Does the brand matter for purchasing graphics card

[hunkeelin]

Let's assume temps/noise is not the concern here since all 970gtx run below 70C (at least for me).

I am assuming all the gtx 970 models are the same gigtabyte, evga, zotac etc... of all the brands, zotac's version have the lowest core clock. In the website, the user is using gigabyte's gtx 970 which have a core clock of 1178mhz. He does + 140mhz in afterburner resulting in a 1318mhz. For my zotac, if I do the same setting I will only get to 1216mhz. So instead of +100mhz I should + 200mhz instead? I'm confuse, does it mean the gigyabte's card have more "power and potential" or I just need to do + 200mhz instead of +100mhz?

Or it's simply marketing scheme, where I can simply use msiAB AND tune my zotac card to clock at the same speed as gigabyte's 970 with the SAME power consumption.

Thanks

 

[chimaxi83]

Different manufacturers can use custom PCBs utilizing higher quality components. They can use their own high performance custom coolers. They can use a custom BIOS with their own clock speeds, voltages, and fan speeds.

Yes, the brand matters in your choice, depending on your budget and what kind of experience you want.

 

[hunkeelin]

^
so you are saying gigabyte, evga's 970gtx is better than zotac's 970gtx?

they can overclock better per se?

 

[escrow4]

I have a Gigabyte 780 Ti GHz which is one of the highest factory overclocked 780 Ti's there was - out of the box it clocks to 1215MHz, the reference can barely crack what 1GHz? I'd definitely recommend Gigabyte's Windforce or Gaming G1's, they are built to last.

 

[skipsneeky2]

Have had 2 Zotac cards,a 650 and my 770 and both pretty much suck for overclocking.The cheap Zotac 970 with its short pcb and design really looks like something built better for stock to moderate overclocking.

Can't really even trust my 770 to match the AMP! clocks,some games have crushed with them and its pretty small of a oc.Wouldn't buy Zotac and expect a miracle in the ocing department.

 

[tential]

Have had 2 Zotac cards,a 650 and my 770 and both pretty much suck for overclocking.The cheap Zotac 970 with its short pcb and design really looks like something built better for stock to moderate overclocking.

Can't really even trust my 770 to match the AMP! clocks,some games have crushed with them and its pretty small of a oc.Wouldn't buy Zotac and expect a miracle in the ocing department.

So it depends what you plan on doing with your card. If you're planning at running stock, then brand doesn't really matter. It's when you plan on ocing and eeking every last bit of performance out of the card then it matters.

 

[jackstar7]

Just two other things to consider: warranty and customer service reputation.

 

[exar333]

These days, it matters less than it used to for NV. Power limits and locked voltage really means diminishing returns on 'fancy' versions IMHO. There is the bling-factor, but probably the only thing you gain from a more expensive NV GPU is a quieter and better-looking card. This is assuming you are not flashing the BIOS and doing extreme OCing. If that is the case, you definitely want the best caps, PCB, etc.