SPCR

Hello,

I have a question for the Sapphire radeon r9 280/280x/285 users: how quiet is the cooler (as far as I know is the same cooler on any of the given cards) in idle with the fan setting set to the lowest value in the CCC?

I am aware that asus strix are inaudible in idle, but I am not willing to pay 15% more just for that...

I don't care about the gaming noise, just the idle base-noise. Given the fact that noise is subjective, any input will do.

EDIT: given the fact that r9 280 is just a rebranded 7950, I think that the same cooler was used by Sapphire on the old card. I know that the 280(and 285) has better efficiency than 7950, my educated guess would be that the same cooler might be quieter on the new model. So any imput regarding the sapphire 7950 cooler are welcomed too.

one thing I forgot to mention in the original post: does anyone have any idle noise info regarding the Club 3D Radeon R9 280 royalKing 3GB DDR5 384-bit (it's as cheap as the sapphire)

According to THG the idle noise seems somewhat similar (but i don't trust them at all when it comes to noise measurements!)

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/rad ... 655-5.html

IMVHO i'd pay the 15% plus for a better cooler, other reviews state that the royalking tends to run in the high 80° C range while under load.

Thanks for the reply, but my budget is stretched to the max as it is. I have rechecked the price and due to a discount, the difference is more like 25% now.

Hello

Have you gotten the sapphire card yet.

I have an r9 280x dual x on sale here at a store. Not clear about noise levels.

Hello,

No, I haven't got the card yet...I have the same problem : just not sure about the noise.
I think that the discount is available in every store worldwide.
This is exactly why I've started this thread.
I am prepared to wait up until Christmas to get it, so if you have any insight, post it here.

Yeah the prices are dropping due to GTX 970.

Considering between the Sapphire 280x or Power color 290 (dual fan) to upgrade 7750 Crosafire. May pull the trigger on 280x.

Crossfire works horrible. Don't try.

We'll see soon.


EDIT: Got a Sapphire r9 280 dual-x (not 280x as previously stated). We'll see when it arrives.

That's great news(for me at least). Please let me know how loud it is by spcr standards. All i'm interested in is idle noise(or lack of it to be exact).
If you can, try to eliminate all other idle noise sources except the gpu. By the way, what's your system's specs?
Also, some temps would be nice.

Thank you in advance& I hope you made the right choice, so I can make it too.

kopilu wrote:That's great news(for me at least). Please let me know how loud it is by spcr standards. All i'm interested in is idle noise(or lack of it to be exact).
If you can, try to eliminate all other idle noise sources except the gpu. By the way, what's your system's specs?
Also, some temps would be nice.

Thank you in advance& I hope you made the right choice, so I can make it too.

Hi my system specs are in the link in my signature.

the r9 280 card has arrived. It's a Dual-X OC (product page). I removed 2x fanless HIS 7750 and installed the card. GPU-Z says the card is idling at 1550rpm.

Have to test further for noise...

Have done some tests with GPU-Z's built in render test. The Antec Solo II's rear fan is set to Low. At idle, I suspect the card turns off the fan. Unable to visually confirm, since casing is already closed. Casing is placed on the floor.

(edit) Ambient temp 29-31C.

Idle at desktop
300/150MHz
1550rpm
can't hear fan (edit): with my ear next to case

Youtube 1080p
500/1250MHz
1770rpm
can't hear fan (edit): with my ear next to case

GPU-Z built in render test
940/1250MHz
estimated 2000-2400rpm - annoying droning noise, which I can hear from where I sit.
estimated above 2400rpm - Mainly wooshing which sort of drowns out the droning. I can hear it from where I sit, though it's less annoying that the earlier droning noise.

When it comes to 290, definitely not good idea for quiet rig.. no matter what cooler. These cards just run way too hot, to be efficiently cooled by 2 slot coolers, at spcr grade noise levels. Idle is possible, but load, not a chance.

I'm glad to hear you are pleased with the noise of the card. If indeed the card turns the fans off in idle, that would be amazing.
The fact that the cooler is as quiet as a antec solo back fan( I have the exact back fan) is great news, but the rpm ratings worry me. I don't think that a fan spinning at 1500 rpm can be quiet...My nexus cpu fans are quite audible at that speed.
Anyway, if you are ocd about quiet PCs, and you are able to hear a antec true quiet fan on the low setting, I'll trust your findings.
Thanks a lot for the info.

hi

have added notes above. When I mentioned "can't hear fan", I actually put my ear next to the case.

Have flipped the Solo II fan to Low specifically for this test.

I am really happy to hear about idle noise of this card. Because I have the case on my desk, it is really important to me that the pc is inaudible in idle. All my components have been picked and tuned especially for that.
I'll go ahead and order the card next week.
In case you can confirm that the fans actually turn off in idle, that would be great.

kopilu wrote:In case you can confirm that the fans actually turn off in idle, that would be great.

If you want an AMD card that can turn off on idle, consider the ASUS STRIX-R9285DC2OC2GD5 Radeon R9 285 2GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card, there are very few reviews of the card out, but if you want to read more check KitGuru Asus R9 285 STRIX Review

The custom cooler is fantastic, and we love the fact that below a specific temperature both fans will deactivate to completely eliminate noise.

As I said in the first post, I am aware about the strix cards, but those are 25% more expensive.
There are some nvidia msi cards that turn off the fans in idle. I was just wondering if we can add the sapphire card to the list.

Hi
I have Sapphire R9 280X Dual-X Overclock edition, Antec Solo 2 case, Rear 120 mm TrueQuiet fan on low,Arctic freezer pro 7 rev 2 cpu cooler, Q8200 cpu 4gb ddr2, Enermax pro 82 psu.
Bought the card for £134 from Amazon warehouse uk card was described and is in as new condition.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sapphire-Dual-X ... phics+Card
I find I can hear the fans at idle and they do spin at 1400 rpm according to msi afterburner.The noise is not awful but as an experiment I have disconnected the graphics cards fans! As the graphics card is in 2d mode it on low clocks, low energy use temperature is holding steady after an hour at 52c ambient temperature 20c.
When gaming using the graphics card in 3d high power mode I normally wear headphones so not affected by fan noise and will definently have the graphics card fans plugged in.
I find I can hear any fan over 1000 rpm.There does not seem to be an option to turn the idle fan speed below 1400 rpm in sapphire trixx or msi afterburner. So now thinking about plugging graphics card fan into fan controller if possible.