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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.
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 Toxic Edition is the quietest HD6850 we have tested to date, hovering around 33-34 dBA when gaming (equivalent to around 30% fan speed).
excellent, another good HD6850 ! spoilt for choice in this sector lately. Still not sure whether to get a GTX460 or one of these around 170 quid.
I agree, that manually these can be adjusted easy enough, but I like sapphires take on this, to keep the noise down and fan lower than others. while relying on the cooler to keep the temps around 70c. interesting to see the picture of the fan only at 36% when furmark loaded. around 50-60% that would drop 10c. two different ideas from XFX and Sapphire, both work.
Sapphire and XFX really are in a head to head right now. I think the XFX looks nicer and I like their fan also. Either would do me, but ill probably get a HIS HD5870 Turbo.
Interesting to see they have opted for the full sized cooler to expell air out the back of the case. sometimes i dislike thes models as they dont do that,. I dont want hot air in my case.
Been waiting on this a while, will be curious to see if the price meets your expectations howver as I think it will be more than 20 more.
love these mid range boards. still not sure they are better than some of the GTX460’s you review here. like the evga GTX460 FTW or the MSI talon attack. but good regardless.
Excellent overclocking capabilities on these boards. I need a new monitor however. thankfully 1080p models are cheaper now.
Ideal really for 1080p gaming. if the price is right.
when is it for sale? any ideas?
urghhh not another product not listed anywhere for sale 🙁
I like Sapphire products, always built well and they have good cover for support which is important. always why I never buy powercolor or one of the far eastern makes,
Dont like this as much as the XFX board, the styling isnt as good. XFX board looks sexy.
My brother wants to buy two 6850s for the new year. wonder how much moer expensive these will be compared to reference design.
Great finding this site today, what a wealth of fantastic reviews! im a GTX460 man however, as I hate AMD drivers and support. nice product tho.
@Larry you can pick them up from RebelGadgets as they have them available on their site 😉