Reference coolers and 780 Ti comparisons.

[arron94]

I don't know much about the differences between reference and none reference coolers or cards. I am looking to purchase a GTX 780Ti as I am sick of SLI, it's limitations and games that don't support it, so single GPU all the way from now on. I am trying to look for the best deal on a 780 Ti and am capable of doing the search for good prices, but am not sure what I should think about different coolers. I noticed an EVGA 780 Ti with a reference cooler and was thinking, so what have EVGA done to the card? Why is it different from say an MSI 780 Ti with a reference cooler? (If one does so exist)
Would anyone care to explain this to me? Bonus information comparing the different 780 Ti cards would not hurt also, thanks in advance.

 

[huilun02]

Reference cards use the same printed circuit board layout and stock cooler that Nvidia releases. However they can still be overclocked which is what some manufacturers do.

Non reference cards have better coolers and pcb that allow for better performance.

Different manufacturers also have different warranty and support, and possibly different manufacturing quality.