GPU manufacturers pros and Cons

[VigiFlyer]

Hi All,

might be a can of worms but I wondered if there is much difference between manufacturers in terms of features/ quality. If I take aesthetic out, the thinks I was thinking would be things like thermal performance, power consumption, overclocking ability.

does anyone know of or could propose a hierarchy of manufacturers ( and what they are good/ not so good at) to help make an assessment of the price vs value of the manufacturer offering?

 

[Aegis]

It's tricky because different people have different experiences - all GPUs are based around a reference design by AMD or nVidia so the differences reside in the cooling solution, quality of components used and minor clock speed differences.

I've had great experiences with MSI for the past two nVidia generations - and previously with Asus - but that's just me and YMMV. The only brands that seem to have reoccurring issues this cycle is EVGA and Gigabyte - but there's plenty of happy owners of those cards out there too.

 

[Holst1981]

Given the choice I would look for the longest warranty.

In reality choice is more based on availability at present.

 

[VigiFlyer]

It's tricky because different people have different experiences - all GPUs are based around a reference design by AMD or nVidia so the differences reside in the cooling solution, quality of components used and minor clock speed differences.

I've had great experiences with MSI for the past two nVidia generations - and previously with Asus - but that's just me and YMMV. The only brands that seem to have reoccurring issues this cycle is EVGA and Gigabyte - but there's plenty of happy owners of those cards out there too.

I’ve had good experience with ASUS too. There is clearly a lot of manufacturers so knowing which ones are good if you have the choice is beneficial.

Given the choice I would look for the longest warranty.

In reality choice is more based on availability at present.

Warranty period - that’s an interesting attribute I hadn’t considered!

 

[Purgatory]

Warranty period - that’s an interesting attribute I hadn’t considered!

Do you have a card in mind or a range of cards ?

It really depends on the card each generation which one comes up top and every generation you will find this and not always the top card makers come out on top or they cheap out one generation or have issues with their designs for some cards.

Let us know what you are after first then we can let you know which card is worth it this time round.

 

[VigiFlyer]

So my natural inclination is to the nvidia line rtx 3000 series for flight simulation but I have also considered AMD rx series. From what I gather flight sims are still cpu limited

 

[THX1138]

I would go with ASUS this time very good coolers

 

[Tetras]

It's tricky because different people have different experiences - all GPUs are based around a reference design by AMD or nVidia so the differences reside in the cooling solution, quality of components used and minor clock speed differences.

I've had great experiences with MSI for the past two nVidia generations - and previously with Asus - but that's just me and YMMV. The only brands that seem to have reoccurring issues this cycle is EVGA and Gigabyte - but there's plenty of happy owners of those cards out there too.

The PCBs and components can actually be pretty different. It's rare that a low-end card gets much attention (they're pretty simple anyhow), but higher-end can be completely custom.

 

[HangTime]

Warranty period - that’s an interesting attribute I hadn’t considered!

To be honest warranty is one of the bigger differentiators these days along with cooling solution. Clock speeds differences can normally be achieved with overclocking.
I tend to go with whatever is cheapest.

 

[arknor]

I usually go for the one that's quieter in reviews but also has good cooling

 

[BUDFORCE]

Sapphire for AMD cards.

 

[VigiFlyer]

To be honest warranty is one of the bigger differentiators these days along with cooling solution. Clock speeds differences can normally be achieved with overclocking.
I tend to go with whatever is cheapest.

I must be very lucky to date. I have never had to call upon the warranty. A bit of thread drift, but Out of interest do you go to the supplier who you purchased from or the manufacturer?

The PCBs and components can actually be pretty different. It's rare that a low-end card gets much attention (they're pretty simple anyhow), but higher-end can be completely custom.

I guess that is the crux of the question and it isn't really that one manufacturer is better than any other. That selection is down to the characteristics that you value as a customer. I'm just keen to see who prefers which manufacturers and what feature of the product/service that they value that makes them select that one over another. This will help me and perhaps others when they have to make the choice. Price is clearly one differentiator but the value is harder to measure without some attributes to assess against.

 

[HangTime]

I must be very lucky to date. I have never had to call upon the warranty. A bit of thread drift, but Out of interest do you go to the supplier who you purchased from or the manufacturer?

I've always done it via the retailer. Returned a Voodoo1 to Game in 1998 that had artifacts, and a GTX470 to OcUK in 2012 that had broken fan blades.
Warranty is a differentiator for many but like I said it doesn't really play into my thinking as so rarely used, hence I go with the cheapest. The savings from cheaper GPUS over the years probably add up enough to cover the cost of losing a card beyond it's warranty period anyway, at least traditionally when the value of GPUs depreciated quite a bit, nowadays perhaps not so much as cards can sell for more they cost years later.

 

[VigiFlyer]

I've always done it via the retailer. Returned a Voodoo1 to Game in 1998 that had artifacts, and a GTX470 to OcUK in 2012 that had broken fan blades.
Warranty is a differentiator for many but like I said it doesn't really play into my thinking as so rarely used, hence I go with the cheapest. The savings from cheaper GPUS over the years probably add up enough to cover the cost of losing a card beyond it's warranty period anyway, at least traditionally when the value of GPUs depreciated quite a bit, nowadays perhaps not so much as cards can sell for more they cost years later.

I guess you are right. When I have bought a pre built before, I didn’t really like the gpu manufacturer but the price was right. It’s still going strong and has been given to my dad who still uses it.

 

[philo-sofa]

The rank ordering in my head:

Green Team

1. ASUS and MSI
2. AORUS
3. EVGA
4. Non-AORUS Gigabyte
5. PNY and Palit
6. Zotac
7. Inno3D


Red Team

1. ASUS and MSI
2. XFX
3. Sapphire
4. Gigabyte and Powercolor
5. ASROCK

It's more complex than a simple manufacturer average though. e.g. both PNY and Zotac make some great cards (HOF and Holo Black respectively) while ASUS and MSI both make a weak card (Dual and Ventus 3X respectively).

 

[clone]

Had EVGA for many years going back to the 470 but now their build quality is terrible I now have a MSI 3080 SUPRIM X and so far I'm happy with it build wise.

 

[Aretak]

The rank ordering in my head:

Green Team

1. ASUS and MSI
2. AORUS
3. EVGA
4. Non-AORUS Gigabyte
5. PNY and Palit
6. Zotac
7. Inno3D


Red Team

1. ASUS and MSI
2. XFX
3. Sapphire
4. Gigabyte and Powercolor
5. ASROCK

It's more complex than a simple manufacturer average though. e.g. both PNY and Zotac make some great cards (HOF and Holo Black respectively) while ASUS and MSI both make a weak card (Dual and Ventus 3X respectively).

With respect, your lists are spectacularly wrong. Asus for AMD cards? They've historically been just about the worst AIB period for AMD. Sapphire are by far the best AMD partner.

 

[Gerard]

Red Team

1. ASUS and MSI
2. XFX
3. Sapphire
4. Gigabyte and Powercolor
5. ASROCK

God help us

 

[philo-sofa]

The consensus from you ladies seems to be that I'm desperately wrong Go on @Aretak @Gerard, I'm happy to be corrected. What would you put where?

For what it's worth while I'm more certain about Nvidia cards I'd suggest I'm about right for current AMD GPUs. ASUS have excellent cooling at least, am less sure about the PCB itself, similarly the current XFX line-up reviews damn well.

 

[Quartz]

might be a can of worms but I wondered if there is much difference between manufacturers in terms of features/ quality.

The big one for me is UK RMA. If I have to RMA my card I don't want to have to send it overseas. Fortunately the only failure I've had so far was a card that failed within 24 hours and OCUK sorted me out.