In a bid to squeeze as much out of the consumer as possible, manufacturers often sell multiple versions of the same GPU. Higher priced version will often sport increased clock speeds or a more comprehensive bundle, but is this really justified?

The benefits and ways around them

Performance: There is a minor performance increase on almost all premium edition graphics cards. Often manufacturers will increase the GPU and memory clock speeds which will result in higher performance, though they seldom go beyond the 5 to 15% clock speed increase. This isn’t enough to challenge high-end chipsets (a premium GTX560 won’t be able to outperform a standard GTX570 for example), but it does put said company’s GTX560 marginally ahead of the competition.

The way around performance: Companies increase performanc very similarly to how consumers can; they overclock the card. Whereas companies increase the clock speeds in the GPU’s bios, consumers will have to make use of software applications in Windows. Companies often make this process easy by bundling custom overclocking software for their products, though third party applications such as Rivatuner exist if the need arises.

Better coolers: Premium graphics cards generate more heat as a result of the minor overclocking, and so often ship with improved cooler to handle the increased heat load. They are also more efficient, meaning lower fan speeds are often used, resulting in quieter operation. Finally, coolers are the most visually appealing part of the graphics card; they often sport unique designs or stickers separating them from the slower “vanilla” products.

Asus improved cooling solution

The way around better coolers: A small increase in fan speed is often all that is required to keep a standard version card as cool as a premium one, even in the face of overclocking. This will increase noise though, so is more a compromise than a solution. One could argue that buying a third party cooler from manufacturers such as Thermalright will beat the custom designed one found on premium versions of graphics cards, but these are quite dependant on case airflow and the mount of the cooler. It also means voiding your warranty in some cases.

The Verdict

After the above is considered, are premium graphics cards worth their higher price over their standard edition counterparts? Yes, and no; well it’s a bit of both really.

Yes they are: In the mid- and mid- to high-end segment the price difference between standard and premium edition cards is seldom over 15 percent. For the money you get increased performance, a better cooling solution, and in some cases higher quality components. All this without losing the ability to increase performance still further though aftermarket overclocking solutions or decrease temperatures.

No they aren’t: When we start looking at high-end graphics cards, we start to see price differences range from 15 to 30 percent between standard and premium models. Worse still, this percentage often translates to between R800 and R1,600, money better spent on other components in the system if performance is the ultimate goal.

While each individual feature premium edition cards hold over their standard edition counterparts aren’t worth the additional cost, as a set of features things start to make sense. This is however only true when the increase in cost between editions is relatively low. When the cost difference between more cards is more than R600, it’s time to consider whether that money would be better spent investing in a higher end GPU, or perhaps another component in your system.

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