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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
As mentioned on the previous page, the fans idle at 1,100 rpm and spin up to around 1,500 rpm, which produces very little noise, even under heavy sustained load. These are exceptional results and this is one of the quietest mid range video cards we have tested.
Great card, but I agree, the HD7770 seem slightly overpriced as a whole. Im not completely sold, even if Sapphire have pushed it to the limit, as they always do.
That is a sexy looking little card, the colours are great. reminds me a little of the XFX DD cards !
That said, I think id rather spend £25 more and get the next model up. the shader count is very low (640) and it does impact performance. If they had kept 800 shaders like 6770 but increased the clocks with the new manufacturing process it would have been stronger.
Sapphire make good cards, thats not the question. I dont know how you can give this 8 out of 10 as the whole 7770 range is butchered and no better than the last generation. Sapphire have you in their pocket.
I wouldnt be so hard on it, the noise levels alone are really useful for a compact media center system for a living room. A single slot version would be nice, but it wouldnt be as quiet.
Who buys a sub-midrange card to play games at 2560×1600 and 1920×1080? Wouldn’t 1600×1050 or 1440×900 be a more realistic resolution?
I agree with the comment who buys a sub midrange card….. However, it seems to be just what I may be looking for. As I dont play games, there appears to be sufficient reserve performance if required and, most importantly, the power/ wattage used will not break the bank.