Happy new year!

 

As titled, does NVidia video card brand (ie MSi, EVGA etc.) matter when it comes to performance and quality?  If they do matter, which aspects do they vary?

 

Why I ask this is because back in the 480/580 days, I've been told by someone that now it doesn't matter as all cards essentially come out of NVidia.  The companies buys it out to put their sticker or logo on it, so essentially all cards are nvidia standards.

 

I've never bothered checking it out so never really paid attention to it.  Now that I think of it, it's a little skeptical, and since I can't access google (I'm in a non-google friendly country), I'm not able to find anything...  So I ask here.

 

I'm looking at getting an EVGA GTX780Ti for an upgrade because I heard EVGA was good (but never actually used it).  So what do you think?  Would that be a good pick over other options like MSi or Gigabyte etc?

 

Cheers,

Brendan

PS

 

I use FSX mainly but exploring P3D2 and XP10, that's why I want such a big GPU.

I am an EVGA loyalist.  Physically compared (4) different manufacturer GTX560 cards a year ago at the Dover, Delaware CompUSA (when it was still open) and the quality difference was clearly evident.  Do not wish to say with certainty who the other (3) were from.  Actually, I am certain one was from ASUS, but not sure about the other (2).

The cards are essentially the same.  Some companies will enhance the cards with things like custom cooling solutions and things of that nature, but the architecture of the GPU itself is the same.  From there, the choice really comes down to warranty and customer support.  EVGA, by most accounts is a good company when it comes to after sale support so I think you made a good choice.

 

Cheers.  :smile:

 

 

The cards are essentially the same.

 

Then why did the four I looked at, laid out side by side, not look at all the same?  No two looked the same.  Highly similar perhaps, actually more like similar, but not the same.

Zotac

Evga

MSI

Gigabyte

PNY

ASUS

 

Are all well known names, and as said above they are pretty much all the same, except in the little extras of styling (cooling solutions, colors, memory additions, overclocks) they use to differentiate their brands from the rest of the pack.

 

Some companies go the extra mile and offer "step-up" programs that allow you to upgrade to a more powerful card simply by paying the price differential between the two within a certain time after purchase.

 

I believe some even offer lifetime warranties and other incentives.

So the circuit boards, the piece-level parts and components, the printed circuits, are all the same?  No difference in production process or QC? Sorry, I have yet to see this in any industry for any product, even those by prescription. 

 

There is a significant difference between licensed products and identical products.

Read my whole post.  I said they are essentially the same.  The GPU architecture is the same.  A 780 is a 780 because they all come from Nvidia.  Do you really want to get into an argument over semantics??  Geez.

 Some manufacturers will use a combination of higher end ram, resistors, regulators, overall circuitry etc as well as a custom heatsink and fan to enable a higher overclocking ability. Whether it's set by you or them. These days they all seem to be quite good, it's all a matter of which marketing scheme looks best to you. They'll all have similar warranty and speeds based on using the same GPU. The 780 ti is a high end card, you really cant go wrong.

I am an EVGA loyalist.  Physically compared (4) different manufacturer GTX560 cards a year ago at the Dover, Delaware CompUSA (when it was still open) and the quality difference was clearly evident.  Do not wish to say with certainty who the other (3) were from.  Actually, I am certain one was from ASUS, but not sure about the other (2).

I bought last mid year, the  EVGA GTX Signature Overclock GTX680, and (knock on wood....) have had only rock steady usage from it.  They bundle a great overdrive app, and from my experience, would not hesitate to just keep buying from this company. I'm sure that others that have purchased other branded, but the same card, have had also good usage experiences. For myself, though, and at the price these high level cards are costing....'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'...will be my motivator for the next upgrade, when that happens. EVGA puts out great quality.

Over the past ten years I've had cards from Inno, Connect3D, EVGA, Palit, Sapphire, Zotac and Gigabyte.

I've never had a problem with any of them.

Due to limited stock (very very limited), I got hold of an Inno 780Ti (with 3 fans, it looks mean  :mad: ), was aiming to go for an OC version, but somehow it ended up not being one...

 

I don't do extreme gaming so hope I'm not missing much for not having a preOCd version.  How do GFX cards OC with default cooling?  Can I bump it up a little without custom cooling?

Due to limited stock (very very limited), I got hold of an Inno 780Ti (with 3 fans, it looks mean  :mad: ), was aiming to go for an OC version, but somehow it ended up not being one...

 

I don't do extreme gaming so hope I'm not missing much for not having a preOCd version.  How do GFX cards OC with default cooling?  Can I bump it up a little without custom cooling?

 

As a general rule, the overclocks on so called "Overclocked" cards tend to be so small as to be more symbolic than actually useful. Most cards will come with software now that will do it for you anyway. The only real difference is that a factory overclocked has been certified to run at the OC speeds whereas your own card may vary on what it can reach safely.

 

Check the supplied software.

 

The fact is, there is little (VERY little) reason to overclock a card that fast, anyways....

As a general rule, the overclocks on so called "Overclocked" cards tend to be so small as to be more symbolic than actually useful. Most cards will come with software now that will do it for you anyway. The only real difference is that a factory overclocked has been certified to run at the OC speeds whereas your own card may vary on what it can reach safely.

 

Check the supplied software.

 

The fact is, there is little (VERY little) reason to overclock a card that fast, anyways....

 

Even for P3D2 and XP10?

 

 

I got hold of an Inno 780Ti (with 3 fans, it looks mean)    How do GFX cards OC with default cooling? Can I bump it up a little without custom cooling?

 

 Assuming you mean the iChill GeForce GTX 780Ti HerculeZ X3 Ultra?

 

http://www.inno3d.com/product/ichillgtx780ti.html ? If so that card comes with a nice overclock as it is.

 Assuming you mean the iChill GeForce GTX 780Ti HerculeZ X3 Ultra?

 

http://www.inno3d.com/product/ichillgtx780ti.html ? If so that card comes with a nice overclock as it is.

 

That's the one  I had a look at the box but didn't say anything about overclocking.  That's done, now it's time to find where the power goes and in the machine it goes!