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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
The XFX HD7870 Black Edition might not run any cooler than the reference HD7870 but at least the noise levels are substantially lower as shown above. When gaming, it will be difficult to hear the card over several chassis fans. Both Black Edition fans spin around 2,100 rpm when gaming and rise to around 2,500 rpm under Furmark load.
those cards are pure sex. Id probably want the 7950 though if I was getting an XFX DD card. seems to make more sense, especially when overclocked to the limit.
Good cards, but far too many to choose from in the last 2 weeks. hard to know what to buy (if I was in the market).
HD6850 is the better value card IMO, its under £200 now in the UK, 6870 is too closely priced to 6950 IMO