R9 290X and R9 290 Owners Noise Discussion (Most Important Question)

[tential]

For ACTUAL OWNERS of these cards, how bad is the noise? I keep reading how bad the noise is, but I'd like to hear from the owners.

The thing is, I'm ASSUMING most reviews are done in silence and don't have the reviewer sitting there actually gaming on the rig with a headset immersed in game. Now my old PC got pretty loud, especially when the fans started to fail and the no screw approach of my case starts to give way.

I NEVER heard this though unless I was gaming without my headset which was almost NEVER. I almost always had music on, or in game sounds on.

Now, I have a home theater type gaming setup so these cards are out of the question for me unless I started gaming with some Turtle Beaches again.

There is only ONE question that really matters when it comes to sound

For those of you who traditionally game (Monitor/Headset), are you noticing that you can hear the cards when you're actually immersed in a traditional gaming setup?

 

[Lonyo]

43 dba
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/radeon_r9_290_review_benchmarks,31.html

62dba vs 50 for 780
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...ws/63863-amd-radeon-r9-290-4gb-review-15.html

55.6
http://uk.hardware.info/reviews/495...x-780-energy-consumption-and-noise-production

43 vs 38 for 780
http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphics/61785-amd-radeon-r9-290/?page=10

35 vs 35 for 780
http://www.kitguru.net/components/graphic-cards/zardon/amd-r9-290-review-1600p-4k-and-cf/41/

45 vs 43
http://media.bestofmicro.com/O/L/407829/original/01-Noise-Gaming-Loop.png

Maybe 59 right next to it, but unclear as the graph won't load.
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/5857/amd-radeon-r9-290-4gb-reference-video-card-review/index22.html

49 vs 36
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/R9_290/25.html

49 vs 40
http://techreport.com/review/25602/amd-radeon-r9-290-graphics-card-reviewed/8

61 vs 51
http://www.legitreviews.com/amd-radeon-r9-290-4gb-video-card-review_127216/11


Not exactly what you asked for, but I just posted it in the review thread and it's relevant.
A summary of the noise measurements from most of the review websites (not all give one, and I might have missed some) showing all the different dB readings.

Anything from 35 to 62, depending on who you ask, so who knows!

 

[VulgarDisplay]

I believe the 7970 has the same cooler.

I turn mine up to 47% and in a quiet room it's pretty loud. If I turn on some music at a level that game volume through my headphones would be at I can not pick the fan sound out at all. This is with open back q701's. If you had closed cans you would never notice the noise unless you strapped two of the shrounds to your headphones and cranked up the fan.

The noise issue is being completely and utterly overblown. That being said, I would still wait for aftermarket cards just because they are going to be able to maintain higher clocks.

 

[smackababy]

I think the cards are loud when you're doing something like a synthetic benchmark, because you're not focusing on anything. When playing, especially if you're using headphones, you shouldn't be hearing the cards except in moments where the games are silent.

However, your case acoustics, where it is located, and sound setup will all have effects on the loudness.

 

[Granseth]

(...)
61 vs 51
http://www.legitreviews.com/amd-radeon-r9-290-4gb-video-card-review_127216/11


Not exactly what you asked for, but I just posted it in the review thread and it's relevant.
A summary of the noise measurements from most of the review websites (not all give one, and I might have missed some) showing all the different dB readings.

Anything from 35 to 62, depending on who you ask, so who knows!

It's all about the environment and how you measure.
Like the Legitreview measures at a corner off the motherboard instead of the more common to measure from 1m distance.
And some reviews in a case, but most review without.

So it's more interesting to compare noise test from a site, than compare between different sites.

 

[mindbomb]

ideally, you should game with open headphones, like sennheiser 558 for example.
open headphones don't block outside noise at all though.

i think the real downer here is power usage though. the 290 effectively uses more power than a 290x while delivering worse performance, and way more power than a gtx 770, also without delivering enough performance to justify it imo.

 

[Lonyo]

It's all about the environment and how you measure.
Like the Legitreview measures at a corner off the motherboard instead of the more common to measure from 1m distance.
And some reviews in a case, but most review without.

So it's more interesting to compare noise test from a site, than compare between different sites.

That's the point.
Comparing noises from within a site results in differences of 0 to 12dB.

One site shows no difference in noise between a 780 and a 290.
Another site shows a difference of 13dB between the two.

How is that a useful comparison? Even when you compare within a site it's STILL useless.

 

[BallaTheFeared]

That's the point.
Comparing noises from within a site results in differences of 0 to 12dB.

One site shows no difference in noise between a 780 and a 290.
Another site shows a difference of 13dB between the two.

How is that a useful comparison? Even when you compare within a site it's STILL useless.

You'd have to extrapolate the methodology of each site.

Key would be distance from card to recording device, and then figure out how far away you are.

Then add in factors like are you running open bench (like me) or are you using a case with noise dampening insulation?

 

[tential]

That's the point.
Comparing noises from within a site results in differences of 0 to 12dB.

One site shows no difference in noise between a 780 and a 290.
Another site shows a difference of 13dB between the two.

How is that a useful comparison? Even when you compare within a site it's STILL useless.

This is essentially the point of why I made this thread.

A lot of people who never have and never will buy this card will make Noise arguments based on testing, but I think real world performance is more important. Yes, if a card averages 60 FPS on a review you'll probably get 60 FPS.
But noise is dependent on SO MANY factors that I think it's almost misleading that not recommending a card due to a scenario in which you will NEVER use the card isn't really a good idea.

IMO, I think reviewers should have done some real gaming scenario testing before they decided how bad the noise is rather than a benchmark and then saying "Well the numbers are much higher and it's much noisier than we'd like in on our nongaming, non real world never will use card like this scenario so I don't like it!"
Also, TomsHardware's test of switching the cooler still has it come in under the GTX 780. With the TON of money you save by going the R9 290 over the R9 290X, there really is a plethora of ways to surpass the R9 290X's performance, at less cost and thus have it be the best performance/cost ratio.

You'd have to extrapolate the methodology of each site.

Key would be distance from card to recording device, and then figure out how far away you are.

Then add in factors like are you running open bench (like me) or are you using a case with noise dampening insulation?

Sometimes this information isn't always clear. I been even looking through the anandtech review and I'm having a hard time figuring out the details.

Edit: I do like what it did to Nvidia pricing though. Just goes to show how big of a margin Nvidia was making when there wasn't competition.

 

[Ieat]

if it really is the same cooler as the 7970(my 7950 has a 7970 ref cooler). I find the noise fine when gaming and i have my card ramp up to 60%. defintely noticeable and would be annoying if u were just trying to surf or something though.

 

[railven]

I believe the 7970 has the same cooler.

I turn mine up to 47% and in a quiet room it's pretty loud. If I turn on some music at a level that game volume through my headphones would be at I can not pick the fan sound out at all. This is with open back q701's. If you had closed cans you would never notice the noise unless you strapped two of the shrounds to your headphones and cranked up the fan.

The noise issue is being completely and utterly overblown. That being said, I would still wait for aftermarket cards just because they are going to be able to maintain higher clocks.

To give an alternative experience to this. My stock HD 7970 with ref cooler was loud and above 35% fan it was terribly noticeable. It was in a Corsair Carbide 500R with adequate cooling so it only go above 35% during gaming.

With headphones on: none issue
Without headphones on: noticeable, distracting, and made me look into custom coolers (something I rarely do.)
EDIT: To expand on this, my HD 5870 was also stock cooler, and it was considered loud at the time, but I never once thought of replacing it unlike the cooler on my HD 7970, it was holding back my OC's because of acoustics.

Price vs perf for these new cards is amazing, and as someone in the market I refuse to even look at this cards until custom coolers. Kudos to Tom's for strapping an Accelero Extreme 3 on one to give us an idea of what we can expect, and what I saw is definitely worth waiting for.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-r9-290-review-benchmark,3659-18.html

 

[FredNotFound404]

Well I just realize for that price I can actually buy the reference card and just slap a Accelero Extreme III, I can get my hands on one for 50 euros, plus is beats all the other custom coolers that brands put on them, so yeah my next cards will be a R9 290, its the best bang for the buck right now.

 

[Lonyo]

This is essentially the point of why I made this thread.

A lot of people who never have and never will buy this card will make Noise arguments based on testing, but I think real world performance is more important. Yes, if a card averages 60 FPS on a review you'll probably get 60 FPS.
But noise is dependent on SO MANY factors that I think it's almost misleading that not recommending a card due to a scenario in which you will NEVER use the card isn't really a good idea.

IMO, I think reviewers should have done some real gaming scenario testing before they decided how bad the noise is rather than a benchmark and then saying "Well the numbers are much higher and it's much noisier than we'd like in on our nongaming, non real world never will use card like this scenario so I don't like it!"
Also, TomsHardware's test of switching the cooler still has it come in under the GTX 780. With the TON of money you save by going the R9 290 over the R9 290X, there really is a plethora of ways to surpass the R9 290X's performance, at less cost and thus have it be the best performance/cost ratio.


Sometimes this information isn't always clear. I been even looking through the anandtech review and I'm having a hard time figuring out the details.

Edit: I do like what it did to Nvidia pricing though. Just goes to show how big of a margin Nvidia was making when there wasn't competition.

Per the review thread, it's 1 foot from card in an open bench setup. It is in the comments from Ryan, not in the actual review.

 

[blackened23]

If you've used a 7950 or 7970 with a ref blower, it's basically the same in terms of noise on the 290/290X. Just with the latter cards, you need to run higher fan speeds for max performance.

Personally past 45% is the threshold where the 7970 cooler became rather annoying. It's bearable, but...not desirable (obviously depending on your case location and insulation).

 

[Rvenger]

Does anyone have the actual model number of the 7970 fan so we can compare it to the 290/290x fan? It sounds more 'mechanical' than the 7970 fan like the GTX 670 vs gtx 680 reference cooler.

 

[BallaTheFeared]

Really depends on the person.

When I used my 470 on reference air even though there was basically no fan noise itself, eventually you get to a point where the wind noise from the amount of air being moved through a narrow pathway gets annoyingly loud, even if the fan itself isn't loud.

Without headphones I was fine with my 470 upward of 2800 rpm, which was enough to run it around 760Mhz. After that though the sound of the air being moved got to me. With headphones though I could probably have lived with 100% except when there was nothing coming through them.

With my TF3 7950 50% is probably as high as I'd go without headphones, which is only 2200 RPM but the cooling capacity is higher anyways. With music playing and my headphones on I can't hear it at 100%.

That said I'm getting old so I don't like to wear my headphones all the time and I like a silent system so my cpu fans normally spin around 800-1200 RPM and the same for my gpu.

All this is open bench with about 2 1/2 feet distance to the pc which is at chest level on my desk.

Unless you're planning to go mitx, water cool, or multi card I wouldn't mess with reference. Wait for the aftermarket cards imo, get something with good vrm and ram cooling as I hear 290 series runs them rather hot.

 

[Slomo4shO]

If noise is truly a concern for you, why are you not waiting for the non-reference cards to hit the market later this month?

 

[chimaxi83]

With no headset on, open case, and nothing going on in the room, I started hearing the fan around 45%. Under normal circumstances, closed case, headset on, and in game, I couldn't hear anything until maybe 90%? I'm not sure. 80% and up is LOUD though.

Headset gaming isn't really affected by the noise of this card. The only things that might be affected are your significant other, and if you game in a smallish space, the space heater effect

 

[Bateluer]

I installed my 290X last night, and at idle with a 20% fan speed its no more audible than my 7950 was. It does, however, idle 20C higher than the 7950. Around 70C. And thats with a clear line of sight to a 140mm case intake fan blowing cool air directly into the card.

I do my gaming on the weekends mostly, so I'll be taking it through several titles then. Its worth noting I do have a Fractal R4 case with a lot of noise dampening foam built in, and that my hearing has been damaged by 20 years of working in electronic shops and datacenters.

Give the idle temps I'm seeing now though, I will definitely be looking at some aftermarket cooling before the Phoenix summer arrives again. Not sure if it'll be water cooled or not, I saw some full card water blocks, but no closed loop systems that I'd prefer.

 

[railven]

Does anyone have the actual model number of the 7970 fan so we can compare it to the 290/290x fan? It sounds more 'mechanical' than the 7970 fan like the GTX 670 vs gtx 680 reference cooler.

I still got my 7970 assembly. What Info do you need? I can grab it as I go microwave my hot pocket

 

[railven]

Per the review thread, it's 1 foot from card in an open bench setup. It is in the comments from Ryan, not in the actual review.

Reading that, this makes that metric for me useless, since I have my PC in a case and about 3 feet away from me. Either way, you'd figure that info be in the review/article not the comments.

 

[Eymar]

2x 290X, uber mode, 900D case (case to my right at about arm's length where I sit, and next to corner of room), will check on ambient temps later. Loudest cards I've had (owned GTX 480 and 7970s) as they are constantly loud during gaming. That being said with headsets (Gamecon 780s) the noise is manageable to me, with exception being when games get quiet. The CF performance is very good, that I'll stick with 290x over Titan SLI, but definitely want to replace with aftermarket coolers.

 

[Rvenger]

I bit the bullet and ordered a 290 while I was at the doctors office this morning. Someone is buying my 7950. Hopefully I will have better luck with this one. I know my wallet likes it better than the 290x

I can give some feedback on this turbine cooler later on this week!

 

[wand3r3r]

Reading that, this makes that metric for me useless, since I have my PC in a case and about 3 feet away from me. Either way, you'd figure that info be in the review/article not the comments.

Same here, I set my PC under a desk and towards the back. Either way, I am still picky about noise and wouldn't consider reference (unless I found a super hot deal).

 

[Silverforce11]

If you've used a 7950 or 7970 with a ref blower, it's basically the same in terms of noise on the 290/290X. Just with the latter cards, you need to run higher fan speeds for max performance.

Personally past 45% is the threshold where the 7970 cooler became rather annoying. It's bearable, but...not desirable (obviously depending on your case location and insulation).

I concur with this, I've used AMD blowers on the 4800 series, 5800 series and 7970. If they stay 45% or less, its quite fine inside a case. The noise level ramp up very fast above 45%. I game with speakers thats why my noise threshold is lower than people who game with headphones.