Varies. Sometimes you get a different design because the manufacturer is trying to save money, sometimes you get a different design because it offers better or quieter cooling, sometimes you get a different design because it looks cooler.hmmm I see, which is more advantageous?
Well, I'm saying the reference design is before manufacturers tweaked, or more than tweaked.So are you saying a reference design is a "well they made the original card but we tweaked, added, took away some things and this is what we came up with, for better or worse"?
If you do not overclock buy a EVGA
do you think I would regret buying the 560Ti and not the 570
True that, but I'd like to be in the newegg 30 day return when i get mine lol.
i would say grab a 570 since with a lil OC (or superclocked) its on par with 580.
I would say find out what games and what resolution he is playing at before recommending random upgrades
Well, more is usually better. I've found my 560Ti to be more than adequate for what I do, which is mostly Civilization V. I got the FPB version which is clocked to 850Mhz (822Mhz is reference), and when I'm gaming I usually OC to 920Mhz which is the most the card seems stable at without boosting the voltage (which I haven't done mostly due to laziness) which does make a bit of a difference but, TBH, if I hadn't done so I don't think I'd be less happy. I think if you've got the extra $70 or $80 for the 570, go for it, but if you'd rather spend that on something else, you'll be happy. It doesn't look like you're playing the most taxing stuff, so that's probably another point in favor of the 560Ti. Assuming your board does SLI, if you ever find it's inadequate, you can just splurge for another one, and by that point it'll probably have gotten cheaper (that's my plan).mmaestro, do you think I would regret buying the 560Ti and not the 570? the main games I will be playing are WOW, starcraft II, the old republic, maybe some FPS. I will play like MWF and BF on XBOX along with most games.
FWIW, before I scare you off Asus
yeah RightPretty much sums it up as a 570 can perform more than adequate w/o OC'ing.