if they reference design then there is no difference, unless u count the warrenty

#328 - Q&A: Difference between Video Card brands?

perfect mate, thanks very much.
i will take the Pixmania Radeon HD 6870.i dont need accessories....i need a cheap and good video card to watch 3D movies and....i will not pay just for the name: asus, xfs....ar the same, and i will have a good cooling in my case...

dude just because their branded doesn't mean you're paying a huge extra, asus is actually a cheap brand for the quality they provide, same with sapphire and xfx, and cheaper stuffs most of the time will break easily compared to branded ones for example have you ever heard of the inno3d brand of nvidia cards, they're crap and they oc like it too, same with aoc monitors they break easily compared to lets say a samsung or an LG.

ihatenvidia wrote:dude just because their branded doesn't mean you're paying a huge extra, asus is actually a cheap brand for the quality they provide, same with sapphire and xfx, and cheaper stuffs most of the time will break easily compared to branded ones for example have you ever heard of the inno3d brand of nvidia cards, they're crap and they oc like it too, same with aoc monitors they break easily compared to lets say a samsung or an LG.

It's like that for most stuff, if it's not a really well known brand, it has a higher chance of being garbage.

Also if they use reference pcb design, they're using amd's or nvidia's design with the cooler and everything. If they design their own it probably costs more, but it might have better cooling or be more efficient with heat and power.

The reference design is really a clone of the starting design the GPU manufacturer put together, e.g. same circuit layout and heatsink mounting. Memory can change (though memory is getting so cheap you rarely see companies loading slow VRAM onto cards anymore), heatsinks can change, but the basic design remains the same.

I'm pretty loyal to HIS, because I like their IceQ cooling concept. However, the cards are NOT reference design, because the cooler has to have different mounting places to keep it all in contact. However, I have yet to have an HIS card overheat, even if overclocked, which is something I can't say about any other brand I have worked with. My last Asus card (and I like Asus A LOT) burned. Seriously. Burned, smoke, the works. But it was driving hard.

For general usage, follow the GPU first, and the maker's reputation second, unless you need something specific out of it.