Newbie card question

[Valekai]

Hi! First time participating in the forums and preparing to build my first pc. I have a few pretty dumb questions relating to graphics cards. 

 

1. Is there a difference between gpu's and compact gpu's? Performance wise or is it simply smaller with less fans? Stupid question, I know.

 

2. If I'm using a micro atx board, can I buy a normal size gpu or am I going to want a compact gpu? I'm worried the usable length of the card might be hindered by components on the mobo.

 

Appreciate any answers and tips you guys have.

[Lemonpearl]

I don't think the difference is worth worrying about unless you're into top tier performance.

[Fungal]

Compact cards will perform the same but they're cooling just isn't as good usually as a larger card, so you won't be overclocking much on a small gpu.

Your gpu size is usually determined by your case so the motherboard doesn't really matter. 

[Valekai]

Appreciate the replies guys. I've always seen gpus with double or triple fan designs and the first time I saw a compact gpu, I immediately associated that with lower performance. Then I realized they were usually priced similarly so I got confused. I don't plan on overclocking and im installing an extra case fan so I don't believe the lower cooling power will affect my build.

[LienusLateTips]

1 minute ago, Valekai said:

Appreciate the replies guys. I've always seen gpus with double or triple fan designs and the first time I saw a compact gpu, I immediately associated that with lower performance. Then I realized they were usually priced similarly so I got confused. I don't plan on overclocking and im installing an extra case fan so I don't believe the lower cooling power will affect my build.

The performance really depends on the chip. The RX 480 and RX 580 (Different models) perform sort of similar because they are both based on the Ellesmere XT chip.

[ATFink]

1: Smaller GPU's are generally louder because there is less surface area for the heat sink to dissipate excess heat, so the fans have to work harder to actively push heating air away from the GPU (and the fans are also smaller to, so that'll also require them to spin faster... It's a double whamy). Performance wise there shouldn't be that big a difference. Just make sure you don't buy a card with a crappy PCB. For example, never buy Gigabyte's G1 Gaming series for AMD cards (to date). The nVidia G1 Gaming series cards are great, but not the AMD counterparts. The AMD variants have crappy capacitors that get really hot and makes the card's cooling solution loud.

 

2: Motherboard form factor has absolutely no effect on maximum supported GPU length. Your case will determine that. What case do you have?

[Valekai]

2 minutes ago, JDE said:

The performance really depends on the chip. The RX 480 and RX 580 (Different models) perform sort of similar because they are both based on the Ellesmere XT chip.

I was looking at two GTX 1060s because this is my first build and can't afford a gpu higher than that. One was a gigabyte full size and the other a zotac 1060 mini. But since it doesn't affect performance or space restriction, I guess it's all moot.

[LienusLateTips]

Just now, Valekai said:

I was looking at two GTX 1060s because this is my first build and can't afford a gpu higher than that. One was a gigabyte full size and the other a zotac 1060 mini. But since it doesn't affect performance or space restriction, I guess it's all moot.

I would recommend the RX 580 over the GTX 1060 if power bills aren't a problem. The RX 580 is faster than the 1060 6GB.

 

BUT DO NOT BUY THE 1060 3GB!!!!

 

WARNING!

[Valekai]

5 minutes ago, ATFink said:

1: Smaller GPU's are generally louder because there is less surface area for the heat sink to dissipate excess heat, so the fans have to work harder to actively push heating air away from the GPU (and the fans are also smaller to, so that'll also require them to spin faster... It's a double whamy). Performance wise there shouldn't be that big a difference. Just make sure you don't buy a card with a crappy PCB. For example, never buy Gigabyte's G1 Gaming series for AMD cards (to date). The nVidia G1 Gaming series cards are great, but not the AMD counterparts. The AMD variants have crappy capacitors that get really hot and makes the card's cooling solution loud.

 

2: Motherboard form factor has absolutely no effect on maximum supported GPU length. Your case will determine that. What case do you have?

A corsair carbide 200r. From what you guys are saying, should have plenty of room, yeah? 

[Valekai]

2 minutes ago, JDE said:

I would recommend the RX 580 over the GTX 1060 if power bills aren't a problem. The RX 580 is faster than the 1060 6GB.

 

BUT DO NOT BUY THE 1060 3GB!!!!

 

WARNING!

I'll definitely look into that. What's the issue with the 3gb card?

[ATFink]

19 minutes ago, Valekai said:

A corsair carbide 200r. From what you guys are saying, should have plenty of room, yeah? 

Max supported GPU length for that case is 420 mm... You are completely fine.

18 minutes ago, Valekai said:

I'll definitely look into that. What's the issue with the 3gb card?

The 3 GB card is about 10% slower than the 6 GB variant and *MAY* run into issues with VRAM since it's only 3 GB, but as long as you are gaming at 1080p and 16:9 or less (with no highly resource intensive mods in the games you play) you would be just fine. If there is a sale where the 3 GB version is like 20% cheaper and you're looking to cut costs, go for it. It is slightly slower and has less VRAM. It is not a terrible card like @JDE made it out to be. Simply a little bit worse than the 6 GB model.

[Valekai]

5 minutes ago, ATFink said:

Max supported GPU length for that case is 420 mm... You are completely fine.

The 3 GB card is about 10% slower than the 6 GB variant and *MAY* run into issues with VRAM since it's only 3 GB, but as long as you are gaming at 1080p and 16:9 or less (with no highly resource intensive mods in the games you play) you would be just fine. If there is a sale where the 3 GB version is like 20% cheaper and you're looking to cut costs, go for it. It is slightly slower and has less VRAM. It is not  a terrible like @JDE made it out to be. Simply a little bit worse.

Appreciate the help. Puts my nerves to rest.

[LienusLateTips]

9 hours ago, Valekai said:

I'll definitely look into that. What's the issue with the 3gb card?

It has to little VRAM and is 10% slower than 1060 6GB. Also it is the same price as RX 480 4GB which is faster.