to a more effective heatsink, more heatpipes and more fans which can spin more slowly than a reference card. However, you need a setup which is able to deal with the hot air a non reference card will throw into your case.

Last thing about the nomenclature, some cards have 'OC' 'Overclocked' or some variant (Superclocked) in the name if they come pre-overclocked.
Click to expand...

Hey the 2 examples you provided are the same...

So I could not see the difference lol :(
 
non reference means the circuit board (pcb) isn't what nvidia designed

you can get some cards with custom coolers that still have the reference pcb or custom coolers with a custom pcb
 
they're all virtually the same because nvidia ruined the potential of the 600 series with their rules and scare mongering.

evga ones are nothing special except the classfied, which is more expensive because it says classified on it.

The best one to get in the uk is the gigabyte windforce 3x
 
spoffle said:
Just the company that makes the graphics cards. The same way you get different motherboard manufacturers that make motheeboards with the same chipset.

Like Asus and Gigabyte making motherboards based on the say, X79 chipset.

If you're looking for a new graphics card, you'd likely be better off getting an AMD 7950 as GTX 680s are quite expensive for the performance they offer.
Click to expand...

Are you on commission ?
 
OptimaLnrg said:
they're all virtually the same because nvidia ruined the potential of the 600 series with their rules and scare mongering.

evga ones are nothing special except the classfied, which is more expensive because it says classified on it.

The best one to get in the uk is the gigabyte windforce 3x
Click to expand...

No true. While Gigabyte are very good, EVGA are just as or better then Gigabyte when it comes to RMA.
 
eddywatson said:
So for example whats the best in terms of performance for the:
GeForce GTX 680

would it be the EVGA?
Click to expand...

The best for performance in the 680's is the MSI Lightning. The hardest part is getting hold of one. When you flick the switch on the card to the LN2 BIOS, it is a standard clock of 1202Mhz (I don't believe there is anything faster at stock).
 
RetrogamerX said:
EVGA is the best here in the UK. Very quick turn around's and amazing warranty. When I buy green it's always EVGA, but as spoffle as said AMD is the cheapest option.
Click to expand...

Except their RMA base is in Europe meaning some hefty shipping charges if you deal with them direct... however they do honour warranty on cards that have been watercooled which most don't, so that is a plus if you plan to do that
 
eddywatson said:
Hey the 2 examples you provided are the same...

So I could not see the difference lol :(
Click to expand...

:eek: :eek: :eek:

That was quite a brain fade on my part. I'll try again.

Reference
(7970 reference)
- identical to AMD/nVidia design (may have a superficial sticker with the vendor's name)
- usually one fan
- closed design, GPU heat goes out of the IO panel and not in the case
- slightly louder
- a bit cheaper

Non-reference
(7970 non reference)
- differs from AMD/nVidia design
- usually multiple fans
- open design, GPU heat goes into the case
- usually quieter
- small price premium
- usually many overclocked/special versions with proprietary coolers e.g. Twin Frozr, IceQ, Direct CUII, Windforce et cetera

Hopefully, this will help.

:cool::cool::cool:
 
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Gregster said:
The best for performance in the 680's is the MSI Lightning. The hardest part is getting hold of one. When you flick the switch on the card to the LN2 BIOS, it is a standard clock of 1202Mhz (I don't believe there is anything faster at stock).
Click to expand...

I think both versions of the kfa2 ltd o/c were slightly faster out of the box, something like 1215?
 
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