GTX 1070 purchase advice

[MassMan]

Hello, fellow silence lovers I am looking for some advice to upgrade my GPU since it's the obvious bottleneck in my system. First my sysinfo:

Systeminfo
os: Windows 10
mb: ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming
cpu: Intel Core i5-6600K
gpu: GTX 660 2 GB
ram: HyperX Fury DDR4-2666, 16 GB
ssd: Samsung 830 Series MZ-7PC256N
hdd: Western Digital WD20EARS, 2TB
psu: Corsair RMi Series RM650i
scr: Acer XB241H, 1080p, G-Sync
con: 100/100mbit fibre internet

I have looked at the reviews at viewtopic.php?f=19&t=69265 but those are mostly the more expensive OC versions, which I don't really care for.

My options are limited to what's available in my country: http://www.edbpriser.dk/Search/General. ... gtx%201070

It is my understanding that all 1070 fans turn off when idling at desktop or browsing chrome?

[CA_Steve]

It is my understanding that all 1070 fans turn off when idling at desktop or browsing chrome?

Nope. All of the ones I've seen in reviews (and posted in the 1070 thread) have passive fans with low loads. But, many mfgrs treat this as a value-add function and may not provide it for their cards at the bottom of the price stack. You really need to look at the product's webpage and see if they list it. Another caveat - products lower in the price stack may not have the same hefty heat sinks and fan size/fan speeds as those higher up...so, it's a lot of reading for you.

Sure you need a 1070 for 1080p? Might be a tad overkill when a 1060 could do.

[MassMan]

Ok so I guess that's more reading for me

I'm going for a 1070 since I tend to keep my GPU for +3 years, and I don't think the 1060 will hold up.

[EasyRaider]

The Palit Jetstream and Gamerock series has been measured to be among the quietest in reviews. My Super Jetstream is quieter than my previous Asus GTX 660. Possibly the only fan cooled card I've ever owned with a noise profile that doesn't annoy me in the slightest. That said, I may just have been lucky with my sample, or maybe my ears aren't as noise sensitive as they used to be.

[VERiON]

Check out ASUS STRIX series. I don't know if it's still valid for 10xx series - but for 9xx cards STRIX series was designed to run fanless (fans don't spin) if running idle. And when gaming it was relatively quiet too. I can confirm that it was the case with GTX960 - silent when idle, quiet when gaming.

I'm planning to buy ASUS GeForce GTX 1050 Strix (non-Ti) that is cheaper and a bit cooler than Ti to replace my 750Ti
It's performing on par with GTX960.

[EasyRaider]

Check out ASUS STRIX series. I don't know if it's still valid for 10xx series - but for 9xx cards STRIX series was designed to run fanless (fans don't spin) if running idle. And when gaming it was relatively quiet too. I can confirm that it was the case with GTX960 - silent when idle, quiet when gaming.

That's the case for pretty much all quiet models now. But see viewtopic.php?f=19&t=69544

[Abula]

Go with the MSI GTX 1070 GAMING X 8G, it will be quieter on load than Asus.

[gsilver]

I don't have one, but I've heard good things about the Palit Jetstream

You could always set a custom fan profile to reduce the noise a bit. Just watch those temps.


I'll be soon getting a Gigabyte Xtreme Gaming card /w a triple slot cooler (also available where you are). I'll run it through some tests with and without the factory overclock (/w subjective testing comparison vs Sea Hawk X 1070 and the GTX 970 /w Arctic Accellero Hybrid-II, as those are the cards that I have around)

Though I'm a bit case-limited for each card. I've got a Fractal Design Core 500 (which won't work with the Gigabyte because it's 2.5 slot) and a NCase M1 (which won't work with the 970 due to the oddly shaped PCB)


Edit:
Got the Gigabyte card.
Silent at idle (much better than the Seahawk) but it turned out to be defective, since the fans became stuck at 100% if any sort of load was put on it.

My SPL meter showed a pretty high noise floor where I live (42dba; dunno if it's really that high or just a cheap meter), so any measurements from it will be somewhat meaningless. The Seahawk could get up to what I consider annoying levels, and the SPL meter showed little to no change over ambient.

[gsilver]

Ok. I figured out what's going on with the Gigabyte Xtreme Gaming GTX 1070.

So, the fans runs at fairly decent speeds at load, but it has a somewhat buzzy sound profile. I probably wouldn't recommend this one.

[quest_for_silence]

Ok. I figured out what's going on with the Gigabyte Xtreme Gaming GTX 1070.

So, the fans runs at fairly decent speeds at load, but it has a somewhat buzzy sound profile. I probably wouldn't recommend this one.

Sorry, I didn't get you: did you actually use a replacement card?

[gsilver]

The fans speeding up to 100% was a result of user error (a cable keeping one of them from spinning causing the others to spin up to 100%)
It's fine now that I fixed it.

Actual sound levels are pretty good (and an hour of near-100% load didn't have the fans speed up beyond 45% with the options silent fan profile/eco power mode) but the noise profile leaves much to be desired.

[quest_for_silence]

Thanks for sharing!