GeForce GTX 480 noise levels bunked

[happy medium]

Numerous reviewers warned against touching the heatsink on the GTX480 after a gaming session because they burned themselves when trying to do so.

GTX480 obviously runs hotter than the 5870, reviews state it and it's the reason people are getting put off by the reviewed and illustrated noise levels of the GTX480. It takes a seriously friggen fast (Read: LOUD!) spinning fan to cool the thing off.

I never said the gtx 480 wasn't loud and never said it wasn't hot.

All heatsinks are hot. I said exaust vent.

 

[kaboro]

I wonder if some GTX 480 cards are noisier than others.
The noise my new asus gtx 480 makes when the fan is above 80% is unbearable. I can hear it with my headphones on and game sound turned up pretty loud.
I am thinking to return the card to the store.
If i force the fan to 100% with asus smart doc, the noise is somewhat similar to a small vacuum cleaner. Its way beyond any acceptable levels, even with the headphones on.
At 80% i have to have the headphones sound turned way up not to hear the noise this card makes.

 

[WelshBloke]

I wonder if some GTX 480 cards are noisier than others.
The noise my new asus gtx 480 makes when the fan is above 80% is unbearable. I can hear it with my headphones on and game sound turned up pretty loud.
I am thinking to return the card to the store.
If i force the fan to 100% with asus smart doc, the noise is somewhat similar to a small vacuum cleaner. Its way beyond any acceptable levels, even with the headphones on.
At 80% i have to have the headphones sound turned way up not to hear the noise this card makes.

Most cards are horribly loud at 80%, of course you dont actually have to run most cards at that to keep them cool though.

If you want to stay with Nvidia the 5xx series seems to have fixed the problem, you could go for a gtx570.

 

[Bandit1]

I wonder if some GTX 480 cards are noisier than others.
The noise my new asus gtx 480 makes when the fan is above 80% is unbearable. I can hear it with my headphones on and game sound turned up pretty loud.
I am thinking to return the card to the store.
If i force the fan to 100% with asus smart doc, the noise is somewhat similar to a small vacuum cleaner. Its way beyond any acceptable levels, even with the headphones on.
At 80% i have to have the headphones sound turned way up not to hear the noise this card makes.

Wow,i'd be mad too,but i wish someone would just record the sound for a confirmed bitch.I recently switched from an amd to nvidia card and get steamed that niether company seems to have fan power under control at boot.Not that that's the reason i switched.

 

[Grooveriding]

I wonder if some GTX 480 cards are noisier than others.
The noise my new asus gtx 480 makes when the fan is above 80% is unbearable. I can hear it with my headphones on and game sound turned up pretty loud.
I am thinking to return the card to the store.
If i force the fan to 100% with asus smart doc, the noise is somewhat similar to a small vacuum cleaner. Its way beyond any acceptable levels, even with the headphones on.
At 80% i have to have the headphones sound turned way up not to hear the noise this card makes.

The cards are loud. The range is no louder than other similar cards, but the 480 runs so hot that the fan has to run at a high speed to keep it cool.

That said, all 480s are hot and all reference 480s are loud.

 

[taltamir]

way to necro a year old thread

BTW, objectively measured at 63 to 64 decibels by different sites.
http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/noise.asp

Sound is measured in units called decibels. On the decibel scale, an increase of 10 means that a sound is 10 times more intense, or powerful. To your ears, it sounds twice as loud. The humming of a refrigerator is 45 decibels, normal conversation is approximately 60 decibels, and the noise from heavy city traffic can reach 85 decibels. Sources of noise that can cause NIHL include motorcycles, firecrackers, and small firearms, all emitting sounds from 120 to 150 decibels. Long or repeated exposure to sounds at or above 85 decibels can cause hearing loss. The louder the sound, the shorter the time period before NIHL can occur. Sounds of less than 75 decibels, even after long exposure, are unlikely to cause hearing loss.

The EPA on the other hand warns about sounds over 70db for a period of 24 hours (the louder the noise, the shorter the amount of time it is safe to be exposed to before having hearing loss).

So while the GTX480 will not cause you hearing loss, it is 3 to 4 times louder then normal human conversation.

I wonder if some GTX 480 cards are noisier than others.
The noise my new asus gtx 480 makes when the fan is above 80% is unbearable. I can hear it with my headphones on and game sound turned up pretty loud.
I am thinking to return the card to the store.
If i force the fan to 100% with asus smart doc, the noise is somewhat similar to a small vacuum cleaner. Its way beyond any acceptable levels, even with the headphones on.
At 80% i have to have the headphones sound turned way up not to hear the noise this card makes.

Return it ASAP and get a card that doesn't suck.
Read reviews in the future as they all warn about how the GTX480 is the loudest card ever made by a huge margin and is practically unusable.

 

[SolMiester]

He's still right in claiming that AT isn't right about it being the loudest card they've ever tested. 77db(5800FX Ultra) is quite a bit louder than 64.1db(480).

+1, beaten to the post!

 

[RussianSensation]

That said, all 480s are hot and all reference 480s are loud.

Actually some may be louder than others. What I find interesting is that hardly any of the 480 owners considered changing the TIM. Changing the TIM and putting on high flow bracket ensured that my 470 reference card never got above 77*C at 66% fan speed, which was far quieter than the HD4890 I have owned before at 38% fan speed. TIM reapplication generally drops temps around 8-10*C on GF100 cards (there is even a video on how to do it with results).

In any event, there is no reason at all to purchase a GTX480 at this point (unless you are looking to SLI one with your first card). With $250 HD6950s unlockable to HD6970 and GTX570s often dipping well under $300 (NCIX just had an EVGA GTX570 for $270 CDN), GTX480 shouldn't even be a consideration. Kaboro, if you can return it and get a GTX570, I would do so.

For those who are stuck with a 480, I highly recommend the following steps:

1) Get a high flow bracket
2) Make sure you have good case airflow (so don't be surprised to have your card running 10*C hotter in an Antec 182/183 for example)
3) Change the TIM

 

[taltamir]

He's still right in claiming that AT isn't right about it being the loudest card they've ever tested. 77db(5800FX Ultra) is quite a bit louder than 64.1db(480).

I missed that one, I guess the GTX480 isn't the loudest ever...
BTW, 77fb will cause hearing loss... I wonder if anyone sued over it.

 

[Cookie Monster]

Holy thread necro!

But after using a GTX470 for awhile, the card is loud but it doesn't have any of the high pitch whine (instead it has alot of woosh) thats associated with alot of "loud" cards from the past.

 

[Grooveriding]

Holy thread necro!

But after using a GTX470 for awhile, the card is loud but it doesn't have any of the high pitch whine (instead it has alot of woosh) thats associated with alot of "loud" cards from the past.

Yes, my cards are the same. They're incredibly loud but it's not fan whine. It's hair-dryer loud, the sound of a lot of air being pushed.

 

[Voo]

BTW, 77fb will cause hearing loss... I wonder if anyone sued over it.

The usual limit is 85dB which is quite a bit more than 77. And for comparision: A busy road has about 90dB, so no not quite.

 

[taltamir]

The usual limit is 85dB which is quite a bit more than 77. And for comparision: A busy road has about 90dB, so no not quite.

1. A busy road will indeed induce permanent hearing loss.
2. The EPA says 70db over long term (more than 24 hours) causes irreversible hearing loss. The NIDCD says 85db+ will definitely cause hearing loss, under 75db is "probably safe even over long periods". You figure out what it means for 77db.

 

[frostedflakes]

way to necro a year old thread

BTW, objectively measured at 63 to 64 decibels by different sites.
http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/noise.asp


The EPA on the other hand warns about sounds over 70db for a period of 24 hours (the louder the noise, the shorter the amount of time it is safe to be exposed to before having hearing loss).

So while the GTX480 will not cause you hearing loss, it is 3 to 4 times louder then normal human conversation.



Return it ASAP and get a card that doesn't suck.
Read reviews in the future as they all warn about how the GTX480 is the loudest card ever made by a huge margin and is practically unusable.

Exaggerations like this are exactly what the Guru3D article and this thread were meant to debunk. Noise measurements 1cm or whatever away from the card's fan are only useful for comparing relative noise of GPUs. They do not represent the real-world noise you should expect from the GPU, though. In the real world the card is going to be installed in a closed case sitting probably a meter or so away from the user's ears. You're not going to be using the card with your ear right up against the fan. To drive the point home, Guru3D measured noise for this scenario and got 37dBA at idle and 45dBA at load. Loud, sure, but not deafening or anything like that.

 

[taltamir]

Exaggerations like this are exactly what the Guru3D article and this thread were meant to debunk. Noise measurements 1cm or whatever away from the card's fan are only useful for comparing relative noise of GPUs. They do not represent the real-world noise you should expect from the GPU, though. In the real world the card is going to be installed in a closed case sitting probably a meter or so away from the user's ears. You're not going to be using the card with your ear right up against the fan. To drive the point home, Guru3D measured noise for this scenario and got 37dBA at idle and 45dBA at load. Loud, sure, but not deafening or anything like that.

1. I explicitly said it will not cause hearing loss, therefore it is not deafening.
2. I heard it, it is louder than normal human conversation and totally unacceptable.
3. the guru3d article is trying to debunk reality with its fanboy spin but reality will not be debunked.

 

[frostedflakes]

Even the 77dBA card you were talking about in this thread will not produce anywhere close to 77dBA 1m away from the user. That's the point I'm trying to make. Noise measurements depend on a lot of factors, distance away from the source being one of the major ones. Whether the measurements are done from 1cm or 1m is an important distinction, not fanboy spin.

 

[taltamir]

1. energy doesn't dissipate as fast as you think.
2. Nobody measures 1cm away from the card.
3. Calling it "not that loud" is fanboy spin. Because it is loud, it is so very very loud. I can barely stand the noise of my GTX260

 

[frostedflakes]

Not sure what 1 has to do with the discussion. And any reviews that get 64-65dBA are probably measuring very closely to the card, on the order of 1cm. Glancing over AnandTech's review I don't see them mention how far away their sound meter was. I Googled a couple reviews and TechPowerUp was the only one that mentioned distance measurements were taken from in the review. At 1m away from the card (installed in a case with the side panel off), they got 30dBA idle and 50dBA load.

And "loud" is subjective, my HD5770 is unbearable to me without undervolting it to reduce temps and fan speed. Does that mean it's loud for everyone? Probably not. As I mentioned before, I tend to stay away from high-end cards because they're all unacceptably loud to me. For enthusiasts who are more accustomed to high noise levels, though, GTX 480 may be "not that loud" to them. Compared to last gen top of the line cards from nVidia, 480's noise level wasn't out of line, according to AnandTech's review it was actually quieter than the GTX 295 and not much louder than the 280. It was probably at the upper end of what most enthusiasts are willing to put up with no doubt, but nothing crazy.

 

[taltamir]

And loud is relative

No, loud is absolute. How bothersome that loudness is would be relative.

As for energy dissipation... Sound is a mechanical wave that is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas. Energy!

 

[RussianSensation]

1. energy doesn't dissipate as fast as you think.
2. Nobody measures 1cm away from the card.

Frostedflakes does have a point though.

Look at Xbitlabs' most recent GTX570 review.

Loud is relative since it depends on the environment.

HD6870 / 6850 / 5850 @ 3D 5 cms away = 55.9 / 54.3 / 60.0
^^ This suggests 5850 is FAR louder than the other 2 cards.

HD6870 / 6850 / 5850 @ 3D 1m away = 45.8 / 45.7 / 46.0
^^ Under this scenario, the 3 cards are almost identical. Basically in an enclosed case, under real world usage, you would never be able to tell the difference between these 3 cards.

 

[taltamir]

Frostedflakes does have a point though.

Look at Xbitlabs' most recent GTX570 review.

Loud is relative since it depends on the environment.

HD6870 / 6850 / 5850 @ 3D 5 cms away = 55.9 / 54.3 / 60.0
^^ This suggests 5850 is FAR louder than the other 2 cards.

HD6870 / 6850 / 5850 @ 3D 1m away = 45.8 / 45.7 / 46.0
^^ Under this scenario, the 3 cards are almost identical. Basically in an enclosed case, under real world usage, you would never be able to tell the difference between these 3 cards.

It is true, there is some merit to the argument. Although 1cm is exaggerated it seems that 5cm is a fairly common measurement since that is what xbitlabs and tomshardware use. I seem to recall seeing 1 foot away on some reviews.

Anyways, the sound is indeed less loud when reaching your ears compared to where they measure it. It is still very loud on some of those cards, unacceptably so. But if you account for sound dissipation then even that 77db card would not cause hearing loss as long as it is under the table. But I never said that the GTX480 would cause hearing damage, I just said its way too loud. However, I did say that the 5800FX Ultra could spawn some lawsuits and that seems to have been wrong. Once you account for the distance it would drop to safe levels of noise.

 

[notty22]

They measure at 6 inches here.
The 5870 launch review here at Anands, called the card loud, one of the loudest ever, but fast cards = loud .

At load, the picture changes entirely. The more powerful the card the louder it tends to get, and the 5870 is no exception. At 64 dB it’s louder than everything other than the GTX 295 and a pair of 5870s. Hopefully this is something that the card manufacturers can improve on later on with custom coolers, as while 64 dB at 6" is not egregious it’s still an unwelcome increase in fan noise.

The gtx 480 managed to top that !
And I think its known that they came with varying core voltages. So some are going to be hotter/louder than others.
It is history now , no

What will the 6990 sound like ? I'm sure its going to bring a dual vapor chamber design, similar but hopefully even better than anything before it .

 

[Grooveriding]

I sit about four feet from my case which is a nice sturdy case, sealed up, except for opening grills for fans. When I am playing Crysis my wife calls to me from the living room to inform me I'm playing games on that obscene 'beast' again.

From where I sit, I have to use headphones or it bothers me way too much. Fortunately I game with a nice pair of noise canceling Sennheissers so I don't hear a thing while she does from three rooms away

 

[Cookie Monster]

Well do you have not just one but three GTX480s..

 

[happy medium]

The noise my new asus gtx 480 makes when the fan is above 80% is unbearable.

If you bought a NEW gtx480 at this point, you get what you deserve.

Edit: Holy old thread Batman?