Same graphics card - different company. Difference?

[LostManAbroad]

I am trying to buy a new graphics card as my Sapphire Radeon R9 280x blew recently. My problem is that I am discovering that the same graphics card seems to be produced by different companies and I am trying to work out how they differ.

I am looking at two graphics cards on Ebay. Both are GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics cards but one is an MSI card and the other is a Gainward. I don't get it, are they the same card or not. They both look completely different. The MSI one has two big fans and looks very space age and the Gainward one looks like a black box with only one fan.

The technical specs look pretty much the same but the prices are quite different. Should I just pick the cheaper one or can someone advise me what considerations I should think about when deciding.

 

[jankerson]

I recommend NOT buying any used graphics cards these days, especially newer ones like the GTX 1050Ti you are thinking about. If they are selling them it's for a reason, likely burnt out or has other issues.

Best to buy new.

 

[LostManAbroad]

I recommend NOT buying any used graphics cards these days, especially newer ones like the GTX 1050Ti you are thinking about. If they are selling them it's for a reason, likely burnt out or has other issues.

Best to buy new.

This has absolutely nothing to do with the question I asked. Both graphics cards are brand new. I am just trying to find out what the difference is between two of the same graphics cards from different companies. If you don't know the answer then please leave it for someone who does to answer.

 

[jankerson]

I recommend NOT buying any used graphics cards these days, especially newer ones like the GTX 1050Ti you are thinking about. If they are selling them it's for a reason, likely burnt out or has other issues.

Best to buy new.

This has absolutely nothing to do with the question I asked. Both graphics cards are brand new. I am just trying to find out what the difference is between two of the same graphics cards from different companies. If you don't know the answer then please leave it for someone who does to answer.

Buying a new card on EBAY?

Yeah, OK.

Anyhow there isn't any difference performance wise, a GTX 1050Ti is a GTX 1050Ti.

A place to look for New Cards is https://pcpartpicker.com/

You can select your Country etc and find any parts you want.

 

[Li-chan]

The difference between the provider of said graphics cards will be that they are fine tuned by said company within the core clock speed and memory clock speed, the size of the cards and the way they are cooled. These will all impact both the performance and cooling of each card. in order to find which one is the "best" you should look up and compare both specs of each variant of the 1050ti and go for the higher one.

 

[dontlistentome]

Have you ever been in a market and noticed there's more than one brand of...well, anything? There are many beers you can choose from. Same with computer parts.

One 1050 Ti may be factory overclocked, one may not be. One may have an upgraded heatsink/fan, the other might not. One might offer a longer warranty. One may having fancy packaging. One may be from a company with a good reputation, one might be from a low end company. There are lots of potential differences, and some of those differences won't matter to you and some will.

 

[jankerson]

Have you ever been in a market and noticed there's more than one brand of...well, anything? There are many beers you can choose from. Same with computer parts.

One 1050 Ti may be factory overclocked, one may not be. One may have an upgraded heatsink/fan, the other might not. One might offer a longer warranty. One may having fancy packaging. One may be from a company with a good reputation, one might be from a low end company. There are lots of potential differences, and some of those differences won't matter to you and some will.

Yep, that's why you look at the specs and features and choose one.

 

[Franklin_4]

most common difference is aesthetics. a close runner up to that is cooling capabilities. if youre interested in over-clocking your card youll want a card with best cooling capabilities. (good heat sink, high quality fans)

 

[Franklin_4]

of the two you suggested i would go with MSI.

 

[LostManAbroad]

Thanks for all of your help. In the end I did not go for either. I would have gone for the MSI graphics card but then I noticed that the seller had not sold many items, did not accept PayPal and called himself Shady87. All things that rang warning bells for me. I did find another GTX 1050ti by a company called KFA2 that was being sold at a decent price.

I have only just now noticed that the one difference with this one over the other two is that it does say Factory Overclocked on the box. What exactly does that mean? Have I made a bad decision buying it? It is advertised as brand new so if that turns out to be not the case then I can return it. I am pretty sure it will be as advertised as it is being sold by a reputable german computer store with just under 650,000 ebay sales and 100% positive feedback.