Stock Geforce7-series loudness
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Stock Geforce7-series loudness
How loud is the fan on a typical stock GF7 card such as the 7900GT, etc. say compared to a panaflo or a quiet PSU like Enermax Noisetaker?
Loud. Very loud.
I anticipated this when I bought my XFX 7900GT by ordering a Zalman VF900 at the same time.
My plan was to run with the stock fan for a couple of weeks until I was happy the card was a good one, however after a day of having a hoover next to me, I couldn't take any more and fitted the Zalman.
Absolutely top notch - on the lowest setting with the fan mate it's practically inaudible, and even with the standard Zalman TIM, it dropped the temps by about 5C.
Currently it idles at 39C and maxes out at around 49C (alothough it normally only gets up to 45C). This is on the stock 520 core 1500 memory settings for my card.
BTW - I didn't bother fitting the memory heatsinks for the Zalman, as the stock card left the memory chips exposed anyway.
I anticipated this when I bought my XFX 7900GT by ordering a Zalman VF900 at the same time.
My plan was to run with the stock fan for a couple of weeks until I was happy the card was a good one, however after a day of having a hoover next to me, I couldn't take any more and fitted the Zalman.
Absolutely top notch - on the lowest setting with the fan mate it's practically inaudible, and even with the standard Zalman TIM, it dropped the temps by about 5C.
Currently it idles at 39C and maxes out at around 49C (alothough it normally only gets up to 45C). This is on the stock 520 core 1500 memory settings for my card.
BTW - I didn't bother fitting the memory heatsinks for the Zalman, as the stock card left the memory chips exposed anyway.
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frostedflakes
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Yup, I've read the 7900GT heatsink is pretty obnoxious. To be honest I didn't even bother running the card with the default cooling, just swapped it out with a Zalman as soon as it showed up. 
Probably the same deal with the 7600GT, which uses the same heatsink and has similar power consumption. However, I've heard nothing but great things about the 7900GTX heatsink, it is actually supposed to be very quiet out of the box. The only complaint I've seen on here is that not all the air is exhausted out of the case (the design exhaust some in and some out), which is really a pretty minor complaint IMHO.
Probably the same deal with the 7600GT, which uses the same heatsink and has similar power consumption. However, I've heard nothing but great things about the 7900GTX heatsink, it is actually supposed to be very quiet out of the box. The only complaint I've seen on here is that not all the air is exhausted out of the case (the design exhaust some in and some out), which is really a pretty minor complaint IMHO.
A stock 7600GT is definitely audible above a low noise PC, enough for the PC to not be low noise anymore. The stock setting is 31% in 2d and 65% in 3D. That 65% is nasty as it is a high pitched noise that could be heard over the sound track of a lot of games.
I am using RivaTuner (see another thread in this forum) to slow it down. In 2D a 25% setting puts the fan below the hard drive noise level, so it is back in the quiet PC zone. The 3D setting I am using is 41% which is too loud for non gaming situations, but drowned out by any game with sound effecs. Cooling will not break records. Maximum temperatures are in the low 70's C, using rthdribl, a demo which makes more heat than any game. I runs in a window so you can see the real temperature while it is active. Looping 3DMark does not cut it, for in the one second it takes to close 3dMark, VGA core temperature can drop a lot.
I am using RivaTuner (see another thread in this forum) to slow it down. In 2D a 25% setting puts the fan below the hard drive noise level, so it is back in the quiet PC zone. The 3D setting I am using is 41% which is too loud for non gaming situations, but drowned out by any game with sound effecs. Cooling will not break records. Maximum temperatures are in the low 70's C, using rthdribl, a demo which makes more heat than any game. I runs in a window so you can see the real temperature while it is active. Looping 3DMark does not cut it, for in the one second it takes to close 3dMark, VGA core temperature can drop a lot.