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TEST RESULTS
BASELINE, with Integrated Graphics: To establish a baseline, we measured
the power consumption of our test system using integrated graphics, at both
idle and while stressed with CPUburn
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VGA Test Bed: Baseline Results
(no discrete graphics card installed)
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System
State
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CPU
Temp
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System Power
|
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AC
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DC (Est.)
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Idle
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22°C
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73W
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Unknown
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CPUBurn
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39°C
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144W
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115W
|
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Ambient temperature: 21°C
Ambient noise level: 11 dBA
System noise level: 12 dBA
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Sparkle GeForce GTS 250 1GB:
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VGA Test Bed: Sparkle GeForce GTS 250 1GB
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System
State
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VGA Fan Speed
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SPL
@1m
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GPU
Temp
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CPU
Temp
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System Power
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AC
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DC (Est.)
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Idle
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35%
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14 dBA
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40°C
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23°C
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97W
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74W
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CPUBurn
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40°C
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41°C
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170W
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137W
|
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CPUBurn + ATITool
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63%
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24 dBA
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73°C
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49°C
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246W
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202W
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CPUBurn + FurMark
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86%
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27 dBA
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84°C
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52°C
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292W
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239W
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Ambient temperature: 21°C.
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The Sparkle GeForce GTS 250 acoustics were more or less like a typical midrange
graphics card. Idle, it was fairly quiet, increasing the measured SPL of our
test system by only 2 dB, though it did hum and click somewhat. Luckily, much
of this was masked once behind the case's side panel. Upon stress, the fan sped
up almost immediately, becoming increasingly buzzy and whiny. The system noise
level topped out an annoying 27 dBA with CPUBurn and FurMark running.
The heatsink kept the GPU very cool, reaching a maximum of just 73°C when
stressed with ATITool. We would have preferred the fan not spin quite so fast,
as temperatures in the low 80's are perfectly acceptable in our book. When stressed
with FurMark, the GPU temperature maxed out at 84°C and the system power
consumption neared 300W AC.
Fan Control
Our sample did not ship with any utility for monitoring or fan control. For
those who wish to control the fan's speed directly, it is possible to do so
with RivaTuner.
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RivaTuner: Fan control tab.
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While the fan's speed can be manipulated in a linear progression between 35%
and 100% with RivaTuner, actually there are only three or four 'stages' of fan
speed. For example, the 35% and 40% setting sound identical — the fan speed
does not actually change until it is set past a threshold. By contrast, the
card's automatic fan control has a smoother, more extensive range.
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