Final thoughts and rating
The GeForce GTX 550 Ti GPU is a difficult sell for NVIDIA's add-in card partners. The reason for this is the extant GeForce GTX 460 768MB and 1,024MB cards, which are priced in close proximity to the 550 Ti yet offer better performance.
One of NVIDIA's more adventurous partners is KFA2, and it's built a reputation for pushing each class of GPU to the bleeding edge. Rather than simply hike speeds on a me-too card, the company goes the whole nine yards with the White Edition LTD OC model, featuring a white PCB and high-end components.
Clocked at an out-of-the-box 1,000MHz core and 4,600MHz memory, it's the fastest GTX 550 Ti we've seen, though even at these speeds it struggles to keep in touch with the two aforementioned NVIDIA GPUs and, tellingly, a price-comparable Radeon HD 6850.
KFA2 needs to quieten the card some - easily done by programming the fan-control algorithm - and it wouldn't hurt to knock a tenner off the £140 retail price, but this is not a card you'll be buying for performance alone. Rather, the looks are the predominant selling point.
We find it hard to recommend any GTX 550 Ti right now, given how NVIDIA and AMD's mid-range GPUs line-up, but if you fancy something a little different and are willing to sacrifice the very last bit of performance in consolation, the KFA2 GeForce GTX 550 Ti White Edition LTD OC is worth a passing look.
The Good
Distinctive looks
Fastest GTX 550 Ti we've tested
The Bad
Faster cards are available for the same money
Fan is too loud in the out-of-the-box configuration
HEXUS. rating
KFA2 GeForce GTX 550 Ti White Edition LTD OC
HEXUS Where2Buy
The KFA2 GeForce GTX 550 Ti White Edition LTD OC is available to purchase from scan.co.uk and ebuyer.com.
HEXUS Right2Reply
At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.
