What is the difference, and why should I get a different graphics card?

[Spyagent1000]

Hey guys, pretty basic question here. 

When buying a graphics card, why should I buy one from MSI or EVGA or whatever

(as seen here) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127889&cm_re=geforce_gtx_980_ti-_-14-127-889-_-Product&RandomID=6835573147147420151225175815

Instead of just buying the same card from the source?

(as seen here) http://www.geforce.com/hardware/geforce-gtx-980-ti/buy-gpu

Sorry if this is a nooby question, but besides the more advanced cooling, I can't see a reason to not simply buy from Nvidia. Thanks!

[pokechat8978]

Hey guys, pretty basic question here. 

When buying a graphics card, why should I buy one from MSI or EVGA or whatever

(as seen here) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127889&cm_re=geforce_gtx_980_ti-_-14-127-889-_-Product&RandomID=6835573147147420151225175815

Instead of just buying the same card from the source?

(as seen here) http://www.geforce.com/hardware/geforce-gtx-980-ti/buy-gpu

Sorry if this is a nooby question, but besides the more advanced cooling, I can't see a reason to not simply buy from Nvidia. Thanks!

IMO reference cards are more for people who want to watercool them as there a larger variety of GPU blocks they can get compared to like 2 from EK for the Gigabyte G1 card.

Reference coolers are OK, but aftermarket coolers are much better, and usually come factory overclocked.

[bpw87]

Hey guys, pretty basic question here. 

When buying a graphics card, why should I buy one from MSI or EVGA or whatever

(as seen here) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127889&cm_re=geforce_gtx_980_ti-_-14-127-889-_-Product&RandomID=6835573147147420151225175815

Instead of just buying the same card from the source?

(as seen here) http://www.geforce.com/hardware/geforce-gtx-980-ti/buy-gpu

Sorry if this is a nooby question, but besides the more advanced cooling, I can't see a reason to not simply buy from Nvidia. Thanks!

Try and get an aftermarket cooler design if possible. It doesn't really matter which one you get as it should be down personal preference on cooler design and size restrictions on your case. The reference coolers aren't good enough and you will have issues with it thermal throttling

[just-cause999]

get the aftermarket so you can have better cooling

[Goat]

Get the aftermarket card ( MSI, EVGA, etc. ) as it has an open cooler, which gives you better cooling and in turn, less noise. The reference card from Nvidia has a closed cooler, making your gpu hotter and in turn, producing more noise. The advantage to the closed cooler is that it traps heat in the gpu and exhausts it out the back, keeping the rest of your pc cool. The open cooler is the opposite, keeping the gpu cooler but the rest of your pc hotter, so its important to have an exhaust fan to get the heat from the gpu out. The reference card is more for those who want to watercool their card as the gpu waterblocks are meant for the reference card.

[Najuno]

Get the aftermarket card ( MSI, EVGA, etc. ) as it has an open cooler, which gives you better cooling and in turn, less noise. The reference card from Nvidia has a closed cooler, making your gpu hotter and in turn, producing more noise. The advantage to the closed cooler is that it traps heat in the gpu and exhausts it out the back, keeping the rest of your pc cool. The open cooler is the opposite, keeping the gpu cooler but the rest of your pc hotter, so its important to have an exhaust fan to get the heat from the gpu out. The reference card is more for those who want to watercool their card as the gpu waterblocks are meant for the reference card.

Not really. There is a huge variety of EKWB fullcover blocks available for board partner PCB designs. Reference is used i.e. for Titan, Titan X or early adopters, that want the latest and greatest at release right away. With a reference card a fullcover block is almost certain guaranteed for modern GPUs if you want to go for custom water cooling, whilst there are board partner designs out there that will never have a fullcover block available, due to a lack of demand or popularity.

And a nVidia reference cooler from Kepler on with thermal throttling... ehm no, unless you OC the shit with a modded BIOS.

But reference coolers are not as capable as a beefy board partner cooling design and like stated above many cards come with OCing potential, due better VRM and cherry picked chips. Also there are certain scenarios where a reference design makes more sense than a board partner. Especially in tight spaces like multi GPU scenarios or mITX cases.