Why are clean-looking GPUs so hard to come by?

[Brady AKA MrHoot2000]

I love clean-looking GPUs. I absolutely adore them. The Radeon VII is the best-looking GPU ever, hands down. But why are they so hard to come by? Practically every GPU has a "gamer" look, which just means it is obnoxious looking. The only clean-looking GPUs I can find are reference cards, Quadro/Radeon Pro, and Gigabyte Aero/Vision cards. 

[Dedayog]

13 minutes ago, Brady AKA MrHoot2000 said:

I love clean-looking GPUs. I absolutely adore them. The Radeon VII is the best-looking GPU ever, hands down. But why are they so hard to come by? Practically every GPU has a "gamer" look, which just means it is obnoxious looking. The only clean-looking GPUs I can find are reference cards, Quadro/Radeon Pro, and Gigabyte Aero/Vision cards. 

Cuz gamers are the majority of the buyers.    So...

 

Now the 7900XTX reference looks sharp IMO.  It's not a squared off industrial look, but it's pleasing.  The Radeon VII is ugly IMO, such a blocky rectangle of no style.

 

7900XTX reference, not quite gamer but definitely styled...

 

[PinballGamingYT]

They are hard to come by, because of supply and demand. With lots of gamers (like me) loving the clean look as well as the performance it will have a lot of people wanting it, getting you where you are now

 

[NinJake]

I'm one of the few who could care less about the look of anything inside the PC. Give me performance over looks all day.

[Dedayog]

4 minutes ago, NinJake said:

I'm one of the few who could care less about the look of anything inside the PC. Give me performance over looks all day.

I'm there with you.  All RGB off, hence the name Onyx for black inside.  

[Exponetialy]

21 minutes ago, Brady AKA MrHoot2000 said:

I love clean-looking GPUs. I absolutely adore them. The Radeon VII is the best-looking GPU ever, hands down. But why are they so hard to come by? Practically every GPU has a "gamer" look, which just means it is obnoxious looking. The only clean-looking GPUs I can find are reference cards, Quadro/Radeon Pro, and Gigabyte Aero/Vision cards. 

what about the RTX fouder's edition cards?

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/K688TW/nvidia-founders-edition-geforce-rtx-4070-12-gb-video-card-900-1g141-2544-000

 

And these?

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/n3zhP6/gigabyte-eagle-oc-rev-20-geforce-rtx-4070-ti-12-gb-video-card-gv-n407teagle-oc-12gd

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/kVqPxr/asus-tuf-gaming-geforce-rtx-4070-ti-12-gb-video-card-tuf-rtx4070ti-12g-gaming

 

Also when you put the pc together you never actually see the face (unless you use a vertical GPU mount).

[alyen]

To me that looks too square. Different styles for different people.

I do like how AMD reference card are made, but that 6000 series with the red line and default RGB being red and on by default kind of ruins the look. I know 6800 and 6900 RGB can be changed from software. Glad to see they change it for the 7000 series with a much shorted red line.

[Monkey Dust]

If you want to go team red, XFX cards look nicely understated. They don't have the cool industrial vibes of the Radeon VII, but they look pretty good. 

 

Though as a member of the solid side panel brotherhood, I don't care my card is a horrific gamer looking monstrosity

[CommanderAlex]

I really loved the look of the Radeon VII except for the hideous fans that were on them. I do agree with @Monkey Dust that the XFX lineup tends to look pretty sleek in a case. RGB puke I can hardly see through the side panel of my case cause it's tinted (5000D Airflow) and I just try to shut it off, just like why I went with Noctua fans cause RGB doesn't do anything for me. 

[8tg]

Gamer oriented products look gamer-y.

But full shroud style gpus have always been a thing, there’s always at least one variant for that box aesthetic, going back to 2003 I have a pixelview pdfII fx 5900 xt:

 

Which was one of the first to take the approach of a full shroud, let alone also a boxy style. 
Fast forward and you get some great designs with the GTX 680’s

Evga and their sleek blower coolers:

 

or gainwards phantom line, with the fans behind the heatsink, they were doing this even back with the 8800 GT though

 

and some great semi modern examples, r9 fury nano and the Radeon pro ssg to represent the entire Radeon pro line with those dope blue blowers

[Elijah Kamski]

Go with the radeon pro lineup, those always look good.

[jaslion]

There are always a few that look not gamery. Often stuff that was adapted from oem or made for design.

 

But the real solution is simple. No glass side panels

[Recharged]

Always been a practical person, I buy what performs best for the money I have.

[Mark Kaine]

Vision OC enters the chat.

 

 

[Mark Kaine]

On 12/8/2023 at 12:23 PM, jaslion said:

But the real solution is simple. No glass side panels

yes!~

 

 

[Yua]

You could always 3D-print your own shroud.

Box-style shrouds like the ones you like also come with the added benefit of being extremely easy to CAD. 

 

 

This one won't win any beauty contests, but if you follow it with some filler, primer, and wet sanding before painting, you could get a really good paint job, plus you could paint it any color you would want.

 

 

[jaslion]

2 hours ago, Mark Kaine said:

yes!~

 

 

Oh well fair enough I set myself up for that

[Mark Kaine]

4 minutes ago, jaslion said:

Oh well fair enough I set myself up for that

tbf afaik that case does come with glass side panels... but i don't think they're mounted...

 

 

its also *by far* my most favorite case ever, its so beautiful! (not to mention top notch quality) 

[jaslion]

12 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

tbf afaik that case does come with glass side panels... but i don't think they're mounted...

 

 

its also *by far* my most favorite case ever, its so beautiful! (not to mention top notch quality) 

I mean fsir enough. I also dont have glass on my bequeit dx500 but I did get some not so nice shrapnell in the box

 

Free case tho couldnt complain airflows awesome

 

What case is that btw? Love the angular pieces. Not sure if I'd want it in that pink I prefer something closer to fuschia

[Mark Kaine]

1 hour ago, jaslion said:

I mean fsir enough. I also dont have glass on my bequeit dx500 but I did get some not so nice shrapnell in the box

 

Free case tho couldnt complain airflows awesome

 

What case is that btw? Love the angular pieces. Not sure if I'd want it in that pink I prefer something closer to fuschia

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.newegg.com/amp/Zeaginal-Computer-Cases/BrandSubCat/ID-219163-7

 

well the pink one is my fav because of the color, but also how elegant it is... its just 4 metal stripes basically...

 

this is my 2nd fav:  

 

 

also very elegant/ clever imo ❤ 

 

my case in comparison,  which i also like because of how minimalistic / high quality it is: 

 

 

 

[Elijah Kamski]

13 hours ago, Mark Kaine said:

yes!~

 

 

Case name?

And does it come with different colors?