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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
No surprise that the results are the same as the reference AMD HD7970, as the cards are identical. The card is a vast improvement on older reference cooled solutions, although it is still louder than the custom third party coolers we have tested from companies such as Sapphire, MSI and XFX.
Nice system this would make. The 7970 is brilliant and the motherboard seems well made, much like everything sapphire do. I dont really like their bioses however as I think they are adopting a different style of overclocking than everyone else with those mv. why not just make it core voltage and have direct keying in on the field like everyone else?
Sapphire are trying hard in the motherboard arena, they face such stiff competition however that they would need to focus on getting their pricing down. The Z68 board for instance cost more here than many of the ASUS products, and I dont think it sold very well
I am waiting on toxic or vaporx card from sapphire before buying a 7970. The AMD reference coolers suck, even this one, which I hear is better.
Motherboard looks ok, I like the fact Sapphire seem to be making everything themselves, including their custom bios configurations.
They seem to make good boards and I would buy one, but they seem hard to get in the UK even if I wanted to.
Didnt even know they made motherboards!
Hope they release a good VaporX edition soon. those reference cards dont appeal to me at all.