Sound comparison between the X1900 Crossfire and 7800GTX SLI

Ackmed

Diamond Member
Oct 1, 2003
8,499
560
126
First off, let me say this is in no way a real scientific sound comparison. All it is, is an average Joe's simple video comparison, trying to show others who have not seen either, a *real world* sound sample. Lots of people are curious, so I hope this helps out.

GTX's; http://www.ihud.com/file.php?file=290306/1143641975/GTXs.mpg

X1900's; http://www.ihud.com/file.php?file=290306/1143643474/X1900s.mpg

(this is my first expeirence hosting with ihud, hopefully they hold up)

The GTX video is longer, but you can still compare them. I dont have the GTX's anymore, but I have the X1900's. I can remake the X1900 video if need be, its shorter, and there is a little background noise in it. They are still very comparable, but they are not 100% the same.

They are tested in the exact same PC. Save for the motherboard, and video cards. The SLI had the A8N32-SLI, which has passive cooling. The Crossfire has the A8R32-MVP, which also has passive cooling. So the only thing changed from the system for sound, is the video cards. I tested idle, and load. For idle the system was at the desktop for 10 mins, for load rthdribl was ran for 10 mins. Room temp was about the same, but I cant say for sure it was exactly the same. The videos were made 6 days apart.

To me, idle is the same. I cant tell in the video which is louder, or in the real world. Load to me sounds the same on the video as well, however Crossfire is louder. Its not much, but I can tell. After having SLI for several months, and going Crossfire within a week, I have a metal "sound bar" so to speak, of what my system used to sound like. The Crossfire is louder, but not by much. If I was to guess, by about 10%. Not enough to bother me, especially since my case temps are lower by a few C. My chipset temp is a good 5c lower as well. Which could be due to ATi's just running cooler, or that the hot air from the cards is not being kept in the case anymore. The A8R does not have the heatpipe that the A8N does. Perhaps it is as I said, just a cooler running chipset. My CPU temp is lower too, but I cant compare that, as I have new thermal paste on it, than I did with the A8N32.

So once again, this is not a 100% direct comparison, but just my very poor video taking, and editing skills trying to let others see, and hear what different setups sound like. I realize this is not with the new 7900GTX's, and that they are even quieter, but its what I had. I do not have the GTX's any more, so I cant redo the results. I can do something different with the Crossfire if enough people want it. I wish I had taken a video with the case closed, which would be more realistic. Oh well, as I said.. an average Joe.



 

josh609

Member
Aug 8, 2005
194
0
0
Originally posted by: Ackmed
First off, let me say this is in no way a real scientific sound comparison. All it is, is an average Joe's simple video comparison, trying to show others who have not seen either, a *real world* sound sample. Lots of people are curious, so I hope this helps out.

GTX's; http://www.ihud.com/file.php?file=290306/1143641975/GTXs.mpg

X1900's; http://www.ihud.com/file.php?file=290306/1143643474/X1900s.mpg

(this is my first expeirence hosting with ihud, hopefully they hold up)

The GTX video is longer, but you can still compare them. I dont have the GTX's anymore, but I have the X1900's. I can remake the X1900 video if need be, its shorter, and there is a little background noise in it. They are still very comparable, but they are not 100% the same.

They are tested in the exact same PC. Save for the motherboard, and video cards. The SLI had the A8N32-SLI, which has passive cooling. The Crossfire has the A8R32-MVP, which also has passive cooling. So the only thing changed from the system for sound, is the video cards. I tested idle, and load. For idle the system was at the desktop for 10 mins, for load rthdribl was ran for 10 mins. Room temp was about the same, but I cant say for sure it was exactly the same. The videos were made 6 days apart.

To me, idle is the same. I cant tell in the video which is louder, or in the real world. Load to me sounds the same on the video as well, however Crossfire is louder. Its not much, but I can tell. After having SLI for several months, and going Crossfire within a week, I have a metal "sound bar" so to speak, of what my system used to sound like. The Crossfire is louder, but not by much. If I was to guess, by about 10%. Not enough to bother me, especially since my case temps are lower by a few C. My chipset temp is a good 5c lower as well. Which could be due to ATi's just running cooler, or that the hot air from the cards is not being kept in the case anymore. The A8R does not have the heatpipe that the A8R does. Perhaps it is as I said, just a cooler running chipset. My CPU temp is lower too, but I cant compare that, as I have new thermal paste on it, than I did with the A8N32.

So once again, this is not a 100% direct comparison, but just my very poor video taking, and editing skills trying to let others see, and hear what different setups sound like. I realize this is not with the new 7900GTX's, and that they are even quieter, but its what I had. I do not have the GTX's any more, so I cant redo the results. I can do something different with the Crossfire if enough people want it. I wish I had taken a video with the case closed, which would be more realistic. Oh well, as I said.. an average Joe.


Very nice setup. Very interesting comparison. HOW BIG IS THAT MONITOR!? How fast is your processor?
 

BassBomb

Diamond Member
Nov 25, 2005
8,390
1
81
mistake in 2nd last line "a8r doesnt have the heatpipe teh a8r has"
shouldnt it be a8n32 in the 2nd part
 

Ackmed

Diamond Member
Oct 1, 2003
8,499
560
126
Originally posted by: BassBomb
mistake in 2nd last line "a8r doesnt have the heatpipe teh a8r has"
shouldnt it be a8n32 in the 2nd part

You are correct. Slip of the tongue...