Yeah, thought about that for a while, but even the reference cooler with the blower fan and rear exhaust has an opening at the front that vents hot air into the case. The sink on this one is simply far superior (covers the VRMs) and it's quiet, something much appreciated.
It comes with a custom PCB, custom cooler, high-grade parts and factory overclock. All for the same price you'd pay for a reference design. Gotta love Gigabyte.
Oh and I already tested to see if it would overclock. 715> 800 core and 1800> 2000 memory no problem, stock voltage. So it can match all those factory "ultra-clocked" toys companies put out.