What is a "Reference Card"?
- Thread starter MrN1ce9uy
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Solution
- Jun 19, 2011
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Dark Lord of Tech
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A reference card is made by the the chip manufacturer (AMD or Nvidia), and has the 'standard' PCB/cooler for a given GPU. Board partners (e.g. MSI) can make cards based on that reference, or make their own custom PCBs and/or coolers to go with a given GPU.
Reference cards tend to have blower-style coolers, while partner coolers are often open air-style, for whatever reason.
Reference cards tend to have blower-style coolers, while partner coolers are often open air-style, for whatever reason.
Think of it as the standard base model from the manufacturer.
The first release version of a card usually follows the reference design or maybe changes the cooler and might make slight changes to component choice.
Later releases can continue the same or can end up with custom board designs, custom coolers, different RAM, different Voltage regulators, and different clock speeds.
There can be quite a variation in performance from a stock reference card to an overclocked customer cooled version by another manufacturer.
I like Nvidias reference design myself, I have had a gigabyte GTX 980 with the reference design for ages now and it's almost totally silent even when gaming.
The first release version of a card usually follows the reference design or maybe changes the cooler and might make slight changes to component choice.
Later releases can continue the same or can end up with custom board designs, custom coolers, different RAM, different Voltage regulators, and different clock speeds.
There can be quite a variation in performance from a stock reference card to an overclocked customer cooled version by another manufacturer.
I like Nvidias reference design myself, I have had a gigabyte GTX 980 with the reference design for ages now and it's almost totally silent even when gaming.
Alan Caldwell
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There are generally three types of cards circulated:
Reference Cards - These cards use the same PCB with no modifications though sometimes as with the EVGA SC series, they will change the cooler. These are basically "all the same" and the above advice holds
Special Cards - At the other end of the spectrum we have after market "Souped Up" and tweaked as far as technology will allow. These include cards such as the MSi Lightning, Asus Matrix and EVGA Classified. These represent the top end limit if the technology available. Here the above advice does not hold. There are significant differences between the cards tho not so much that one has a huge advantage over the other.
Non-Reference Cards - This segment represents the bulk of the market by far and includes cards like the Asus Matrix and MSI Gaming Series. Here we see a large variation in component quality which is one reason, for example, that when you read reviews on the GTX 970, just about every one reviewing the Gigabyte WindForce and MSI Gaming shows performance levels above 1500 Mhz and Asus / EVGA do not. The suggestion that these cards are all the same is not based in fact. The suggestion that tho they may have different clock rates in the box, they all OC to the same level is not based in fact.
Looking at this article for example on various 970s, if you focus on the bottom of the page, you will see that each card has different PCI-E sockets, different numbers of power phases, some cool the PCB chips with thermal pads or heat sinks, some do not, some use premium chocks, some do not ... each uses a different method of cooling (Asus uses single channel fan control / MSI uses dual control)
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2014/09/19/nvidia-geforce-gtx-970-review/1
As a result, they perform differently, they OC differently, they run at different temps, and they respond differently to overclocking. It must be noted however, that the manufacturer's investment in this extra / improved technology diminishes the further down the chain you get from the top card.
Reference Cards - These cards use the same PCB with no modifications though sometimes as with the EVGA SC series, they will change the cooler. These are basically "all the same" and the above advice holds
Special Cards - At the other end of the spectrum we have after market "Souped Up" and tweaked as far as technology will allow. These include cards such as the MSi Lightning, Asus Matrix and EVGA Classified. These represent the top end limit if the technology available. Here the above advice does not hold. There are significant differences between the cards tho not so much that one has a huge advantage over the other.
Non-Reference Cards - This segment represents the bulk of the market by far and includes cards like the Asus Matrix and MSI Gaming Series. Here we see a large variation in component quality which is one reason, for example, that when you read reviews on the GTX 970, just about every one reviewing the Gigabyte WindForce and MSI Gaming shows performance levels above 1500 Mhz and Asus / EVGA do not. The suggestion that these cards are all the same is not based in fact. The suggestion that tho they may have different clock rates in the box, they all OC to the same level is not based in fact.
Looking at this article for example on various 970s, if you focus on the bottom of the page, you will see that each card has different PCI-E sockets, different numbers of power phases, some cool the PCB chips with thermal pads or heat sinks, some do not, some use premium chocks, some do not ... each uses a different method of cooling (Asus uses single channel fan control / MSI uses dual control)
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2014/09/19/nvidia-geforce-gtx-970-review/1
As a result, they perform differently, they OC differently, they run at different temps, and they respond differently to overclocking. It must be noted however, that the manufacturer's investment in this extra / improved technology diminishes the further down the chain you get from the top card.
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