Originally posted by: nZone
Seriously why need an aftermarket cooler? The heatsink and fan that comes with the card is efficient and the fan is dead silent. I have a GTX. I put my ears next to it and I don't even hear a sound. The only time I can hear it when the system is boot up; the fan might be doing self-diagnostic it spins at full speed.
My GTX idle and normal windows usage is at 62-63C; while gaming it never past 70C (and fan was still dead silent).
Originally posted by: firewolfsm
Some people are more sensitive.
Originally posted by: fluffmonster
8800 stock cooler is the quietest fan in my rig, and nothing in it is loud. If significantly quieter than that is what you want, that's getting real close to passive territory.
Originally posted by: nZone
I don't believe the 8800GTX is 48db. I have the card. The antec tri-cool fan 120mm @low speed around 800-900rpm is louder than the GTX. Another comparison; the Antec cyclone cooler that came with the Antec Aria case running at a low speed is pulling more air than the GTX. I believe the GTX fan spins at least 3-4 times slower than the antec cyclone.
Remember though, the fan on the GTS/GTX ramps up/down depends on the temperature in the case. It's also can be adjusted by the nVidia nTune utility. By default; the fan run near the passive territory like fluffmonster said with 30-35C case temperature.