Reference cards are better overclockers ???

[Dicehunter]

So I've been looking around benchmarks, Reviews, Various other forums and forum goers and going from my own experience as well I have noticed reference cards tend to be the best overclockers even with the introduction of custom PCB's etc... Why is this ?, Surely the more "Custom" PCB's and better components would mean better clocks, I know the silicon lottery has a huge part to play but nearly all cards that I've seen compete equally with their reference counter parts.

 

[Ghosthud1]

Could be just coincidence.
No matter how good the power delivery is, it all still comes down to the silicon.

the old saying "A chain is only as strong as its weakest link" is on point for this.

 

[Dicehunter]

Could be just coincidence.
No matter how good the power delivery is, it all still comes down to the silicon.

the old saying "A chain is only as strong as its weakest link" is on point for this.

True, But the only custom card I've seen that actually overclocks better than a standard reference out of the box without bios mods etc... is the Kingpin, Granted it's only by 100MHZ or so but still.

 

[barnsley]

So I've been looking around benchmarks, Reviews, Various other forums and forum goers and going from my own experience as well I have noticed reference cards tend to be the best overclockers even with the introduction of custom PCB's etc... Why is this ?, Surely the more "Custom" PCB's and better components would mean better clocks, I know the silicon lottery has a huge part to play but nearly all cards that I've seen compete equally with their reference counter parts.

The first reviews of said cards were reference 'cards right? I'd almost wonder if they were cherry picked or something?

special editions almost always seem to clock higher, be it the 780 iChill or the 290x Lightning.

 

[Ghosthud1]

Well no matter the edition of the card you normally don't see major increases over out of factory settings. If an after market card is rated at 1.1Ghz core you shouldn't expect more. Just because they give the PCB some extra gubbins this still doesn't guarantee over factory clocks. Granted if you get lucky and you get a solid chip, the polished power delivery will in theory create more space for it.

 

[SieB]

Overclocking comes down to silicon lottery, it all depends on how good the chip is.
The only benefit non reference PCBs give are better voltage control and upgraded components. It doesn't mean they will overclock any better than a refference card though, it just means that if you do get a good overclocker you will be able to achieve higher overclocks at a lower voltage and or push them that little bit further.

Obviously non ref coolers also help because they can cool the card better making it more stable with higher overclocks. When it comes to watercooling though you take away any issues with heat and there is no real advantage in using a non ref over a ref.

The only place where non ref custom PCBs really excel are with LN2 but even then only cards like the Lightning, Matrix and Kingpin are worth it for LN2 purposes.

 

[tinytomlogan]

So I've been looking around benchmarks, Reviews, Various other forums and forum goers and going from my own experience as well I have noticed reference cards tend to be the best overclockers even with the introduction of custom PCB's etc... Why is this ?, Surely the more "Custom" PCB's and better components would mean better clocks, I know the silicon lottery has a huge part to play but nearly all cards that I've seen compete equally with their reference counter parts.

Ive not read all of the replies but Id assume the ref cards were plain unbranded came direct from Nvid to review sites rather than be a badged up card from a vendor. Id also put money on a bath of them being cherry picked.

All of my Nvid ref cards overclock like a cat on a tin roof but the vendor cards generally do push the envelope. Drivers make a big difference but in all honesty the 3D party cards will probably have a better life span, I have never run a ref balls to the wall for any extended length of time