Difference between brands

[Leif135]

I'm looking into building a pc for the first time.

What is the difference between a gtx980 of one brand vs a gtx980 of a different brand? On Newegg they have the same numbers in the description.

Someone please help

[MegaDave91]

If they are reference cards then there are no differences.

[Sam Z Man]

The brand that's really it unless it had a aftermarket cooler or custom PCB.

[Wander Away]

Not much, some of them have factory overclocked speeds, which might save you some hassle from custom overclocking, or dealing with the silicone lottery. The other thing is the different cooler designs. But in general, they're all pretty much the same. 

I would recommend EVGA just because of their amazing customer service

[Glenwing]

I'm looking into building a pc for the first time.

What is the difference between a gtx980 of one brand vs a gtx980 of a different brand? On Newegg they have the same numbers in the description.

Someone please help

If they are using the NVIDIA reference cooler (silver/black cooler with green "GEFORCE GTX" logo on the side) then there's no difference on the card itself. The only difference is who you'll contact for warranty service if you need that.

For cards with different cooler designs, different cards have different levels of cooling efficiency and noise levels. Higher-end cards may have a different circuit board design with enhanced power delivery and voltage regulation.

All of this only matters for overclocking, if you aren't going to overclock then none of that will be any benefit, and you should just get the cheapest one.

(EDIT: Also some cards may have their default frequency setting (base clock/boost clock) changed by the manufacturer so that they run slightly faster out of the box, but nothing you couldn't just do on your own, it's literally a matter of opening a program and typing some numbers in on the keyboard. Not much sense in paying extra for this and you can typically ignore this.)

[MrBucket101]

(EDIT: Also some cards may have their default frequency setting (base clock/boost clock) changed by the manufacturer so that they run slightly faster out of the box, but nothing you couldn't just do on your own, it's literally a matter of opening a program and typing some numbers in on the keyboard. Not much sense in paying extra for this and you can typically ignore this.)

While true, some mfg, EVGA for example, will put higher quality chips in those cards to sustain the higher bclk 24/7. Less lottery at that point, sort of.

 

Better chips should overclock better, etc... etc... 

[slightlyjaded]

Those superclocked reference cards do have one advantage that we mainly ignore anyway.....A faster clock speed without voiding your warranty. The moment you OC your card is when you void your warranty with most manufacturers.

[Glenwing]

Those superclocked reference cards do have one advantage that we mainly ignore anyway.....A faster clock speed without voiding your warranty. The moment you OC your card is when you void your warranty with most manufacturers.

In theory, but not in practice since all overclocking profiles are stored on the computer. The manufacturer has no way of telling that you overclocked unless you fried the chip through overvoltage. But then again, you don't need to overvolt to overclock, and usually you can get a higher overclock than any manufacturer overclock on stock voltage.

[Glenwing]

While true, some mfg, EVGA for example, will put higher quality chips in those cards to sustain the higher bclk 24/7. Less lottery at that point, sort of.

 

Better chips should overclock better, etc... etc...

That's only true for the highest end cards with custom PCBs and cooling, so one would only get it if they were very interested in overclocking anyway, in which case the manufacturer overclock is a moot point.

[slightlyjaded]

In theory, but not in practice since all overclocking profiles are stored on the computer. The manufacturer has no way of telling that you overclocked unless you fried the chip through overvoltage. But then again, you don't need to overvolt to overclock, and usually you can get a higher overclock than any manufacturer overclock on stock voltage.

fair call.