GPU buying, what to look for?

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MrPatate

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Hi,

I'm about to buy a new GPU. And I'm a bit confused about what to look for in my final card choice.

Which ever GPU model(970, 290, etc) you choose, there's multiple manufacturer and each manufacturer has multiple card available for the same GPU model. How to choose which one? The only big difference seems to be the clock speed. Simply get the highest or is it more complicated than that?

Also, is there "specific stuff" (cooling, component quality, reference card, etc) to look for? And which brand do you recommend (was thinking about getting an Asus or EVGA)?

Thanks!
 
First figure out what you want to do with your card, like what res you play at, what games you wanna play and, what settings you want? Then figure out your budget is then go from there. As far as manufactures goes some are better than others. Evga is really good, asus is hit or miss and their warranty service sucks so if you have a problem good luck with that.
 
The biggest things that separate cards with the same core GPU are cooler design, warranty support and clock speed. Yes, the whole reference vs. non-reference thing matters in some cases but only if you intend to OC extensively, usually with aftermarket watercooling or extreme options like LN2.

Personally I'd say to pretty much ignore factory overclocks, as most tend to be stuff you can achieve on your own with only a few minutes of tweaking and simply aren't worth the price premium. What matters most is the cooling solution used on the board and the warranty.
 
Nauseous said:
First figure out what you want to do with your card, like what res you play at, what games you wanna play and, what settings you want? Then figure out your budget is then go from there. As far as manufactures goes some are better than others. Evga is really good, asus is hit or miss and their warranty service sucks so if you have a problem good luck with that.
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I know what I need, my question was about choosing a specific card compared to others from the same core.

silent-circuit said:
The biggest things that separate cards with the same core GPU are cooler design, warranty support and clock speed. Yes, the whole reference vs. non-reference thing matters in some cases but only if you intend to OC extensively, usually with aftermarket watercooling or extreme options like LN2.

Personally I'd say to pretty much ignore factory overclocks, as most tend to be stuff you can achieve on your own with only a few minutes of tweaking and simply aren't worth the price premium. What matters most is the cooling solution used on the board and the warranty.
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What are the best cooling solutions? Most of them have the 2/3 fans classic setup.
I won't be watercooling, so having a reference board is useless or are they more reliable/better for small OC.
 
MrPatate said:
What are the best cooling solutions? Most of them have the 2/3 fans classic setup.
I won't be watercooling, so having a reference board is useless or are they more reliable/better for small OC.
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A 2-3 fan cooler is what you want. Research the coolers, check out the fan size and heat sink design. These types of coolers do blow more heat into your case but your card will still run cooler overall and be much quieter. But just be sure you have decent case/CPU cooling which isn't too hard to get. As long as you're not stuffing a high end GPU in a crappy HP/Dell case you should be fine.

Also check the power connectors. Some versions, such as my MSI GTX 970 4G, draws more power from the PSU. Ensure your PSU has enough to spare, although most GPUs come with molex converters.

I would recommend a model with a back plate which makes it easier to clean/handle and gives the board more strength.

Otherwise, go off of warranty and brand. I like MSI. The most popular for Nvidia seem to be EVGA, MSI and ASUS (horrible customer service?). AMD seems to be Sapphire, XFX, MSI and ASUS.
 
my big thing is always ... how much money do I have available and what card can I get with that money. And if its not good enough.. I save up more.
 
MrPatate said:
What are the best cooling solutions? Most of them have the 2/3 fans classic setup.
I won't be watercooling, so having a reference board is useless or are they more reliable/better for small OC.
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To be clear, "reference" cards in terms of GPUs are just cards made by Nvidia and AMD's AIB partners (EVGA, XFX, ASUS, MSI, etc.) that use the original, or reference, design put out by Nvidia/AMD when the core came out. There's rarely anything wrong with this PCB design, but AIB partners like to make "non-reference" cards with beefed up power phases and stuff like that to differentiate themselves. What I was saying is, unless you're pushing for crazy high clocks and using aftermarket cooling, the reference design in fine. If you can pick up a supposedly beefed up "non-reference" board for the same price from a brand you like, go for it, but it's not worth paying a price premium for and is unlikely to get you a much (if any) bigger overclock.

Assuming you've got a good size case, I'd say the best cooler design is the biggest, baddest thing you can fit in it. For example -- so far I really love my Zotac AMP! cards and their 3 fan coolers. They're super quiet, look neat, and stay substantially cooler than cards using the stock blower style cooler, and even many two fan coolers like that used by EVGA. That said, they are long. Crazy long. I have a full tower case, the Silverstone Fortress FT02, and they barely fit. I mean, less than an inch of clearance between the end of the card and the bottom 180mm fans (it is a 90 degree rotated case, odd design). The end of the cooler actually overhangs the card PCB. While the stock 980Ti and EVGA ACX 2.0 cooler cards are both 10.5" long, the Zotac 980Ti AMP! is 11.8" long, the ASUS STRIX AC3 is a full 12" long, and the Zotac AMP! Extreme and Omega cards are almost 13" long. None of these things are going to fit in a small case, but some of the three fan cards won't even fit in some mid towers, or even full towers, without pulling drive cages and the like. Keep that in mind before you buy one.

Do you already have a case, or know which one you'll be using? If not, do you have a budget for a case?
 
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silent-circuit said:
Do you already have a case, or know which one you'll be using? If not, do you have a budget for a case?
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Thanks for the clarification on reference vs non-reference boards.
My case is a Phantek Enthoo Luxe, pretty much any GPUs will fit in it.
 
This is what you want to look for. No NVIDIA logo? RUN.

NVIDIA-The-Way-Its-Meant-To-Be-Played1.jpg
 
Number one thing you should look for: cooling capacity. Each card has custom cooling but not all are equal. Find one that fits your case AND your cooling requirements. Some cards, like the JetStream ones, for example, are triple slot cards. Others like the WindForce is longer to accomodate 3 fans.

Number 2: Card quality. Don't be fooled by the hype, a lot of the mfgs have messed up their custom cards in the past. Look for trends, read lots of reviews.

Number 3: RMA policy and support quality. Some people will still buy from mfgs who may have had a sketchy run simply because their support and RMA policy is awesome. YMMV.

Number 4: Price. Should be obvious.

Personally I'd buy NVIDIA's reference designs and turn up the fan speed, because I like their cooler design. It doesn't interfere with airflow inside the case. On top of that, their reference design should mean quality is guaranteed. However, the same can't be said for AMD.

From my personal experience, Asus is always a reliable buy. Good quality, good support. MSI is ok, nothing extraordinary. Currently using Palit and it's alright. I dislike the fact that they won't allow you to remove the heat sink to repaste TIM, and that their cards are triple-slot cards. But other than that, it's decent.
 
Your opening statement is too broad. You have to be more specific about what kind of games you'll play, at what resolution and when you expect next upgrade. Also, what is the budget.

Finally, ignore the NV trolls in this thread. The 960 2 GB VRAM was DOA, yet a bunch of people(including the editors of this site) recommended it, even if the 280X crushes it in benchmarks and for a lower price. The excuses "perf/watt!!!11" were used to justify a terrible card.

Now NV is pulling the plug on the 960 2 GB VRAM version because they understand something their fanboys don't: they don't always get it right. Both sides have good GPUs but be aware that one side has a small legion of fanboys and the other doesn't and this is reflected on forums.
 
trandoanhung1991 said:
Number one thing you should look for: cooling capacity. Each card has custom cooling but not all are equal. Find one that fits your case AND your cooling requirements. Some cards, like the JetStream ones, for example, are triple slot cards. Others like the WindForce is longer to accomodate 3 fans.

Number 2: Card quality. Don't be fooled by the hype, a lot of the mfgs have messed up their custom cards in the past. Look for trends, read lots of reviews.

Number 3: RMA policy and support quality. Some people will still buy from mfgs who may have had a sketchy run simply because their support and RMA policy is awesome. YMMV.

Number 4: Price. Should be obvious.

Personally I'd buy NVIDIA's reference designs and turn up the fan speed, because I like their cooler design. It doesn't interfere with airflow inside the case. On top of that, their reference design should mean quality is guaranteed. However, the same can't be said for AMD.

From my personal experience, Asus is always a reliable buy. Good quality, good support. MSI is ok, nothing extraordinary. Currently using Palit and it's alright. I dislike the fact that they won't allow you to remove the heat sink to repaste TIM, and that their cards are triple-slot cards. But other than that, it's decent.
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Thanks! That is exactly what I was wondering. There's still the core clock question, but like others mentioned almost any small overclock gain they acheived I should be able to acheive the same with another card.

finrep said:
Your opening statement is too broad. You have to be more specific about what kind of games you'll play, at what resolution and when you expect next upgrade. Also, what is the budget
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But my question isn't about a specific model either, it's about what to look for when choosing a card of a specific model (like which 970 between the 50 cards available). I didn't want to talk about a specific model to avoid "fanboyism", since my question is valid for any model of any brand.
 
My 2 cents would be to avoid ASUS as a GPU manufacturer, based on previous personal experience with their RMA (or, lack of RMA) support. You can find various threads that echo that opinion. EVGA is generally considered to have strong RMA support. On the AMD side, XFX is usually considered to offer the best after-sales support. On the NVidia side, both MSI and Gigabyte have good (and quiet) non-reference cooling solutions (based on personal experience). I personally prefer reference, blower-style cooler models from EVGA (or NVidia, via Best Buy). I haven't found them to be appreciable louder than non-reference coolers, and like the idea of moving heat out of the case.
 
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