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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 20-25dBa. 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.
We load the card with FurMark.
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
Well we weren't expecting this, even better results than the stunning Asus HD6970 Direct CU II, which we reviewed in February. The high performance setting on the MSI R6970 is that quiet we never found a need to toggle it down lower. Those gamers who hate noise will find this card an ideal partner for their new system.
ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, thats a hell of a card again from MSI
That cooler design just keeps getting better. the V2 of the frozr was one of the best, but they have really overhauled the heatpipes on this one. wasnt expecting a 6970 to be loaded when gaming under 60c!
MSI get overlooked for graphics cards, but its like ASUS and GIgabyte. when these boys want to play, no one can compete. its all the motherboard engineering teams they have on hand to create the custom designs. wicked.
A metal cooler, you dont often get that. I was reading the HIS review last night and it looks thin plastic. both work, but very different design concepts.
Never bought an MSI graphics card before, I take it their warranty would be good?
Its expensive, but they have certainly done the ‘full monty’ with the design. no stone left unturned !
The fan design is unusual. I noticed also that there are voltage options on the PCB. that is one sick friggin card.
Wow thats a nice card..
Real reason for commenting: That stone giant benchmark… Wasnt kitguru the one that posted an article about two months ago now that talked about biased benchmarks? One of them happened to be stone giant yet youre still running it in all the GPU reviews?
Hi. Yeah we had an interview with Richard Huddy in AMD who said that they are running a very high level of tessellation in Stone Giant which isnt indicative of a ‘real world’ situation.
We use it sometimes out of curiosity, but I wouldn’t think many people rely on it as a buying decision….
keep watching the stores, this will go up soon and it will sell out too. loads of people waiting on this monster board.
Thats a fucking serious gfx. hopefully they do the same for the 590 🙂
Frozer iii ftw !
Considering the extras it’s worth the extra 45 quid. The cooler is what AMD should do for the reference boards!
Apparently this card is discontinued due to too many problems. Just read through the Feedback on NewEgg’s page:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=14-127-581&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Page=2#scrollFullInfo
Shame on you for giving a misleading positive review. Did MSI pay you off?
Our sample was great. Loads of positive reviews around, even on the link you sent.
You expect us to review hundreds of cards to find a problem? We only get a single sample for a handful of days, we arent a retailer.
Newegg.com is still selling this product and it is hard to get one. I just got mine today and it is beautiful!