Ok so with the fan speed.... a lot has been made of this and there's basically nothing to be concerned about.  The GTX 480 fan is infact smaller than the one used for the GTX 280.  This is disappointing for sure, as a smaller fan will inevitably need more RPM to push the same amount of air, resulting in more noise and a generally higher pitch under high RPM. 
 
Here's some pics to illustrate this clearly:
 


 
So you can see, the 480 fan is about 1/2" smaller than the GTX 480 fan, some sites have stated 65mm vs. 80mm, which sounds about right. 
 
How this translates into real world differences, again, you'll end up seeing the GTX 480 fan spins at a higher RPM at a similar % fan duty cycle compared to the 280.  Up to ~80% there is very little difference in fan noise, but compared at 100%, the 480 is without a doubt louder with a higher pitch than the 280 fan. 
 
You can see the difference in RPM clearly set at the same fan duty cycle % both set at 70%
280 = 2266RPM 
480 = 3003RPM

 
And both set at 100%
280 = 3029RPM
480 = 4700RPM

 
Again, with both set up to 80% there is very little difference and both are bearable in terms of noise, at 100% the 480 fan makes the 280 fan seem rather quiet however.....both are too loud for my tastes at 100%.
 
Now let's see how this translates into some games, first up Batman AA, wanted to see how it performed with and without PhysX:
 
GTX 480 + 280 PhysX @ 1920x1080 4xMSAA PhysX High
MIN/MAX/AVG: 41/152/92


 
GTX 480 + PhysX @ 1920x1080 4xMSAA PhysX High
MIN/MAX/AVG: 35/116/76


 
Now compare this to some previous results in Batman AA thread, including my own with GTX 280 in SLI (1920x1200 to be fair):
http://forums.evga.com/tm.aspx?high=&m=216711&mpage=1#216711
 
GTX 280 + 280 PhysX @ 1920x1200 4xMSAA PhysX High
MIN/MAX/AVG: 37/98/69

 
So a single GTX 480 is about the same as a GTX 280 in SLI when it comes to Batman AA, and much faster when you use a fast dedicated PPU.  Keep in mind, my old rig was 1920x1200 but limited to 1920x1080 because I changed my panel to a 120Hz Alienware.  Still, its very clear there are points in Batman AA that the PPU is the bottleneck and will limit your FPS, so if you're looking at a fast GPU solution like a 470/480 or 470/480 in SLI you'll want a fast PPU to maximize your GPU performance.  You can run PhysX on one of those GPUs in SLI but that will cut into your overall SLI scaling performance.  I'll revisit this when I get a 2nd 480 in SLI provided I still have my 280.
 
Also notice the GPU temps don't even break 65C with the fan speed set to 70%....this is stock of course but again, I don't see temps being a problem at all under normal gaming scenarios provided you have decent case airflow and you manually set the fan duty cycle to ~70%.

i'm so jealous of you guys XD

hmm dont you want to put the 480 in the top spot??  great looking pics, congrats on the card.  btw that is one powerful physx card 

BFG are just about finished IMO, they left Europe and now it looks like they may go under.

sooooooooooo...envious.....can't wait to get my new rig going .....needs cards.....want total fresh install.......can't wait to get off this vic 20 i am using now....so all i have are these for forums....so i am excited for u all...

Chizow you must run benches!!! :(

Congrats.Have fun with new card.

Chizow - congrats!!

Thanks OP. As a current 280 user this is the kind of information I've been looking for.

Excellent results, any plans for some metro 2033 action?

Thanks guys, hopefully more come in stock so everyone gets to have some fun. 

Unfortunately, no metro2033 here, was hoping it was bundled with 400 series launch but unfortunately not, I'll see what Gogamer wants for it and pick it up.  Been busy with a few other recent titles so I'll be able to give some feedback on those, like DA: Awakenings and Assassin's Creed 2.

I'll run the obligatory Crysis/Unigine/Vantage runs in a bit, gonna see how much this bad oscar OCs first....

go   go    chizow .......

Maybe you could try the stalker cop benchmark? This game is pretty gpu intensive.

http://www.techpowerup.co...ripyat_Benchmark_.html

I bet you can hit 800 easy on that beast! I have a 5970 that should be here by the first of next week, so that is going to be good times with benching for me! Picked it up for 640 off of Ebay.

Ewwww, I'm getting mine, when the HC FTW become available in europe *sob* *sob*

WTG Chizow ;>