How to check if a card is non refrence?

[KiiYzOo]

how do you check to see if a card is non reference or not as I was thinking of maybe going sli but i wanted to get a non reference card.

 

[95thrifles]

Why would you want a no reference card? That doesnt make sense, the only reason anyone wants a particular card is normally people wanting a reference so they can put it under water, which you cant do with non reference, or are you meaning non reference cooler? In which case just look at the picsand the ones that look different have non reference coolers

 

[KiiYzOo]

non reference cards are better at overclocking that is why i want one and there is no point in watercooling my gtx 460 as it is already very cool.

 

[adrichardson81]

Not necessarily - there's no guarantee a non-reference design will make a scrap of difference when it comes to overclocking (definitely doesn't guarantee higher clocks). How far have you oc'd yours?

 

[TaKeN]

non reference cards are better at overclocking that is why i want one and there is no point in watercooling my gtx 460 as it is already very cool.

Not all NON Refs are better, you need to read around first very carefully to ensure your particular card is better in it's Non Refrence form.

 

[KiiYzOo]

I checked ek's website as i wanted to see how much it would cost to watercool my gtx 460 and noticed it's a reference design

my gtx460 is overclocked to

900 - core
1800 - shaders
2340 - memory

 

[el Kuarlos]

I totally disagree with non reference cards overclocking better, better coolers certainly help but overall reference designs often overclock the best.

Better coolers help but all this triple-phase-solid-state-military-spec-supersample-mega-super-awesome-lion-diamond-ninja-card with parts stolen from the lair of a dragon rubbish is 99% marketing hype.

 

[KiiYzOo]

that was just what i thought (I was mis-informed)