You must be mistaken because reference cards are specifically those made by GPU manufacturers, aka AMD, Nvidia, and Intel.
They’re called that because third-party manufacturers (Gigabyte, Asus, XFX, etc) use those as a reference to create their own designs of PCB, coolers, and settings.
Can you give links to the cards you’re speaking about?
Those aren’t reference models, the ones you named are called something like AIB or aftermarket cards. (Reference models are those made by GPU manufacturers)
Main differences between all are temperatures, clock speeds, build quality, and price.
They also have different “tiers” of cards using same GPU. Those of higher tier cost more, but have better coolers and higher clock speeds. The premium you’d be paying isn’t usually worth it, unless it’s a small amount.
Personally, I prefer Sapphire, PowerColor, or XFX for AMD cards.
Not really. You just have to make sure you got what you ordered by doing a bunch of tests. Plus, you usually don’t get a warranty.
Inflation of food prices is very noticeable. Still manageable, though.
Taxes are getting higher.
Lots of services can’t be paid for due to sanctions. Some payments are possible, but for a premium.
Roscomnadzor still pisses everybody off. They’re slowing down YouTube to an unusable rate. They claim it’s Google’s hardware degrading (It’s not). Then there’s Discord being blocked, and now they seemingly want to target Steam for some unknown reason (the reason is VKontacte needs more money).
More insane legislature is being talked about.
The lingering threat of being drafted or randomly killed by a drone isn’t gone, which is emotionally draining.
People want peace. Yet, put responsibility on incumbent. (Think: “We had no say in it, they started it, they’ll finish it”)
Opposition? What opposition? Everybody’s either jailed or were forced to leave the country. They’ll literally lock up a single father up if he dares to show disagreement with their “special military operation.” And the kid? Who cares? They don’t matter to our very just and absolutely not corrupt courts. (Sry, still fuming about that story. Hope the judge and the principal will rot in hell)
That’s about it. Source: me, also russian news media and official legislature sources
Ah, I see. Yes, you’re right, they do manufacture reference design cards. First time dealing with reference models, since those aren’t sold where I live, hence the confusion, haha
Those will all be the same in terms of temperature and clock speeds. Build quality should only vary insignificantly, although I do not trust Gigabyte, due to 3000 series PCB issues and how they handled it, and ASUS due to their borderline scam customer support.
You won’t be getting any warranty buying used, I don’t think. So, imo, just get the cheapest one. You should concern yourself more with the seller, and do make sure to thoroughly check everything after buying. Both physically and performance-wise.