Quiet nvidia 460 GTX

[gandrusz]

Hi,

I am considering upgrading my horribly loud 250gts to 460 (either 768MB or 1GB will do). Could someone recommend a reasonably out-of-the-box quiet solution?

For example, did anyone try this Gigabyte model: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-giga ... -dvi-mhdmi ?

I don't mind some noise under heavy load, but I want it to be really silent during normal work.


Cheers,
Grzegorz

[Gohan]

From the few I have tested the MSI GTX 460 Cyclone was by far the quietest. The Gigabyte card runs it's fans at 1500rpm idle I believe.

[cordis]

I have EVGA and Galaxy 460 cards, they're both on the quiet side. I have another thread about the Galaxy card, it has a removable fan, so if it turns out to be too loud you can replace it, with some work.

[Shornaal]

I'm waiting for my new Gigabyte Windforce 460 OC (715MHz), i'll let you know in a week or two. But checking reviews here and there it should be on the quiet side.

[twilothunder]

I have personally tested GTX 460 models from EVGA, Gigabyte, and Galaxy. The Galaxy was kinda loud at idle, while the EVGA and Gigabyte cards were considerably quieter. I'd say the EVGA is about on par with the Gigabyte card in terms of noise at idle because at stock settings the fan on the more recent EVGA model with the updated bios (not the EE model) runs at 30% fan speed while the Gigabyte is at 40% minimum fan speed.

Under stress though, the Gigabyte is probably a bit quieter than the EVGA, but if, and only if your case already has good ventilation. The Gigabyte card is not very efficient at exhausting heat from the case by itself due to its design. Also, if you are ever planning to use SLI, its probably a good idea to stay away from the Gigabyte card completely, unless again, your case already has very good ventilation.

If you don't mind doing a bit of bios modding you can also read my other thread about further reducing fan noise on these cards:

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=60595

[dsrtegle]

I have personally tested GTX 460 models from EVGA, Gigabyte, and Galaxy. The Galaxy was kinda loud at idle, while the EVGA and Gigabyte cards were considerably quieter. I'd say the EVGA is about on par with the Gigabyte card in terms of noise at idle because at stock settings the fan on the more recent EVGA model with the updated bios (not the EE model) runs at 30% fan speed while the Gigabyte is at 40% minimum fan speed.

Under stress though, the Gigabyte is probably a bit quieter than the EVGA, but if, and only if your case already has good ventilation. The Gigabyte card is not very efficient at exhausting heat from the case by itself due to its design. Also, if you are ever planning to use SLI, its probably a good idea to stay away from the Gigabyte card completely, unless again, your case already has very good ventilation.

If you don't mind doing a bit of bios modding you can also read my other thread about further reducing fan noise on these cards:

viewtopic.php?f=19&t=60595

The modding is quite interesting. Is it possible to do the same thing to the EVGA 1gb EE version? Can you comment if EE is as quiet as the normal version?