With the 9xx series, the reference cooler is made for the Titan's, which run way hotter, and have a much higher tdp, than the 9xx cards. So honestly, if you can find a good cheap deal on it, then why not. But if you're more comfortable going with a aftermarket cooler, then go for it. Last time I looked, the ref. cards aren't much cheaper anyways, lol.

-Woody-Regarding overclocking the GPU, does it void the warranty? I've read in some places that it does, and in other places I've read that it doesn't. Some have even said that it only voids the warranty if the GPU is destroyed from overclocking.

For most companies, yes, it does. But that's because they shouldn't fail from overclocking anyways, but if they do, most of the time the companies will try to work with you and figure out why it died, if it was just a slight overclock, nothing that would kill the card, then they would most likely send you another card. But if you over volt it, and max out the core clock, and then it dies, then they will probably not help you. But in most cases they will try to help you.

Regarding overclocking the GPU, does it void the warranty? I've read in some places that it does, and in other places I've read that it doesn't. Some have even said that it only voids the warranty if the GPU is destroyed from overclocking.

Ehhhh....I would not go with the reference card simply because the cooling is not...very good. In addition, the looks don't match many pcs. Thus, I would go with the Asus 970 Strix because it has great cooling, and it is cheaper than the gigabyte 970 windforce edition.

And by the way, I know you said you arent overclocking your gpu, but it's REALLY easy with a good program like MSI afterburner.(you dont need a msi card for it) Overclocking your gpu is a great idea, especially with good cooling. And it's much easier than overclocking a cpu.

-Woody-Hey guys, in less than a week, I'll finally be ordering my long-awaited GTX 970. However, I've still been stuck between two models:
The ASUS Strix 970, and the Gigabyte Windforce 3X 970. I've heard great things about both.

However, in the last hour, I've stumbled upon a large quantity of reference model 970s for sale (Titan-style blower cooling system), and now that's an option.

I've heard that reference cards are harder to overclock than non-reference cards, but since I don't plan on overclocking it, that's not a problem for me. I've also heard that they run hotter, which might be a problem if the heat difference is significant. I don't know the heat difference, so I don't know if it's bad to go with the reference model.

I've heard that the ASUS one offers the best performance, but there's more fans on the Gigabyte one, which will give the best cooling. On the other hand, the reference model has the best look, and since I'm also getting an NZXT S340 case, the look of the card is a big factor.

What should I go with? Is the performance and cooling of a reference-model 970 good enough to go with it because of its looks, instead of getting the ugly (in my opinion) ASUS and Gigabyte cards, which offer better performance/cooling?

It should be fine to go with the reference card. The main point you had there about the reference cards,

-Woody-I've heard that reference cards are harder to overclock than non-reference cards, but since I don't plan on overclocking it, that's not a problem for me. I've also heard that they run hotter, which might be a problem if the heat difference is significant. I don't know the heat difference, so I don't know if it's bad to go with the reference model.

Basically, the way GPU overclocks work is to do with heat ceiling. The reason you've heard ref cards are "harder to overclock" could mean a couple of things.
#1: Because companies that manufacture small things like CPUs and GPUs often end up with a high amount of broken or malfunctioning parts, they use a process called binning to determine what cards go where (e.g. Intel may make the exact same CPU for every one on their LGA1150 platform, but ones that only two cores work but hyperthreading works on them are called i3s, where ones with hyperthreading and with all cores functioning are called i7s. There are also further bins for processing speeds, turbos, etc.). Hence, the term "silicon lottery" comes into play. Some reference cards may just not overclock as well.
#2: Since reference coolers aren't as GREAT at cooling as aftermarket coolers, you cannot overclock them as high.

It won't be bad to go with the reference model, and from what I can tell most 970s/980s run pretty cool.
Source

HOWEVER. I would personally suggest you go with one of the aftermarket coolers, as it is entirely possible to overclock 970s to 980-level performance (the base clock speeds are only about 140 MHz apart, or possibly even less), given you get the right chip and cooler. I'd look into the different cooling possibilities before you make a decision, as I've heard the WINDFORCE cooler is overall quiet and a great OC'er, the ACX 2.0 cooler is a phenomenal OC'er (especially if you have a factory-OC'd chip) though it is noisier, and some of the ASUS and MSI coolers don't turn their fans on until the GPU is above temps of 50 degrees or so.

I honestly would prefer the cards with better cooling than the reference cooler. I think the Gigabyte model also shows how much load is on it with lights above the logo. But I think it comes down to personal opinion. What you could do is buy the reference card and try to mount a fan aiming towards the card.

The Superclocked ACX 2.0 970 from EVGA has one of the best cooling systems (the acx 2.0) imo (Its so good that they put it in the title as a main feature)
It also doesnt look bad imo


But out of the ones you prefered, I'd say the ASUS one, but it obviously wont look as good as the reference cards.

P.S. I have the EVGA one that I mentioned in the top of this post, so I really do know that I like the cooling system.