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Test Results: Radeon HD 4870
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System Measurements
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System State
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Idle
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CPU + GPU Load
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System Fan Speeds,
Top / Bottom
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9V / 9V (low)
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12V / 9V (low)
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CPU Temp
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27°C
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40°C
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41°C
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SB Temp
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42°C
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52°C
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51°C
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HD Temp
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36°C
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37°C
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36°C
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GPU Temp
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66°C
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84°C
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84°C
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GPU Fan Speed
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890 RPM
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1680 RPM
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1640 RPM
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SPL@1m
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22 dBA
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25~26 dBA
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26~27 dBA
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System Power
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114 W
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308W
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308W
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CPU fan set to 100% speed.
Ambient temperature: 23°C.
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At idle our HD 4870 configuration produced a fairly low 22 dBA@1m with the stock fans set to 9V. The CPU and graphics card rested at comfortable temperatures, but the hard drive was warmer than usual due to the lack of direct airflow (the 18 cm floor fans do not blow over the drive cages). A minor amount of vibration was passed from the hard drive to the case but not enough to affect the acoustics.
Under load, the GPU fan speed approached 1700 RPM causing a 3~4 dB increase in noise which is quite low for this test system. While not quiet, the HD 4870 stock cooler is among the better sounding blower fan models so the acoustic profile consisted mostly of a soft, hissing type sound and much of the clicking we heard earlier from the floor fans blended away. Temperature increases were modest, 13°C for the CPU, 18°C for the GPU, and 10°C for the Southbridge chip sitting directly beside the graphics card. Increasing the top exhaust fan to 12V did little to help.
Our HD 4870 test system measured 22 dBA@1m when idle and 25~26 dBA@1m under load.
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HD 4870 Configuration Comparison (Load)
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Case
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SilverStone Raven RV03
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Fractal Define R2
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Antec P280
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Antec Solo II
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System Fan Speeds
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top, bottom @9V/low
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rear, front, side @12V
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top, rear, front @low
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rear, front @12V*
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CPU Temp
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39°C
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48°C
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45°C
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45°C
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SB Temp
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51°C
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45°C
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52°C
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47°C
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HD Temp
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36°C
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34°C
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28°C
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34°C
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GPU Temp
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83°C
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84°C
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85°C
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82°C
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GPU Fan
Speed
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1680 RPM
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1710 RPM
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1950 RPM
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1880 RPM
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SPL@1m
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25~26 dBA
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26~27 dBA
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27 dBA
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27~28 dBA
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CPU fan set to 100% speed
All temperature results adjusted to 22°C ambient.
*Nexus 120 mm fan added as bottom intake.
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In our single graphics card configuration, the RV03 proved to be superior to the best crop of recently tested cases. The airflow scheme with the rotated motherboard proved to be a boon, particularly for the CPU which ran a full 6°C cooler than in the Antec P280. GPU thermal performance was similar to the Fractal Define R2 which was impressive as we tested that case with a side fan blowing directly over the video card. It's also notable that the RV03 accomplished this with a lower overall noise level than either the Define R2 or P280. The noise advantage is likely due to the massive floor fans being more efficient at delivering airflow and the fact that they are buried at the bottom of the case, reducing their audibility. The only sore-point was the Southbridge — the heat emitted by it had a more difficult time exhausting with the layout rotated by 90 degrees.
Note: due to changes in our test system, results from previous cases like the Raven RV02 and Fortress FT02 were omitted. As the core designs are so similar we believe their performance would be comparable to the RV03.
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