Opinions on Powercolor HD 6950 Vortex II [Bought and tested]

[rpsgc]

Hi,

Does anyone here has or has have any experience with this particular video card?

It looks quiet but is it SPCR quiet?


Here's a review:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Powe ... II/26.html


TIA.

[tanassi]

TechpowerUp has great reviews but good question: how are they on noise measurement?

[boost]

No graphics card is quiet enough without an aftermarket cooler except a passive one.

The heatsink on this card looks decent. If it's too loud you could remove only the fans with their shroud, not the entire heatsink, and put a quiet 120mm fan on top. That way you shouldn't have a problem with warranty, you can always reattach the shroud, plug the fan back in and no one can tell they ever came of.

[dhanson865]

TechpowerUp has great reviews but good question: how are they on noise measurement?

They use a Bruel & Kjaer sound meter which is the same brand SPCR used to use before the chamber was built.

I trust TechpowerUP's sound readings at 25 dBA and higher. Anything below 25 dBA and the readings get squashed together.

Any card that is under 27 dBA on their load test is quiet enough for some users but there are always those who consider anything above 20 dBA too loud.

The biggest downfall to TechPowerUp video card noise tests is that they don't show the quietest cards in all the reviews. Any non stock video card doesn't make the chart in anything other than its own review.

For example in the 6950 reviews you'll see the 5770 listed as 45dBA at load but if you look at http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/ ... WK/29.html you will see a 5770 doing 25 dBA at load.

Considering how many pages of reviews there are on TechPowerUP it'd be easy to overlook a quieter video card that could compete or even beat the card you are looking at in the most recent review.

[rpsgc]

I finally have this card and I can say it's not really that quiet. The fan at 20% (minimum) makes an annoying grinding/whirring? noise. At 22/23% it's quiet but not enough.

Of course running two monitors makes the card HOT and LOUD as AMD stupidly insists on using high clocks for multiple monitors.


I'm going to have to ditch this cooler and use my Icy Vision.

[rpsgc]

OK, so I've replaced the stock cooler with my trusty ol' Gelid Icy Vision rev. 2.


I have to say I was impressed, I'll just let the numbers speak:

* PCS+ VORTEX II

IDLE:

DISP IO - 52º C
MEM IO - 58º C
SHADER - 58º C


BATTLEFIELD 3:

DISP IO - 70/72º C
MEM IO - 76/80º C
SHADER - 76/80º C



* GELID ICY VISION @ 5V (Yes, at 5V)

IDLE:

DISP IO - 46º C
MEM IO - 46º C
SHADER - 49º C


BATTLEFIELD 3:

DISP IO - 57/58º C
MEM IO - 59/60º C
SHADER - 62º C


No VRM temperatures because there isn't a sensor there apparently (it's not a reference card). It comes with a decent looking VRM heatsink already installed though.
I can't really say the true ambient temperature but it's a nice and sunny 23º C outside (probably more).

So the Gelid @ 5V is leagues ahead of the crappy Vertex II cooler, both in temperatures and acoustics. That's disappointing PowerColor.


P.S.: The card comes with stock overclock (850/1300 and slightly higher voltages) but it was tested with an even greater overclock (880/1350).

[CA_Steve]

Congrats on the low temp / low noise mod. Any possibility that the Vortex II was simply attached poorly by Powercolor? Bad mechanical/thermal fit?

[rpsgc]

The idle temperatures were high because I have two monitors so the card runs at higher clocks when idle (450/1350 instead of 150/250)

The load temperatures were roughly on par with several reviews.


P.S.: I should also add that my 640GB HDD (installed on the lowest HDD tray) was being heated up by the card to over 45º C! Now after a hour long gaming session it's at 39º C. So the stock cooler was really bad.

[CA_Steve]

nods