I made some benchmarking, with various setups :
- Idle / Side panel closed:
- CPU: 34°C
- Motherboard: 35°C
- GPU: 40°C
- CPU fan speed: ~600RPM
- Case fans speed: ~400RPM
- GPU fan speed: ~1000RPM
- Idle / Side panel open:
- CPU: 27°C
- Motherboard: 28°C
- GPU: 32°C
- CPU fan speed: ~600RPM
- Case fans speed: ~400RPM
- GPU fan speed: ~1000RPM
- Prime95 / Side panel closed:
- CPU: 47°C
- Motherboard: 35°C
- GPU: 40°C
- CPU fan speed: ~700RPM
- Case fans speed: ~450RPM
- GPU fan speed: ~1000RPM
- Prime95 / Side panel open:
- CPU: 42°C
- Motherboard: 28°C
- GPU: 32°C
- CPU fan speed: ~600RPM
- Case fans speed: ~400RPM
- GPU fan speed: ~1000RPM
- Furmark / Side panel open:
- CPU: 36°C
- Motherboard: 37°C
- GPU: 82°C
- CPU fan speed: ~600RPM
- Case fans speed: ~400RPM
- GPU fan speed: ~2500RPM
Running Furmark with the side panel open was stable, but much too loud.
Running Furmark for a few minutes with the side panel closed got the GPU up to 95°C and then it crashed.
I tried installing a home-made cardboard fan duct to focus the flow from the intake fan onto the GPU and set the intake fan speed to a constant 800RPM, but it had little impact (a few degrees at best). I aslo tried sealing the expansions slots, but it didn't make much difference either.
Now, I'm pretty desperate. I can either try to get a replacement (and hope it will be better) or go for an aftermarket cooler like the Prolimatech MK-26, but it's precisely what I wanted to avoid by buying this card.
I can still look at the bright side : my CPU is very well-behaved (compared for instance to the Puget Serenity Pro)...
PS: It's a shame that BBCode does not allow tables
EDIT : I just reread
the Serenity Pro review and I was amazed to read that the GTX 670 fans at 2220RPM only produce 16dB. I'm running them at the same speed right now, and there's NO WAY IN HELL that they only produce 16dB, even with all the AcoustiPack in the world...