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Recently we have changed our method of measuring noise levels. We have built a system inside a Lian Li chassis with no case fans and have used a fanless cooler on our CPU. We are using a heatpipe based passive power supply and an Intel SSD to keep noise levels to a minimum. The motherboard is also passively cooled. This gives us a build with completely passive cooling and it means we can measure noise of just the graphics card inside the system when we run looped 3dMark tests. Ambient noise in the room is around 20 dBa. We measure from a distance of around 1 meter from the chassis and 4 foot from the ground to mirror a real world situation.
Why do this? Well this means we can eliminate secondary noise pollution in the test room and concentrate on only the video card. It also brings us slightly closer to industry standards, such as DIN 45635.
KitGuru noise guide
10dBA – Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves
20-25dBA – Whisper
30dBA – High Quality Computer fan
40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refridgerator
50dBA – Normal Conversation
60dBA – Laughter
70dBA – Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer
80dBA – City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal
90dBA – Motorcycle or Lawnmower
100dBA – MP3 player at maximum output
110dBA – Orchestra
120dBA – Front row rock concert/Jet Engine
130dBA – Threshold of Pain
140dBA – Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range)
160dBA – Instant Perforation of eardrum
The cooler is not noticeable when under normal conditions, it is only under extended full load with Furmark that the fan increases to keep the core within parameters. We recorded under 35dBa when gaming but 36.8dBA after running Furmark for extended periods. The card is not really any louder than a reference GTX460.
Briliant idea for a review Zardon. that little bugger can fairly fly! fantastic value for money.
very impressive card. I love the looks too, its so simple in design without colours and stickers all over it.
Christ, those 460s are killer. Surprised me how good it is in some of those engines. Is lost planet 2 any good ?
460GTX is the only good card nvidia have released all year. after that shocking 430 earlier this week its nice this was up to redress the results.
Good balanced reviewing. Z
I rarely see eVGA cards for sale in my region. Are they having supply issues?
I love eVGA products, such a shame to see BFG die t his year 🙁 hope this card seels a lot for them, but I cant buy it, even if I wanted. its not listed over here in Canada anywhere.
Well that was a right kick in the nuts for AMD there. stonking performance all round. This card would have dominated, but it seems far too late for me to be a big seller, especially with 6870 and 6850 about to hit the scene 🙁
If nvidia had gotten the 460 to launch in march/april it would be owning the market, sadly after a few months sales, id suspect they are startign to dry up now, with people hanging around for 6850/70. Too many mistakes for nvidia this year.
Oh yeah, the rest of their range sucks too, which isnt helping consumer confidence.
id still prefer the HD5870, but the pricing in the market is all over the place.
Lets have a look.
HD5870, great card but under pressure from 460. so it seems expensive.
HD5850, its getting whipped by 460
HD5830 – dead
HD5770 – big seller, good pricing
HD5670 – again, great media card, good seller
GTX480 – overpriced, too hot and the performance leader, but no one cares, apart from people out to break 3dmark scores.
GTX470 – dead
GTX465 – who cares
GTX460 – too late, but leading the way, making the 470 and 465 mean nothing anymore
GTS450 – crap
GT430 – overpriced and rubbish.
Pricing is all wrong with both sides ! Nvidia have the GTX460 priced too low and the other 450 and 430 too high !
just ordered the superclocked from scan. great price.
the 460 continues to surprise me great cards for their price
Just ordered one of these from Scan for just over £180. Gonna have to make up another PCI-e power cable as my 600w PSU only has one output for GFX. Simple job with a few molex connectors and a PCI-e plug. Will be interesting to see the improvement over my 8800GT 😉