Too many video card flavors

Kelvarr

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Jul 19, 2001
Messages
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Is there a resource out there that talks about which cards are which (differences between them and whatnot)?
Are there any flavors to stay away from (Is reference good or bad)?

I actually just got a 3070 Ti in a Best Buy drop (happened to be looking when it dropped). I didn't really check what it was exactly, as I did know I needed to act quickly. The friend I am buying it for won't care, but I'm curious whether I really need to worry about it, or just be glad I got a card for MSRP.

EDIT: NVIDIA - GeForce RTX 3070 Ti 8GB GDDR6X PCI Express 4.0 Graphics Card - Dark Platinum and Black
 
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Reference designs this generation have been pretty good. Still regularly toppled by the AIB designs, but I wouldn't be upset receiving a reference card.

https://www.thefpsreview.com/ is where I normally go for written reviews (I think some of the guys there are stragglers from HardOCP or something).
 
Is there a resource out there that talks about which cards are which (differences between them and whatnot)?
Are there any flavors to stay away from (Is reference good or bad)?

I actually just got a 3070 Ti in a Best Buy drop (happened to be looking when it dropped). I didn't really check what it was exactly, as I did know I needed to act quickly. The friend I am buying it for won't care, but I'm curious whether I really need to worry about it, or just be glad I got a card for MSRP.

EDIT: NVIDIA - GeForce RTX 3070 Ti 8GB GDDR6X PCI Express 4.0 Graphics Card - Dark Platinum and Black
Need more details - do they list a brand? Most are solid this release - every generation there are a few vendors that make bad releases (the THICC 5700XT was notoriously bad, IIRC), but the RTX line has been pretty damned solid across the board (other than, at worst case, needing better thermal pads).
Reference designs this generation have been pretty good. Still regularly toppled by the AIB designs, but I wouldn't be upset receiving a reference card.

https://www.thefpsreview.com/ is where I normally go for written reviews (I think some of the guys there are stragglers from HardOCP or something).
When HardOCP shut down, many of the reviewers started up thefpsreview.com - that's their site. Same folks who used to do motherboard/etc reviews here, and video card. They don't have the same pull (yet) that other sites do, but it's damned good content.
 
Reference designs this generation have been pretty good. Still regularly toppled by the AIB designs, but I wouldn't be upset receiving a reference card.

https://www.thefpsreview.com/ is where I normally go for written reviews (I think some of the guys there are stragglers from HardOCP or something).

Need more details - do they list a brand? Most are solid this release - every generation there are a few vendors that make bad releases (the THICC 5700XT was notoriously bad, IIRC), but the RTX line has been pretty damned solid across the board (other than, at worst case, needing better thermal pads).

When HardOCP shut down, many of the reviewers started up thefpsreview.com - that's their site. Same folks who used to do motherboard/etc reviews here, and video card. They don't have the same pull (yet) that other sites do, but it's damned good content.

Thanks! I always went to [H] for reviews...I'll definitely check out thefpsreview.com
 
Need more details - do they list a brand? Most are solid this release - every generation there are a few vendors that make bad releases (the THICC 5700XT was notoriously bad, IIRC), but the RTX line has been pretty damned solid across the board (other than, at worst case, needing better thermal pads).

When HardOCP shut down, many of the reviewers started up thefpsreview.com - that's their site. Same folks who used to do motherboard/etc reviews here, and video card. They don't have the same pull (yet) that other sites do, but it's damned good content.
I listed the brand in the edit. It is nVidia
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/nvidia...rk-platinum-and-black/6465789.p?skuId=6465789
 
Oh. Heh. That's a reference card. You're all good. They're JUST fine this generation - even preferred by a lot of folks. I figured that was just the brand of the chip, and that you'd missed copying the brand of the board manufacturer. /me is not yet awake.
 
The same GPU cards have virtually the same performance so get the best GPU (thats in stock) your wallet allows.
 
Any card that you get at actual reference prices, is a good deal, atm.
 
The only reference card I wouldn't really want is a 3080Ti, since it has the less substantial cooler that is found on a 3080, despite having 3090-tier power consumption. Other than that though, they're all decent, but run a bit warmer than other models since they are tuned more for balance noise/thermal performance rather than focusing on high cooling performance and lower noise via more mass and fans.
 
I have that same card, chose it specifically for the looks, build quality, and (relatively) compact size.
The NV Founders Edition cards are louder and run hotter than the giant triple-fans models but they're really solid and the least likely to have compatibility issues due to size. And I mean, look at em. Industrial Design art works IMHO. Really unique looking cards and built like absolute tanks. I'm getting >2Ghz on mine @280-320W with max fans which is "headphones required" sound level; undervolted and underclocked to drop to 230W~250W in-game the fans can be turned down to a headphones-off level. I'm running the mem at 20.33-21GT/s and getting some decent gainz at high rez or with RT on which tells me the GDDR6X is worth it even for GA104.

Just be glad u were able to get any card for your friend, but you scored one of the better 3070Ti models all things considered and if u paid Best Buy "MSRP" then u got the best deal out of any 3070Ti out there currently.
 
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