which gpu

[manyfacts]

Zotac GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card

Is my first choice but is there a better variant of an Nvidia card or should I get a card straight up from the company Nvidia . Please can anyone explain what so special about the variants like the msi gtx 770

[MegaDave91]

If it's reference, then there's no difference. Just get one from the manufacture with the best warranty.

[xloexs]

If the card is a reference card then there isnt a difference, but manufacturers like MSI or ASUS might put on a custom cooler which gives the card better coling which gives it a better overclocking headroom. Some cards might even come pre-overclocked. If you are using air cooling, i suggest you to get a card with a custom cooler for example: Direct CU 2 from ASUS or Twin Frozr from MSI, the do better cooling to the card and you can get much more out of it if you overclock compared to the reference cooler. If you are using liquid cooling, you willl have to look out when you choose the card, you dont have to worry about the ones that uses the refernce cooler but if the card uses a custom cooler the pcb will most likely to be a custom designed one which requires a specific water block, so do some research before you buy, you can go throgh reviews and see which custom cooler do the best job if you just want to use air cooling. i hope this helps

[nsyedhasan]

Reference GPUs from people like Asus, EVGA, or anybody else have the same specifications of the reference or the stock GPU that would be manufactured by Nvidia. Companies like Asus, EVGA, Gigabyte, and many others add their own features on to these GPUs. These features are things like better components on the PCB, better power delivery, and/or a better cooling solution. Most of the time getting a non-reference card is better because of the previous reasons stated but in the case that you are watercooling you would be better off either getting a reference card or an non-reference card that has blocks made for it. Sometimes non-reference GPUs don't have an waterblocks that fit with their PCB design. This is why you would buy a reference card, for better waterblock compatibility. 

As for GPU recommendations, are you open to getting AMD GPUs? Also What is your budget?