GPU brands - quality question

OrbitalDawn

OrbitalDawn

Ulysses Everett McGill
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I'm looking at upgrading my GPU, so Black Friday/Cyber Monday might come in handy.

At the moment the GTX 970 is my first choice, but now comes the question of the different brands that produce them. Which makes the most sense, keeping value for money, quality, reliability etc. in mind?

TakeAlot has the Gigabyte variant for R4999 on sale:

http://www.takealot.com/gigabyte-nvidia-gtx-970-oc-wf3-edition-4gb-graphics-card/PLID33057134

While Wootware has the Galax one for R5399, also on sale:

http://www.wootware.co.za/galax-97n...it-pci-express-3-0-desktop-graphics-card.html

I find these price ranges much more palatable than the brands that go above R6k or R7k...
 
OrbitalDawn said:
I'm looking at upgrading my GPU, so Black Friday/Cyber Monday might come in handy.

At the moment the GTX 970 is my first choice, but now comes the question of the different brands that produce them. Which makes the most sense, keeping value for money, quality, reliability etc. in mind?

TakeAlot has the Gigabyte variant for R4999 on sale:

http://www.takealot.com/gigabyte-nvidia-gtx-970-oc-wf3-edition-4gb-graphics-card/PLID33057134

While Wootware has the Galax one for R5399, also on sale:

http://www.wootware.co.za/galax-97n...it-pci-express-3-0-desktop-graphics-card.html

I find these price ranges much more palatable than the brands that go above R6k or R7k...
Click to expand...

You dead set on the Nvidia? Or may consider AMD?

For that same price you can get a much better R9 390
http://www.wootware.co.za/powercolo...it-pci-express-3-0-desktop-graphics-card.html
 
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Galax is far better than gigabyte, but if you want quality, get EVGA.
 
Pitbull said:
You dead set on the Nvidia? Or may consider AMD?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm quite comfortable with nVidia. My last AMD wasn't a great experience, and they suck a bit with drivers.

Rickster said:
Galax is far better than gigabyte, but if you want quality, get EVGA.
Click to expand...

Best price I've been able to find for the EVGA is R5300 on GTX Gaming. Dunno how reputable they are, though?

Elsewhere it's quite a bit more expensive. And how big is the difference really, in terms of quality?
 
Reference designs are always the same, irrespective of brand.
Designs such as the ones listed can and do vary, the only noticeable trait typically being coil whine and cooling effectiveness. To a lesser extent overclocking and reliability come into play. If coil whine doesn't bug you then I would say anything that looks like it cools decently + price is the winner

Personally, would avoid EVGA on the 970 for various reasons. Maybe they've sorted them out but when I bought it was better to avoid them
 
OrbitalDawn said:
Yeah, I'm quite comfortable with nVidia. My last AMD wasn't a great experience, and they suck a bit with drivers.



Best price I've been able to find for the EVGA is R5300 on GTX Gaming. Dunno how reputable they are, though?

Elsewhere it's quite a bit more expensive. And how big is the difference really, in terms of quality?
Click to expand...

They are amazing. See the dealer section, he only has good feedback and a member on here.

See here:
http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/656643-Gtx-Gaming-Shop-is-Here!

Edit:
Something changed, why is he no longer indicated as a dealer or rep?
He has that red name thingy :confused:
 
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OrbitalDawn said:
Hmm, cool, thanks guys.

Now I'm just wondering whether I should wait for Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals...
Click to expand...

If you buy from Wootware you get the credit if the card is on sale tomorrow for the difference. But it's store credit. That should at least give you some peace of mind if you want to pull the trigger early.
 
OrbitalDawn said:
I'm looking at upgrading my GPU, so Black Friday/Cyber Monday might come in handy.

At the moment the GTX 970 is my first choice, but now comes the question of the different brands that produce them. Which makes the most sense, keeping value for money, quality, reliability etc. in mind?

TakeAlot has the Gigabyte variant for R4999 on sale:

http://www.takealot.com/gigabyte-nvidia-gtx-970-oc-wf3-edition-4gb-graphics-card/PLID33057134

While Wootware has the Galax one for R5399, also on sale:

http://www.wootware.co.za/galax-97n...it-pci-express-3-0-desktop-graphics-card.html
Click to expand...

Quality wise I doubt there's much if any difference.
The Galax warranty is 2yrs but you can register it online within X time for an additional year while the Gigabyte has 3yr warranty from purchase.
The Galax has higher stock core&mem clocks compared to the Gigabyte.
The Windforce edition sits below the G1 gaming one from Gigabyte and the Galax just outperforms the G1, http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/galax-geforce-gtx-970-exoc-review,1.html
The Galax cards also OC very well.
Galax one includes one of these games http://www.geforce.com/BULLETSORBLADES

They are both good cards, no need to worry buying either.
 
OrbitalDawn said:
Thanks for the info, ponder.

I see the Gigabyte doesn't have a backplate, and that this could cause the card to sag... Bit concerning...
Click to expand...

GPU's have been sagging since forever, a non issue imo unless you are carrying the machine around a lot while pretending to be a gummy bear
 
I'm using a Gigabyte AMD R7 260X OC card and it's much quieter than my previous Gainward 550Ti. I would go for an AMD card personally because those are suited better to DX12 but the Galax does seem like the better card when spending R5K.
 
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