KFA2 GeForce GTX 680 LTD OC 2048MB Review (UK exclusive) (1268mhz – White PCB)

1. Introduction2. KFA2 GeForce GTX 680 LTD OC 3. KFA2 GeForce GTX 680 LTD OC (Super High Res Gallery)4. Testing Methodology5. Synthetic: Unigine Heaven Benchmark6. Synthetic: 3DMark Vantage7. Synthetic: 3DMark 118. Synthetic: HQV Benchmark 2.09. Gaming: F1 201110. Gaming: Alien V Predator11. Gaming: Tom Clancy HAWX 212. Gaming: Resident Evil 513. Gaming: Far Cry 214. Gaming: Total War Shogun 215. Gaming: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim16. Gaming: Battlefield 317. Technical: Thermal Dynamics18. Technical: Acoustics Performance19. Technical: Power Consumption20. Technical: Overclocking21. Paired with OC 3960X EE22. Closing Thoughts23. View All Pages

There is no doubt that the KFA2 GeForce GTX 680 LTD OC is one of the fastest video cards we have tested. It is significantly quicker than any HD7970 on the market, and thanks to the triple fan cooler it is quieter and cooler running too.

There are two versions of this card, a version clocked slightly slower, with a core clock of 1,150mhz available for £455.99 inc vat. We have the UK exclusive review of the faster version however, with a bumped core clock speed. There is a premium for this card due to the limited quantities, it costs £559.99 inc vat. Very few of the cards produced can get certification to run at over 1200mhz, so the cost is higher.

So how do you review and subsequently score a card that costs £560 inc vat? You certainly can't focus on the price point, because the small group of people who can afford this product simply won't care that much about the price. Those people who earn a high salary and take their PC building very seriously. Price is almost irrelevant.

To this audience, the KFA2 GeForce GTX 680 LTD OC is simply a staggering card. This frame rate chewing power was previously associated with AMD's high end dual GPU HD6990. The KFA2 GeForce GTX 680 LTD OC however is much quieter, consumes less power and is slightly faster.

This card is supplied in a highly overclocked state, however with a manual core voltage increase we were able to increase the core even further to 1285mhz. Almost another 7 percent core clock increase by simply using MSI Afterburner. Obviously this will vary from card to card, however there is a little headroom available if you don't find it quick enough out of the box.

Acoustically, this card is quiet, but generally audible. The triple fans are not configured with an aggressive fan profile, running at 1,800 rpm to 2,000 rpm when loaded. The noise levels are likely to be masked by a performance oriented gaming chassis, and I feel that KFA2 have the fan profile spot on. 70c under load is a commendable result.

The only negative point I could mention would be the unusual display configuration. There is no full size HDMI port or DVI port, however KFA2 do supply the necessary adapters in the box for both.

This card is available direct from Overclockers for £559.99 inc vat. The version we tested today is available in very limited quantities due to the tricky certification for such high clock speeds. OCUK have it on pre-order now, so keep your eyes posted for availability. They won't be available for very long.

If this is too rich for your blood, then the slower clocked version is available for £455.99 inc vat. They are already available for purchase.

Pros:

• incredible performance.
• runs cool.
• runs quiet.
• beautiful white PCB.
• 3 fan cooler looks great.

Cons:

• We would prefer a full size HDMI and DVI port rather than adapters.

Kitguru says: If you can afford it and take your system building seriously, then this is one of the most fantastic high end boards we have tested.

Edit: an SLi update is available to this article – here.

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