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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. The motherboard is also passively cooled. This gives us a build with almost 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
The cooler isn't quite as quiet at the Sapphire HD7970 Toxic Edition twin fan implementation, idling at 39% … which would explain the lower idle temperatures on the previous page.
Thats one of the sexiest video cards ive seen to date!
havent had the change to read the whole review, but i need to ask why only OCUK stock these cards? I dont like ordering from them as I had bad experiences before.
I need to ask, did Sapphire sell the HD7970 6GB Toxic at all in the UK? I never even saw it listed and I watched amazon, OCUK, DABS and ARIA for a week.
This looks like a good second choice, but I want the turbo version. any ideas on stock?
7950 is better value, although its nice to see some competition to Sapphire as XFX has disappeared this year.
Shame you cant buy this one yet however
HIS are as far as I know, ONLY stocked in OCUK, not sure why. I have read that warranty is a concern with HIS, but OCUK replaced a dead card for me last year from HIS without a problem.
I love the look of this card, and I also think its great to see Sapphire getting competition this year, they are alone up here at the top spot.
One thing I dont understand is why HIS include that weight lifter thing, does it actually work, and do we need it? surely the screw on a case can hold the card in place better?
I would love to try something like this, im an nvidia purist, but im getting bored and want to try the ‘other team’ for a change. only thing is I had a terrible time with catalyst drivers in the past.
are they any better now, or still as crap?
Great card, I have always been fan of HIS, because they never disappoint !
And could you guys also use OpenGL in Unigine Heaven? I would be interested of the performence difference between Direct3D and OpenGL, since Valve has said that OpenGL is faster + NVIDIA also.
Great card. It’s unbelieveable quiet and mining bitcoins it does steady 600Mhash/s.
I can recommend this for everyone how has the money needed for the card.