What brand? We buy a graphics card from the best manufacturer
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Reference and non-reference
To begin with, let's briefly consider the process of developing and producing video cards. First, AMD and NVIDIA design a reference design of video cards – the simplest possible design with a noisy cooler-turbine, the only task of which is to demonstrate the potential of new products. A small number of reference video cards still end up in retail, but they are bought either by avid computer enthusiasts who want to get a novelty first, or by collectors in general.
And only after that, partner companies take up the case, which are free to modify the design of video cards at their discretion. As a result, non-reference versions of video cards turn out to be much more interesting: operating temperatures are lower, the cooling system is quieter, the power subsystem is enhanced, overclocking immediately at the factory, and even the design is prettier. If a graphics card company does not have its own production lines, then it turns to universal electronics assemblers, for example Foxconn, for help.
ASUS, MSI and Gigabyte
Very often PC users buy a graphics card of the same brand as the motherboard – ASUS, MSI or Gigabyte. All three companies come from Taiwan, all three cooperate with both AMD and NVIDIA. It's not that a motherboard and a graphics card of the same brand work faster or more reliably in a pair, but this bundle still has some advantages. Firstly, it will be possible to manage the settings of both devices through a single configuration application (for example, the MSI Gaming APP). Secondly, the motherboard and graphics card will be made in a single design, which is important when assembling a PC in a case with a transparent side window. But it is clearly not worth dwelling on these insignificant advantages.
ASUS is now making the main bet on two lines of video cards: Dual and RoG Strix. The first is an inexpensive two-fan solution with a white-painted casing. The second one includes two- and three-fan black video cards. RoG Strix models on flagship graphics chips (GTX 1070 and 1080) are additionally equipped with customizable RGB backlight.
MSI has three key graphics card lines: Gaming, Armor and Sea Hawk. Gaming graphics cards, well recognized by their black-and-red colour and dragon images, are equipped with two large 10-cm fans and have significantly increased frequencies compared to reference ones. The black and white (to match the MSI Krait motherboards) Armor series has the same large low-speed fans, but less factory overclocking. Finally, the Sea Hawk graphics cards are water cooled.
Almost all Gigabyte graphics card lines (compact single–fan Mini ITX, conventional two-fan WindForce and slightly overclocked Gaming G1) have a single design - a black and orange casing and propellers with slicing on the blades to reduce noise. The only exception is the three-slot Extreme Gaming series with the maximum factory overclocking among Gigabyte solutions.
Palit, Gainward and Galax
The world's largest manufacturer of video cards is not ASUS, MSI or Gigabyte, but Palit. In addition to its own graphics card lines, Palit owns two more sub–brands that used to be independent companies – Gainward and Galax (another name is KFA2). However, in our region, the products of these sub-brands are rare.
Now Palit and all its sub-brands produce only GeForce graphics cards, but until the mid-2000s it produced Radeon solutions in parallel. Low-cost Palit models belong to the StormX and StormX Dual series (the simplest all-aluminium coolers with one or two fans). The older series are called JetStream and GameRock (both thickened three–slot) - the first with a strict silver colour, the second with a catchy blue.
Inno3D, Zotac and Manli
The company from Hong Kong PC Partner owns three brands of GeForce video cards at once: Inno3D, Zotac and Manli (the latter, however, is not represented in east european retail, but is available on order, for example, in the German online store ComputerUniverse). The Inno3D iChill series will appeal to those who love everything massive and monstrous. These long (more than 30 cm) video cards are equipped with three (X3 sub-series) and even four fans (X4).
For fans of asceticism, Zotac video cards are more suitable. So, for AMP models! However, under the modest-looking casing hides a very efficient ribbed radiator with heat pipes. By the way, it is the PC Partner video cards (sometimes Inno3D, sometimes Zotac) that are always overclocked at the factory to record high frequencies among all competitors in the market.
Sapphire, PowerColor and HIS
Related to HIS, PowerColor andSapphire the fact that they specialize exclusively in AMD graphics cards. The first produces the cheapest Radeon modifications on the market (iCooler line), the second – on the contrary, the most expensive, hung with fans and heat pipes to the maximum (Red Devil line), and the third strives for the golden mean (Nitro line).
EVGA, XFX and PNY
EVGA, XFX and PNY are a trio of American graphics card manufacturers. The first produces GeForce solutions, and uses selected chips with minimal current leakage (high ASIQ coefficient), which guarantees, in addition to high factory overclocking, an additional manual (Kingpin series). The second produces Radeon video cards (Black Edition series), and the third produces professional NVIDIA Quadro video cards.
Colorful, Maxsun and Onda
Chinese companies Colorful, Maxsun and Onda have also started expanding into the graphics card market. We have not officially sold their products yet, but you can order them in Chinese online stores AliExpress, GearBest, etc. And if Maxsun and Onda offer only simple modifications of GeForce, then Colorful, thanks to its flagship iGame line, was able to become the second largest manufacturer of video cards in the world in a short time.
What to buy in the end?
Thanks to the transition to the 14- and 16-nm process technology, the latest generations of NVIDIA and AMD graphics cards – GTX 1000 and RX 400 – turned out to be energy-efficient and, as a result, cold. Therefore, it is not necessary to buy expensive, fully weighted modifications. If you want to buy the cheapest possible GeForce graphics card and are ready to put up with a noisy cooler and limited overclocking, then look towards the younger Inno3D and Palit models. Similar ultra-cheap Radeon are produced by Sapphire and HIS.
Do you want to experiment with overclocking yourself? Then your choice is EVGA. Or do you want the graphics card to be dispersed to the maximum for you at the factory? So, buy Inno3D iChill or Zotac. Well, if a unified appearance and centralization of graphics card and motherboard settings play an important role for you, then, of course, choose between ASUS, MSI and Gigabyte.
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