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The tests were performed in a controlled room with temperatures maintained at a constant 25c – a comfortable summer environment for the majority of people reading this. Idle temperatures were measured after sitting at the desktop for 15 minutes. Gaming measurements were acquired by repeating the GTA V benchmark for 15 minutes and taking the stabilised reading. We also have included Furmark results, recording the core temperature after a 15 minute stress test. All fan settings were left on automatic.
The Maxwell architecture is very efficient and as such it doesn't cause significant strain on a cooling system. Even with a single fan cooler, we can see the PNY card peaks at only 66 Celsius under extended load.
That said, even though the Gigabyte GTX950 Xtreme demands more power and runs at significantly higher clock speeds, the core temperatures are held at 59 Celsius (7 Celsius better). Clearly the dual fan heatpipe based Gigabyte cooling solution is superior.
The PNY card doesn't ship with a backplate, so heat is concentrated in specific areas of the PCB. Thankfully Maxwell is a cool running, efficient architecture so temperatures never exceed 70c in our test room. PCB temperatures hover around the 61c mark, with hotspots hitting 67c.
