Question : Problem: Differences between Video Cards (Manufacturers, etc.)

When they take a reference card and tweak it, some might tweak for the sake of selling the big numbers, while others tweak it and do so responsibly, so it operates within the parameters it was created.  I presume they tweak it so it performs better.  This part I find a bit odd; only in this industry would someone take someone elses product, and say they can make it better, and get away with it.  Im surprised to hear this, however, Im intrigued, because this type of process should essentially allow for significant improvements (and the opposite)!  So, I guess my question here is, how does a know-nothing like me tell the difference?  How do I know which video card to get?  Most seem to think the EVGA is better.  But how does one come to such a conclusion?  I guess I should pay attention to the GPU, Memory, and Stream Clock speed, and memory size?  Do they publish these numbers, and what do they mean?  Is EVGA a better card because theyve jacked it up to 625MHz while BFG only went to 620MHz?  But, if BFG only went to 620 to reduce potential problems, doesnt that count for something?

Answer : Problem: Differences between Video Cards (Manufacturers, etc.)

The major tweaks and differences between reference cards and various manufacturers is the RAM size, RAM clock, gpu clock, and cooling.  Essentially, you get an overclocked card that is guaranteed to work at that speed for the price of a standard model.  If a reputable vendor pushes a card to a higher speed than another, it's usually because they have determined a safe way to do so.  Enthusiasts pay close attention to what they are able to do, and they publish their findings in hardware forums like overclockers.com, 3dguru.com, anandtech.com and others.  My experience tells me Sapphire, XFX, eVGA, Palit, and BFG Tech are good vendors.  Very rarely will you only see one vendor with a top performing card, since there's only so much they can improve on the reference design.