The 290 at 47% fan speed wasn't loud. The fans on these cards really don't become loud until around 60-65%. At 47% the card was not throttling, so the full performance potential was there. The 290 was perfectly acceptable noise vs. performance wise.

Acoustics can only get better on custom cards as well.
http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=...5&postcount=52