Which is better for light gaming?

The Asus. GDDR5 memory gives it roughly double the bandwidth of the Gigabyte's DDR4, which matters most in games. Both are entry-level cards for older or esports titles at 1080p.

Which one fits a slim desktop?

The Gigabyte. It ships low profile, so it fits small form factor and office PCs. The Asus is a full-height card about 7 inches long.

The Asus. It uses a passive heatsink with no fan. The Gigabyte has an active fan, which is quiet but audible in a small case.

Do either need extra power?

No. Both are 30W-class cards that draw power from the PCIe slot, so a standard power supply is fine.

Neither has a clear lifespan edge. The Asus has no fan to wear out, while the Gigabyte's fan is a moving part. Both are old, low-power designs.

Gigabyte GeForce GT 1030 2GB Low-Profile vs Asus GT1030-SL-2G-BRK GeForce GT 1030

Q: Is the Asus worth the extra over the Gigabyte?

It is not extra. The Asus has run about $99 since November 3, while the Gigabyte's best new price is $137.99 at Best Buy as of November 7. The Asus is both faster and cheaper right now.

Buy the Asus GT1030-SL-2G-BRK for almost everyone. Its GDDR5 memory is roughly twice as fast as the DDR4 on the Gigabyte card, and it runs silent with no fan. The Gigabyte GV-N1030D4-2GL is the pick only for a slim case that needs a low-profile bracket and a fan-backed cooler. On price, the Asus has hovered near $99 since November 3, while the Gigabyte's best new price is $137.99 at Best Buy as of November 7, up from an $85 daily low on November 3.

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