Want to buy GeForce GTX 960 Reference Card

[LeviMeredith]

Hi, I want to buy a GeForce GTX 960 however the one that is in my [limited] price range is a reference card and by a company I've never heard of... I need to know two things, first of which is "What are the differences between a reference card and a non-reference card?" and the second is "Does the company matter? Really shouldn't it just matter if it's AMD or NVIDIA?"

 

Link to the card

 

BTW: The name of the company that made this card is called 'Palit'...

[The Official Czex]

1. Non-reference cards have non-reference coolers.

 

2. AMD is typically better for the price. A R9-380 is a direct competitor to the GTX 960. Also, different aftermarket coolers for different cards are worse than others. Company matters.

[r1Ns3]

Hi, I want to buy a GeForce GTX 960 however the one that is in my [limited] price range is a reference card and by a company I've never heard of... I need to know two things, first of which is "What are the differences between a reference card and a non-reference card?" and the second is "Does the company matter? Really shouldn't it just matter if it's AMD or NVIDIA?"

 

Link to the card

 

BTW: The name of the company that made this card is called 'Palit'...

 

hmm never heard of Palit...

 

1. Non-reference cards have non-reference coolers.

 

2. AMD is typically better for the price. A R9-380 is a direct competitor to the GTX 960. Also, different aftermarket coolers for different cards are worse than others. Company matters.

 

Absolutely agree with second point, AMD is great for budget cards that perform well

[r1Ns3]

1. Non-reference cards have non-reference coolers.

 

2. AMD is typically better for the price. A R9-380 is a direct competitor to the GTX 960. Also, different aftermarket coolers for different cards are worse than others. Company matters.

 

Also mate, saw your sig, how is that 6700K with 980 ti combo going for you? is it worth it? do you do any extensive streaming or video editing with it or just games? Thanks, I am planning on getting your rig for myself soon

[The Official Czex]

hmm never heard of Palit...

 

 

Absolutely agree with second point, AMD is great for budget cards that perform well

 

Palit is a reasonably popular company, but a more mainstream name such as ASUS, GIGABYTE, MSI, Sapphire, XFX, or EVGA is typically a better option to go with.

[jhurst117]

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/msi-radeon-r9-380-gaming-2048mb-gddr5-pci-express-graphics-card-gx-291-ms.html card that is same price better performance

[The Official Czex]

Also mate, saw your sig, how is that 6700K with 980 ti combo going for you? is it worth it? do you do any extensive streaming or video editing with it or just games? Thanks, I am planning on getting your rig for myself soon

 

Pretty well. It's not worth it; a 4790K and a FuryX will perform roughly the same for 200-300 USD less. I do audio work, so the hyperthreading is a nice feature to have. 

[The Official Czex]

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/msi-radeon-r9-380-gaming-2048mb-gddr5-pci-express-graphics-card-gx-291-ms.html card that is same price better performance

 

Recommending a 2GB 380? Not a good idea for 2015.

[The Official Czex]

I agree. Don't get the GTX 960 get an R9 380. It is faster for the same money

 

But a 4GB 380 is a much better option than a 2GB.

[LeviMeredith]

I'm actually building a christmas list, I have put a MSI Radeon R7 370 on there but I want to give another, slightly more expensive option. I would like this option to have 4GB of memory, thats the only reason I was asking about the GTX 960.

 

Others that I found which have 4GB of memory and are within my price range are:

• Sapphire Radeon R7 370
• Asus Radeon R7 370
• MSI Radeon R7 370
• There seems to be a pattern...
• Gigabyte GeForce GTX 960

Which one should I get? The gigabyte one is about £30-£40 more expensive than the others so please consider the value...