Fan noise on the ASUS 4670?

nerp

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2005
9,866
105
106
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814121274

Marketing fluff claims that this card is a full 15db quieter than the reference design. I've owned sapphire cards with similar reference coolers and although they're not too loud you can hear them whirr up pretty good under load while gaming. Does anyone have this ASUS card yet or a card with very similar cooler who can report on what the noise levels are really like? I'm tempted to jump on this card but I wouldn't mind some user impressions. There aren't even any lame newegg reviews for it.

But I think in the long run I'll hold off until there are better deals and rebates. I'm interested in seeing other companies putting out their custom cooling designs in the coming weeks.
 

nerp

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2005
9,866
105
106
Don't make me be the first guy in here to buy it, guys. :)
 

daveybrat

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Jan 31, 2000
5,725
943
126
Originally posted by: nerp
Don't make me be the first guy in here to buy it, guys. :)

Looks like from the 2 user reviews on newegg that the fan is very quiet. Asus cards are usually very quiet and their fan designs are usually great. Looks like a nice card.
 

nerp

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2005
9,866
105
106
Yeah that's what I'm thinking. I'll wait for a deal to come around or some rebates and snag it soon.
 

Frodolives

Platinum Member
Nov 28, 2001
2,190
0
0
They had free shipping on it this past weekend, and it sold out temporarily. I ordered one Friday night. I also prefer the non-reference fan they're using.

I'm not a hard core gamer, but I wanted to upgrade from my 7600GT in time for Fallout 3, which this should run just fine. Mine is supposed to get here on Thursday, so I can post back some results if you're still interested.
 

nerp

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2005
9,866
105
106
Originally posted by: Frodolives
They had free shipping on it this past weekend, and it sold out temporarily. I ordered one Friday night. I also prefer the non-reference fan they're using.

I'm not a hard core gamer, but I wanted to upgrade from my 7600GT in time for Fallout 3, which this should run just fine. Mine is supposed to get here on Thursday, so I can post back some results if you're still interested.

Definately. Thanks sir!
 

coolpurplefan

Golden Member
Mar 2, 2006
1,243
0
0
I have the HIS HD4670. (I'll admit I don't agree with the fact they allegedly scammed someone for a rebate but got one because of the fan.) Anyway, it's RELATIVELY silent but the temps are to die for. I mean the GPU is 34'C idle and 50'C load. (I used GPU-Z and clicked on refresh continuously and log under sensors then played UT3 and clicked on windowed to see it even during the game.)
 

solofly

Banned
May 25, 2003
1,421
0
0
I love my HIS ICEQ HD4670. With its automatic downclocking it idles anywhere between 30 and 33C. That's nothing and you can't hear it at all. The only drawback at this stage, the folding client isn't compatible with it...
 

coolpurplefan

Golden Member
Mar 2, 2006
1,243
0
0
Originally posted by: solofly
I love my HIS ICEQ HD4670. With its automatic downclocking it idles anywhere between 30 and 33C. That's nothing and you can't hear it at all. The only drawback at this stage, the folding client isn't compatible with it...

Do you know how to disable that downclocking? It's driving me nuts. Bitmap images don't refresh as quickly as they should and I can detect microscopic lag during 1080p videos.
 

nerp

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2005
9,866
105
106
The availability of these cards is just terrible right now and it looks like Newegg jacked the prices of the Sapphire and HIS cards. Jeez. They don't stay in stock very long. Demand must be amazing. Blah. I want one, but I refuse to buy right before a big drop. :/
 

account007

Junior Member
Apr 24, 2008
8
0
0
I have this card.
This is what i've posted on Techpowerup forum:


This card doesn't have any fan control.
Result: loud all the time ...

No fan control through Asus Smartdoctor, RBE, ...

I can't believe Asus did such a thing in this time and age.
They do claim that the card runs 15°C cooler than the stock model!


The Sapphire version is much more quiet. That one has fan control.
I would suggest to buy anything except this Asus model.
They don't claim it's 15db more quiet but 15°C cooler.
 

account007

Junior Member
Apr 24, 2008
8
0
0
To finish the story ...

In the end i connected the fan to my motherboard and set it up to 60%.
That makes it much more quiet. Load GPU temp is 50°C.

Why would Asus put it that loud?
 

nerp

Diamond Member
Dec 31, 2005
9,866
105
106
Looks like you joined the forum to answer my post. I appreciate you jumping in the discussion.

So you're saying the card has a fixed fan speed of high? That's insane! Maybe I should stay away or wait for more manufacturers to get cards out.

Thanks for the input, sir!
 

account007

Junior Member
Apr 24, 2008
8
0
0
np :)

Yes it has a fixed fan speed. I know, insane.
I know that with some Asus cards you have to install the Asus driver and use Smartdoctor to setup the fan but that's a no-go with this card either.

Any built by ATI should have fan control.
Sapphire and HIS should be OK.
Powercolor PCS is very quiet but more expensive.

Or you can wait for the HD4830. (end of october)
 

WildW

Senior member
Oct 3, 2008
986
20
81
evilpicard.com
I too have just bought this Asus 4670 card. I went for the Asus with the "better" cooler in the hopes it would be quiet - as a result I've spent the last couple of days trying to find a way to turn down the fan speed from its constant full-speed scream. Tried Rivatuner and Atitool and the new beta ATI Catylist Drivers that were meant to have built in fan control. . . but alas none of it could turn down.

I was on the verge of returning the card back to Overclockers.co.uk when it struck me to at least try to change the fan. The black plastic fan unit on the top clips onto a big chunky aluminium heatsink and is easily removed and unplugged from the card. I looked through my old fans and came across an Akasa cpu heatsink+fan for socket A - a standard 80mm fan screwed into a heatsink with long screws. A couple of minutes later the fan was screwed onto the Asus 4670's heatsink, fan plugged into 12V molex via a fan-slowdown resistor thingy, stuffed it back in, and booted up.

The Asus card's cooler IS really good. With my improvised fan going too slow to hear (The Asus replaced a passive graphics card, and I'm not noticing the difference in noise) the GPU temp never goes over 62C at full load. (Stress tested for 30 mins with some proggy called rthdribl) It's now the card I wanted it to be. It doesn't seem to care that it has no fan plugged into the card's socket. I've even got it overclocked to 800MHz core, and it's been churning through Unreal Tournament 3 for a good while tonight.

For anyone who's bought one already, at least replacing the fan is an idea to consider.
 

Frodolives

Platinum Member
Nov 28, 2001
2,190
0
0
I've been running my Asus 4670 for the last few days, and personally I would not prefer the reference fan over this, but to each his own. I can't claim that mine is silent, since I run a lot of fans to begin with, but mine is certainly not noisy.

Thanks for the info though, WildW, it's always nice to know I have a standby fan ready in case of trouble, and I'd hate to be one of those guys that needs a $40 replacement cooler for an $80 mainstream card ;)

I haven't installed added utilities, so I can't comment on Milli's assertion that the fan can't be controlled via Smartdoctor. I would add though, that Asus has very accessible support, including toll free, so I would also want to hear what Asus tech says about it if someone reports an issue like this.

It seems to me in the course of researching, that for several flavors of the 4670 (not just Asus) that a small percentage of users have driver problems with this card, so in early iterations maybe that too is a factor *shrug*

Anyway, this is a great card for me. I've pretty much always been a "mainstream" card buyer (for instance, 7600GT a couple years ago), and though technically many of those cards were qualified to run AA and such while still getting playable frames on contemporary games, the 4670 is the first one that I feel is really cut out to do so comfortably for a number of games. Sweet!

All in all, whatever flavor of this card you prefer, this is a good value. I will repost sometime with some specific figures, but observed temps are very low, as others report.