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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 20-25dBa. We measure from a distance of around 1 meter from the closed 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
Gigabyte have succeeded in creating one of the quietest performance cards we have tested in the last year. The 3 fans hardly spin at all, maintaining very low noise emissions, even when gaming. The fans are audible when dealing with the synthetic Furmark stress test, but it is still quiet.
looks like a great card, three fans, only seen arctic cooling going for a menage et trois 🙂
I dont like the appearance, but it is great, no doubt about it. never bought an MSI or gigabyte GPU before but they seem to be good.
That is a great idea, spinning them slowly but including 3 fans. cant see it for sale yet anywhere.
I like your reviews but question the data based on other reviews posted regarding this card, especially around acoustics. For me, low sound is a big part of a purchase and most of these sophisticated coolers end up louder than the reference design. Guru3D point out that the fans rpm remains constant at idle and load, your review shows a big difference between idle and load indicating an increase in rpm’s. Also Guru3d noted that this version was louder than the reference design and you have indicated that it is quieter. Why the inconsistency?
Hi Greg, I have no idea about other sites reviews. I only test what I am sent. This card is very quiet at all times and barely registered on our meter. It does spin up when loaded although GPUZ won’t record the fan speeds. At all times it was much quieter than the reference design we have here which can spin the single fan quite high under furmark load.
perhaps the bioses/fan implementation were changed, the card I received came straight from the factory without any box or accessories.
Hmm i don’t know which to buy the Gigabyte 7870 or the Sapphire 7870 both are good. Gigabyte is even more better but i can’t choose. My last Sapphire 5750 was pretty good even overclocked & I was happy. Pls help me
Which is cheaper where you live?