Can anyone answer that? 

there is only one GTX 970 FTW version guys and nothing on it is reference.
meaning custom cooler and custom PCB ->  04G-P4-2978-KR
selamlar. 
 
best GTX 970 FTW review so far, in my opinion:
http://www.anandtech.com/...970-review-feat-evga/2

Interesting LOL Perhaps a word from one of the techs on this one.
 
My guess is that is a first edition (lower model number 2977 vs 2978) and that it has the reference pcb seeing it clearly is ACX 2.0 cooler
 
Ideal perhaps for people wanting to change the cooler for water ect.
 
But it is certainly not listed on EVGA's site or on the article page.

The 970 FTW Reference edition is the same hardware as the normal FTW, but with lower clock speeds.

http://www.evga.com/Products/Specs/GPU.aspx?pn=55DC8107-685D-4235-AE73-2FA6CC4A72CC
 
We list it as a superclocked because of the clock speeds, but physically it's the same as the FTW.

Jaeson are you sure?
 
The FTW has a better heatsink.

sahafiec
that's my question as well, what does "physically it's the same as the FTW" exactly mean?

The PCB & Cooler are exactly the same. The only difference is the clock speed. The FTW can run a bit higher voltage too (1.215+ voltage boost) and has double BIOS. Link.

sahafiec
according to the data sheet EVGATech_JaesonW posted the Reference can do the higher voltage as well and is even "Triple BIOS Ready".
 
so the only difference is Base Clock: 1165MHz vs. Base Clock: 1216MHz ?

Yep, the only difference is the base and boost clocks.

Don't forget, the QueenP|n (K|ngp|n Reference) was listed on NewEgg for nearly a Month before it showed up on the EVGA store.. There was a lot of frustration and asking what it was just to get the answer that is was a lower clocked card was all.

This is no different.

The Ti Classified Reference also showed up on NewEgg before it finally made it onto the EVGA.

This is no different.

It took me the to finally get an answer last time, because they didn't even list it as a Reference edition. They just labeled the same and changed the part numbers from 3888 and 2888 to 3887 and 2887 respectively.

This is a HUGE difference. The answer is right there, as they actually labeled it the reference edition this time.

well there is only 1$ price difference between the two cards on Amazon, the FTW beeing sold out though.

Hello,
the EVGA GTX 970 ACX 2.0 FTW Ref (04G-P4-2977-KR) has 2 fans on it.  When the fans start making noise, how hard is it to take apart the heatsink, remove and grease the fans?  For these sleeve-type fans, they usually start making noise within a year of heavy use.
 
Why does Amazon sell the above card for $370 and a GTX 970 SC (superclocked) ACX 2.0 (04G-P4-2974-KR) for only $343?  In reality, all the listed speeds are exactly the same:  "Base Clock: 1165 MHZ.  Boost Clock: 1317 MHz.  Memory Clock: 7010 MHz Effectiv."  I verified this with Newegg:  EVGA 04G-P4-2974-KR GeForce GTX 970 4GB.  Newegg also lists the 2974 for only $347.  Why does the 2977 cost $17 more than the 2974 on Amazon and $13 more than on Newegg?  There is a slight difference with the covers but that's all I can see.
 
For customers who have these cards after their warranties expire, EVGA should really create a YouTube video to show customers how to take apart these cards and grease the 2 fans.  Of course, EVGA could post a warning that the procedure would void any in-force warranty.  Perhaps someone could do this?
 
Thanks.