6990 fan noise acceptable?

[s{orpion]

first and foremost, I am owner of a 5970 and BIG ATI fan!

i have had the money set aside for the 6990 since last Spring (May 2010)...

soooo eager to get my hands on this BEAST!

Peformance is good... very good!

Even TDP is admirable given the dual 6970 configuration.

saddly, my money will not be going to ATI any time soon.

The link below is a video review that sums up my feelings perfectly:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKWbwjiR7h8

to get 'the truth' fast forward video to 25:00 for conclusion.

 

[Mussels]

so your 'truth' is based on overclocking of a single card, using the ridiculous combination of overclocked GPU with default fan profile?


that 'truth' is utterly pointless. each card OC's differently. manufacturers use different fan profiles and even different fans, so that wont matter to many of the cards.

 

[qubit]

Damn, YouTube is blocked at work.

 

[IndigoGoose]

Damn, YouTube is blocked at work

Same here at collage :shadedshu

 

[s{orpion]

no overclocking

not sure you truly 'watched' the entire conclusion...

my 'truth'... the card is simply tooo loud.

Overclock3D's conclusion is based on running the card with 'stock' setting during Unigine.

nothing to do with overclocking.
(personally do not overclock)

the card's 'load' noise level is enough to interupt gaming even with a headset.

dissappointing to say the least.

you can check a few other reviews that say the same thing...

below is Tom's Hardware review:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-6990-antilles-crossfire,2878.html

stellar performance with exceptional TDP (given the dual 6970)...

however the noise level is brutal

 

[CJCerny]

That's just one version of it from one manufacturer. Why do you think the Wizz bothers to review different cards with the same GPU and publish the noise level for each one? You need to be a little more patient.

 

[Mussels]

no... my 'truth' is that the card is simply tooo loud.

his conclusion is based on running the card with 'stock' setting during Unigine.

nothing to do with overclocking.
(personally do not overclock)

the card's 'load' noise level is enough to interupt gaming even with a headset.

dissappointing to say the least.

they never covered that at the point you indicated in the review.


and wow, fan noise? you think its bad just because of that? you clearly missed a few generations of leaf blowers in the past, these current cards are great for noise. the load they had in unigine is far beyond any regular game with Vsync enabled, so it simply wont get that loud.

 

[s{orpion]

Coolers and bios

yes, i am PRAYING that eventually someone will put one of these out with custom bios and coolers...

not available at this time.

all current options are stock bios/coolers.

 

[Mussels]

yes, i am PRAYING that eventually someone will put one of these out with custom bios and coolers...

not available at this time.

all current options are stock bios/coolers.

you could always mod the fan profiles yourself or tune it in with overdrive.

replacement GPU coolers will come out soon, as will non reference cards with different cooling.



To be honest, your 'truth' is kind of... pointing out the obvious? high end cards like this always had big, noisy coolers. from the nvidia FX series of leaf blowers to the heat monsters that were the 8800GTX and GTX 480, to ATI's failboat of a 2900XTX... you dont just pay in money for the most powerful cards, you pay in power consumption, heat output and noise as well.

 

[_JP_]

You're blowing off some steam. I'll let you do it without trolling this thread...much.
But if noise is one major concern to you, why even add a HD6990 to the equation? That card will consume ~375W (no OC), this will generate a lot of heat that needs to be dissipated. If that wasn't obvious to you, I don't even know how you bought a HD5970 and didn't notice it.
I think the noise levels are more than acceptable.
There are better options, like quad-crossfire Sapphire's HD 5670 ultimate. That should give similar performance to a...uhm...hd5870 (?) and 0dBa of noise.

 

[IndigoGoose]

JP you are just full of useful knowledge

 

[_JP_]

JP you are just full of useful knowledge

I don't think my wisdom should matter here.
I'm just unable see his problem.

Like, that's a big difference...
But, like Mussels said, you can change the fan profile and it's just a matter of time until manufacturers (I predict Sapphire with an AC solution) release custom coolers with better performance than stock.

 

[20mmrain]

You know I want to comment on his rant about the 6990's cooling noise. I couldn't agree more! I have been screaming about this myself for awhile! The responses I get back from the Enthusiast community is usually "If your a real enthusiast you won't care about the noise!" Really? I mean I can't want a powerful card and have it not sound like a Freight train too? Don't tell me it's not possible Partners on both side of the Green/Red Dividing line have proven it is possible!

The guy in the review has a really great point there...if I spend that much on a card I deserve to get the best of everything.... Why? Because I am buying the best card in the world whether it be the 6990 or the GTX 590 when that releases. I shouldn't be expected to have to wear headphones in order to deal with it.

With that said maybe it's time Nvidia and AMD Really start looking into pushing down the heat and pushing down the noise. It wasn't too long ago when you could by the top of the line card and get the best of all worlds..... It seems that some people do forget.... it wasn't but maybe 4 gens ago that this started happening. No it's just accepted. Until they do something I will just have to do it my own way (water cooling/After market Fans/Non Reference cards)... but I think it is just laziness that they don't make these cards quieter.

 

[qubit]

@20mmrain: top-end cards put out ever greater amounts of heat, which is becoming increasingly difficult to get rid of. It's just not possible to make the thing quiet when it's working hard, while using air cooling.

Look, my GTX 285 was top end for its day. While idling, it's fairly quiet. While gaming it makes some noise, but it's not so bad. But stick Furmark on it and you sure know about it.

Now, I haven't seen the video yet (work proxy restriction) but it looks like the video poster complained about the noise when running Furmark and didn't bother with a regular game. Well, duh! What do you expect?

 

[slyfox2151]

Now, I haven't seen the video yet (work proxy restriction) but it looks like the video poster complained about the noise when running Furmark and didn't bother with a regular game. Well, duh! What do you expect?

not furmark but the heaven benchmark program.... just running in the background (not in benchmark mode)

 

[{uZa}DOA]

You know I want to comment on his rant about the 6990's cooling noise. I couldn't agree more! I have been screaming about this myself for awhile! The responses I get back from the Enthusiast community is usually "If your a real enthusiast you won't care about the noise!" Really? I mean I can't want a powerful card and have it not sound like a Freight train too? Don't tell me it's not possible Partners on both side of the Green/Red Dividing line have proven it is possible!

The guy in the review has a really great point there...if I spend that much on a card I deserve to get the best of everything.... Why? Because I am buying the best card in the world whether it be the 6990 or the GTX 590 when that releases. I shouldn't be expected to have to wear headphones in order to deal with it.

With that said maybe it's time Nvidia and AMD Really start looking into pushing down the heat and pushing down the noise. It wasn't too long ago when you could by the top of the line card and get the best of all worlds..... It seems that some people do forget.... it wasn't but maybe 4 gens ago that this started happening. No it's just accepted. Until they do something I will just have to do it my own way (water cooling/After market Fans/Non Reference cards)... but I think it is just laziness that they don't make these cards quieter.

Yes, your probably right about it being possible to get these cards quieter.. But, then after R&D, new fans,heatsinks, or whatever they go with the same people complaining about noise will be pissed about the new prices to compensate R&D...

 

[_JP_]

"If your a real enthusiast you won't care about the noise!" Really? I mean I can't want a powerful card and have it not sound like a Freight train too?

"If your a real enthusiast you won't care about the fuel consumption!" Really? I mean I can't want a powerful car and have it not consume fuel like a space-shuttle too?
Now, trolling aside...
You must understand that the HD 6990 can suck up to ~375W (no OC), according to W1zzard's reviews, and unless you've never heard of physics, things like energy transformation, the conservation of energy, thermodynamics (partially) should help explain what that power consumption will translate to. But I hear you, I understand what you are saying. It seems for you, the only viable solution is to resort to water-cooling or triple-slot air coolers. And the result of that has already been summed up by {uZa}DOA.

 

[s{orpion]

revised?

o.k... it's obvious i am not the only user or reviewer concerned with the cooler's noise levels.

however, it does appear some may have taken this thread as a bash on Wizz/Techpowerup's review...

this is not the case.

as JP stated i am just venting.

i will message Mussels and see if he can change the forum thread title to:
"6990 fan noise acceptable?"

Whole hearted agree with 20mmRain... when you pay for the best you expect 'the best'
I do play with a headset (5.1 Roccat Kave... exceptional product)...
but, for people like myself with the pc sitting close to you that sound would cut through the ear pieces.... acceptable?

JP and DOA... you are probably right in that some people will always find something to complain about. this is not my case. i have the money and will spend it on a quality product.
IF/when it comes out with a custom cooler i will grab it quickly.
My new alternative was to crossfire the quieter Powercolor PCS+ 6970...
tried to purchase at Newegg today... but they had only one in stock.
Guess i am waiting for a better cooler on the 6990 LoL

much thank to all for feedback, comments, and letting me vent...
MAD respect to Wizz and Techpowerup
apologies for any misunderstandings

 

[Mr McC]

I don't undertand why you're venting, simply purchase something quieter. I already knew it was noisy after reading Wizz's review:

"Very noisy"

so no truth has been revealed to me, others may however choose to focus on different characteristics of the card.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/Radeon_HD_6990/26.html

 

[_JP_]

I did not take it as bashing. Anyway, stock coolers always tend to be louder due to being a more basic means of cooling the card, lowering the card's price. Same with CPU stock coolers. But that's the thing, in a month, at best, surely there will be other cards and cooling solutions to satisfy you.
My HD 5770 isn't the reference version and with that I lost voltage control, but gained a better cooler.

 

[TheMailMan78]

Who cares if its loud? Cards like this belong underwater anyway.

 

[erocker]

Most reviews say that it's loud, so what? With a large dual-gpu card where the GPU's are stuck on a 40nm manufacturing process. I would expect no less. I can't fathom why some would be surprised by this.

 

[GSquadron]

The moral of story is:
Real power always screams!

 

[temp02]

*snip*
Like, that's a big difference...
*snip*

Not trying to be picky but those 4dB difference equals to more than double the noise.
Irregardless, I still agree with what Mussels and you (_JP_) said.

 

[sneekypeet]

Who cares if its loud? Cards like this belong underwater anyway.

That would be true if you liked voiding the warranty by removing a well placed sticker covering a screw on the the back of the card