Yeah, just looks and feel. It's basically a matter of opinion when it comes to heat-shielded plastic furniture. I personally enjoy the matte, slightly rough feel of magpul plastics when compared with slicker furniture. Also, the magpul furniture allows for magpul related accessories: like picatinny rails, vertical grips, light mounts, etc... They don't really aid "performance" in most strict sense of the word, but it may be something you want.