6870 ref vs 6870 non ref

[Manischewitz]

Is there a benefit of going non reference over reference for the 6870?

 

[sirmonkey1985]

non reference is typically better cooling and sometimes better components(depending on the manufacture). since the reference design didn't have the unlocked voltage anyways i'd probably take the non reference design over the reference design if it was one of the high end MSI or ASUS cards that you might be looking at.

 

[AltTabbins]

Its really a tossup. Some companies offer higher end components on their non reference cards. Others use it as a way to cut corners. A good example of that is with XFX. Most of their non reference cards are absolute garbage.