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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
The card isn't the quietest we have tested recently, averaging just under 36 dBa when gaming. It is clearly audible and quite loud when handling the Furmark stress test. The fan spins at 100% when Furmark is running which would explain the noise.
Nice looking cooler indeed. weird about the temps, that seems very high. the A on the furmark and GPUZ seem VERY high though, I wonder is the bios messed up?
They are making some great cards. bummer you got a dodgy sample. it happens. at least they arent cherry pickin them
Hey, can you pass over my details to powercolor? I have the same card and the same problem. I dont think its your specific sample, perhaps a faulty batch with too much voltage?
Score is too high, the card is faulty, you review what you are given. 6/10 max
Fumark is too much of a stress test now. its like prime. its useless nothing ever stresses out hardware this much. something like crysis is fine. all you need
This is why Sapphire get such a good name, because things like this just dont happen for them!
6870 isn’t a good seller for AMD. its one of their worst sellers. the lower end boards get them their gravy.
optix what do you mean? i think this deal about sapphire being perfect is stupid.
I have had sapphire cards fail before years ago. most of them are made in the same factories anyway by palit.
You scored it too high, even if it is a bad card, you needed to score it lower. Cant take powercolors word on it !
I found another review and theirs seems ok. I think this one might have a different bios with more voltage. the Amps look higher than even most OC’d models ive seen in furmark.