82 PCWorld OCTOBER 2019

FEATURE GRAPHICS CARDS: REFERENCE VS. CUSTOM

W

hile our guide to the

best graphics cards

(go.pcworld.com/

beg) can help you

identify which hard-

ware works best within your budget, simply

knowing that you want to buy, say, a Radeon RX

5700 is only the start of the process. You’ll find

endless models available for every graphics

card, ranging from humble “reference” cards

designed by AMD or Nvidia themselves, to

highly customized options packing bespoke

cooling solutions and extra features by “add-in

board” partners like EVGA, Sapphire, Asus,

Gigabyte, MSI, and more.

So should you buy a reference card or a

custom graphics card when you’re on the

hunt for a new GPU? The short answer is

most—but not all—people should buy a

customized model.

For the longer answer, as well as a look at the

niche cases where you might be better suited

with a reference video card, here’s a high-level

breakdown of the pros and cons of each.

REFERENCE GRAPHICS

CARDS: PROS AND CONS

“Reference” graphics cards utilize designs

crafted by AMD and Nvidia, the companies

that create and supply the actual graphics

From front to rear: A custom Asus ROG Strix graphics card, Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 2080 Super Founders

Edition, and AMD’s Radeon RX 5700 reference card.