Racing out the factory
Need a refresher on what GTX 460's all about? Click here to read our previous in-depth analysis. Au fait with the GF104 core? Good, we'll dive right in.
You could argue that once you've seen one GeForce GTX 460 box, you've seen them all.
KFA2 has some fancy artwork, but the one item worth noting on the box is the "LTD OC Edition" sticker that suggests this isn't just your run-of-the-mill GTX 460. Interesting to note, also, that KFA2's support email address is printed in big letters on the back of of the box. Seems customer care is going to be a priority.
Inside, you'll find a couple of molex-to-PCIe power cables, a DVI-to-VGA adapter, an HDMI cable included as standard and the graphics card itself.
Overseas consumers should be getting a sense of déjà vu; the KFA2 GeForce GTX 460 1GB LTD OC is essentially a Galaxy GeForce GTX 460 1GB Super OC with a rebranded fan.
That's not a criticism, mind you. Galaxy's version isn't for sale in the UK, and the card's interesting on two fronts.
Firstly, it's massively pre-overclocked when compared to NVIDIA's reference design. Straight from the factory, you get a GF104 core overclocked from 675MHz to 810MHz, 336 shaders bumped from 1,350MHz to 1,600MHz, and 1GB of GDDR5 memory ramped up from an effective 3,600MHz to 4,000MHz.
Secondly, in order to keep those overclocked innards in check, the card comes equipped with a custom cooler that claims to feature the world's first detachable fan.
The idea is that by flipping open and detaching the 80mm fan, you'll be able to easily keep the cooler free from dust, maintaining optimal airflow throughout the life of the card.
Beneath the fan, you get a look at the dual-pipe heatsink tasked with drawing heat away from the card's vital components.
It's a nice idea, and the implementation feels sturdy and well constructed, but we'd loved to have seen a fan mount that supports any third-party fan. Particularly when you consider the fact that KFA2's standard fan is annoyingly loud. More on that later.
Taking a look at the top of the card, you get a single SLI connector for two-way GTX 460 action (which we know to be mighty potent) and two required six-pin PCIe power sockets.
Measuring around 210mm in length, the custom card's the same length as NVIDIA's reference design, but tipping our scales at 524g, it's some 57g lighter.
There's no change in the default array of connectivity options, you get a pair of dual-link DVI ports and a mini-HDMI connector. We like the fact that a cable for the latter is included as standard.
The card may look a little chunky as a result of its angled design, but it remains a dual-slot solution so you'll have no trouble pairing two of them up in SLI.
Now for the important bit; how much does it cost? Herein lies a potential sticking point, as the current asking price of around £210 makes this one of the most expensive GeForce GTX 460s on the market.
And, for that lofty sum, you don't get any bundled games.
Instead, you're coughing up the cash for one of the fastest pre-overclocked GTX 460s available. Is the 20 per cent bump in core speeds enough to warranty the initial outlay? There's only one way to find out.
