I keep seeing all these different nvidia graphics cards from asus, evga, gigabyte, etc, and I wonder if there's any difference between (for example) a gtx 1080 default (nvidia), and other gtx 1080's higher speeds than default, slightly more features, or is it really just cosmetic look and maybe switching ports around?
You would need to compare each model. 3GB, 6GB, OC, clock speeds, different cooling, power requirements - it's a huge list. Only the cheaper cards seem to be based on the Nvidia reference board...
Well it all depends what u pay for, anything over $250 is real good but theirs lots to pick from u need to do your homework, I would go into the gaming forums were players gave u the latest bench test and performance updates on all he different GPUs.
Nvidia provides a basic board for manufactures, Manufactures like Gigabyte. Asus and EVGA use their own cooling set ups, warranties, o/c and timings for their boards that they sell. They sell some boards that are o/c'd with more cooling capacities or boards with less cooling. They are allowed to set their own standards as far as efficiency and o/c as long as they cover the warranty Nvidia does have warranty for the boards that they sell too. A three fan board will be set up to run better than a board with one fan set up
ill look into getting another video card when applicable; still, checking out the details on my current one, im surprised its 4k capable; at least the last time I checked, nvidia is giving me a 503 error "not here lel" when I try checking it out