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TEST RESULTS
BASELINE, with Integrated Graphics: First, here are the results of
our baseline results of the system with just its integrated graphics, without
a discrete video card. We'll also need the power consumption reading during
CPUBurn to estimate the actual power draw of discrete card later.
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VGA Test Bed: Baseline Results
(no discrete graphics card installed)
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System
State
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System Power
|
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AC
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DC (Est.)
|
|
Idle
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73W
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Unknown
|
|
CPUBurn
|
144W
|
115W
|
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Ambient temperature: 21°C
Ambient noise level: 11 dBA
System noise level: 12 dBA
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ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB:
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VGA Test Bed: ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB
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System State
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Fan Speed
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SPL
@1m
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GPU
Temp
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Mem. Temp
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Shader Temp
|
System Power
|
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AC
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DC (Est.)
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|
Idle
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990 RPM
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13 dBA
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76°C
|
85°C
|
82°C
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148W
|
118W
|
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CPUBurn
|
78°C
|
86°C
|
83°C
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223W
|
182W
|
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CPUBurn + ATITool
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1750 RPM
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20 dBA
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83°C
|
92°C
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90°C
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288W
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236W
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CPUBurn + FurMark
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1750 RPM
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20 dBA
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85°C
|
93°C
|
91°C
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305W
|
249W
|
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Ambient temperature: 21°C.
Temperatures recorded via GPU-Z.
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The ATI reference card cooler was surprisingly quiet when idle, just barely
increased the noise above the system's ambient level. Up close, the clicking
of the blower fan is audible, but shielded by a little distance, a side panel
and some foam, only a gentle hum was barely audible. When placed under load,
the fan speed almost doubled and the noise level increased to 20 dBA, sounding
like a small hair dryer, albeit smoother than most blower fans and unvarying
in pitch/tone. Honestly, it's not too bad, especially for a stock cooler.
The temperatures were a touch high, but nothing to be concerned about, especially
at the noise levels measured. The GPU heated up from 76°C idle to 85°C
on full load. The memory and shader temperatures increased by a similar amount.
We feel it's just the right balance of noise and cooling performance.
Asus Radeon HD 4870 512MB Matrix:
Our test results were rather unusual due to the nature of the card's fan control.
Idle, both fans were inactive to begin with, but once it heated up to a certain
point (varied depending on what iTracker mode was used), the main fan kicked
in at what we assume was its minimum speed: 2800 RPM. It remained operating
at this speed for a few minutes until the GPU cooled down sufficiently and then
promptly shut it self off. Given the way fan control was implemented, the card
was never quiet for more than a few minutes at a time.
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VGA Test Bed: Asus Radeon HD 4870 512MB Matrix
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|
System State
|
Fan 1 Speed
|
Fan 2 Speed
|
SPL
@1m
|
GPU
Temp
|
Mem. Temp
|
Power Temp
|
System Power
|
|
AC
|
DC (Est.)
|
|
Idle
|
0 / 2800 RPM
|
0 RPM
|
12 dBA / 20 dBA
|
54 - 70°C
|
60 - 67°C
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53 - 55°C
|
123 - 128W
|
97 - 101W
|
|
CPUBurn
|
55 - 70°C
|
60 - 67°C
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54 - 55°C
|
198 - 202W
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161 - 165W
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|
CPUBurn + ATITool
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3300 RPM
|
3100 RPM
|
27 dBA
|
76°C
|
75°C
|
77°C
|
298W
|
243W
|
|
CPUBurn + FurMark
|
3300 RPM
|
3160 RPM
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27 dBA
|
78°C
|
75°C
|
78°C
|
314W
|
255W
|
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Ambient temperature: 21°C.
Temperatures recorded via iTracker.
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With the main fan cycling on and off, the GPU temperature had a range of around
15°C. Power consumption readings varied depending on how hot the card was
and whether the main fan was on or off. The system noise level was 20 dBA when
the fan was active. The fan had poor undertones — up close it sounded rickety
like something was obstructing it. Simply loading GPU-Z also caused the fan
to inexplicably turn on, so we used the iTracker utility to measure the various
GPU temperatures.
The auxiliary fan was very similar — it had the same poor acoustic character
and high starting speed. When set to the "Auto" in iTracker, it turned
on almost immediately after 3D stress testing with ATITool or FurMark began
and ran at its minimum speed, resulting in a significant increase in noise level
to 27 dBA. The temperatures, while a fair improvement over ATI's reference card,
came at a heavy auditory cost. As we used an overclocked setting, it was unsurprising
that the card pulled about 10W AC more than ATI's card when placed under a full
load.
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