The GTX 1050 Ti from NVIDIA is no different to virtually any other graphics card on the market, in a sense that there are different models from a range of manufacturers. NVIDIA produces the reference hardware and from here on out manufacturers will add custom coolers, maybe some LEDs, a factory overclock, in some cases even water cooling.
It can make choosing hard. In the case of the GTX 1050 Ti, it's a great little card for building a budget gaming rig and there are plenty to choose from. Fortunately, it's not quite the minefield that buying the highest end graphics cards might be.
How to save money on a new graphics card
Right now, graphics cards are really expensive. The trouble is that the recent cryptocurrency boom has severely increased demand because there are plenty of currencies you can successfully mine with GPUs.
Our advice is to avoid buying unless you really have to, because let's face it, spending potentially hundreds of dollars more than you need to isn't a good idea. But that's not to say there aren't deals out there worth taking advantage of, and we're doing our best to make sure we're bringing you those deals regularly.
Performance will be consistent
In the case of the GTX 1050 Ti, the general consensus is that performance across the different manufacturer variants will be pretty consistent.
This thread from Tom's Hardware sums it up pretty well. Regardless of the base clock and factory overclock, the level you're achieving with the GTX 1050 Ti means that virtually all of the different cards will perform within a few frames of each other. Considering the games you'll be playing, balanced with the 1080p max resolution and likely dialed down graphics, it's not going to be a noticeable difference.
In short, you can't really get a bad GTX 1050 Ti.
So which should I choose?
Ultimately the best way to choose the card you want is to balance price, the cooler, the size and the appearance of the card. If you go for something from a brand such as Gigabyte or ASUS, for example, you'll usually find excellent cooling.
If you're looking for the best price, then a good shout is Zotac's GTX 1050 Ti which is consistently one of the lowest cost. If you're building a small PC this is perfect, too, because it's a mini card with a single fan cooler. If you're building a larger PC, you have room for a longer card with two fans.
Aesthetics may sound frivolous, but you want a good-looking PC if your case has a window in it. Some manufacturers will have a better-looking graphics card than others, though this usually involves a price premium.
The three brands I've mentioned here are always great recommendations. Pricing should be between $200 and $250, so the best advice is to consider these four points, decide which priority they go in and get one that fits that order best. Because performance isn't an issue, it makes choosing a little easier.
