I am new to overclocking and I found a guide to overclocking my Nvidia gtx 560 ti in the Nvidia Control Panel. However, I have been reading about other using afterburner.. What is the benefit of this other software?

is this a mod?

There really are no benefits, they basically do the same thing when it comes to overclocking.
But Afterburner do some other things to, like monitoring your temperatures and fan speeds in-game. You can also use it to record and take screenshots.

Cool.. thanks.. That's what I kind of thought. I was considering it because the nvidia control panel seems to keep switching back to factory settings.. Not sure why it does that from time to time..

Yeah, I downloaded Afterburner too when I got my GeForce 560 2gb and haven't used it mainly because it confuses me.

Speaking of OCing, my motherboard has a dipswitch for core unlocking, when I flip it to unlock the mobo lights up indicating the additiona cores have unlocked and the post screen confirms it. But when I shut down and turn it back on it says it's unlocked on the mobo but not in post. Anyone know why? I kind of find it annoying.

I usually use the stock AMD CCC. But I have used Afterburner in the past. I am maxing out the CCC right now. Afterburner offers some extra features and monitors for your card.

Overclocking is addicting.........

edit-Though I prefer CPU overclocking more.