Noise
KFA2 achieves the excellent temperature results by using a very aggressive fan-control algorithm. Our testing shows the fan ramps up from 1,200rpm in idle mode to 2,600rpm when playing games and 3,200rpm under FurMark. The end result is a card whose fan is very noticeable in an otherwise quiet system.
A very simple method of getting around this, at the direct cost of temperatures, is to force the fan to run at a pre-defined speed at all times. Inputting '25 per cent' into XtremeTuner HD results in a whisper-quiet card when gaming - the decibel level falls from 39.8dB to 35.6dB - though the temperature increases from 56°C to 72°C.
We recommend KFA2 provide three levels of noise output - quiet, moderate, and performance - where the fan setting is modulated to meet a certain decibel level, because even 72°C isn't particularly close to the GPU threshold temperature of 95°C.