* 25/02/2011 EXTENSION! * DEAL OF CENTURY: Asus GeForce GTX 480 1536MB Graphics Card with 2 FREE

zAndy1 · 3 Feb 2011 at 19:01

About to install mine, you guys are making me very nervous

Would also like to know if I'll be able to return it if I install it and can't live with the noise it makes

[TW]Fox · 3 Feb 2011 at 19:01

Spudgun said:
Agreed - my 280 is inaudible for normal desktop work.

The 480 is much louder than the 280. Like fox, i trusted the reviews and expected similar noise levels to the 280 and am a little disappointed. Just thinking about whether I can live with the noise or not, but initial reactions are that it will be a no.

What else can we do but live with it? It's either that or put it on MM.

Spudgun · 3 Feb 2011 at 19:01

jigger said:
A £100 more for a GTX570 ?

Yes, I agree that it sounds like madness - but peace and harmony in my home office is something that I am willing to pay for.

strumpusplunket · 3 Feb 2011 at 19:02

[TW]Fox;18384866 said:
Yes I have two monitors but what difference does that make to idle temps?

I've got a well ventilated Coolermaster ATCS201 with two 80mm intake fans and 2 80mm exhuast vans.

Same as with my 460, I'd guess. It doesn't fully clock down to the lowest 2D clock speeds with 2 monitors. Clocks down to 405MHz, and idles at 40C, but with only 1 monitor it goes down to 51MHz and idles at 27C.

Some known issue with the 4xx cards, I think and the down-clocking with dual displays.

jigger · 3 Feb 2011 at 19:02

Its not all about the graphs, its a combination the pitch and DB rating witch depending on what sites you read needs to be taken with salt.

Nvidia have reviewer guild lines, designed to show the cards in the best possible light.

I find it amazing how people expect a 350watt card with a 35watt delta screamer fan to be quite

Spudgun · 3 Feb 2011 at 19:03

[TW]Fox;18384889 said:
What else can we do but live with it? It's either that or put it on MM.

Any online purchase can be returned under the DSR regulations. As long as you've taken good care of everything and are happy to pay the return postage you've not lost too much

kitch9 · 3 Feb 2011 at 19:04

[TW]Fox;18384866 said:
Yes I have two monitors but what difference does that make to idle temps?

I've got a well ventilated Coolermaster ATCS201 with two 80mm intake fans and 2 80mm exhuast vans.

New cards in this era of gpu accelerated windows, and videos won't clock down with a second monitor attached.

Try disconnecting a monitor and see how that affects things.

[timko] · 3 Feb 2011 at 19:05

[TW]Fox;18384812 said:
The same review sites had graphs showing it to be as loud as a GTX280, another card people complained was loud. I had a 280 and didn't feel the noise to be an issue. Therefore I took the information I read and thought that if it has similar noise levels to a 280 it would be considered loud but I'd be able to tolerate it.

This isn't even in the same ballpark as my 280.

Does your 280 have the stock reference cooler?

kitch9 · 3 Feb 2011 at 19:05

jigger said:
Its not all about the graphs, its a combination the pitch and DB rating witch depending on what sites you read needs to be taken with salt.

Nvidia have reviewer guild lines, designed to show the cards in the best possible light.

I find it amazing how people expect a 350watt card with a 35watt delta screamer fan to be quite

I've owned a lot of high-end video cards in the past and it is pretty much the same as any of them, if not better.

I'm well surprised after reading some of the reviews.

strumpusplunket · 3 Feb 2011 at 19:06

Spudgun said:
Any online purchase can be returned under the DSR regulations. As long as you've taken good care of everything and are happy to pay the return postage you've not lost too much

So, we can definitely do this even if it's been opened, installed and tested?

As I say, if not, I'm not even taking the risk of opening mine after the reports from you, Fox and Buckster.

I have a HAF932, which has great airflow over the GPU slots, but it's also very quiet with its large and slow fans, meaning I'll no doubt mentally latch on to any excess noise above the gentle-ish whoosh of the case fans...

Spudgun · 3 Feb 2011 at 19:07

[timko];18384927 said:
Does your 280 have the stock reference cooler?

Mine does - it is a bog standard Point of View GTX 280

zAndy1 · 3 Feb 2011 at 19:07

It's not the end of the world anyway, put a Zalman cooler on it, problem solved

[TW]Fox · 3 Feb 2011 at 19:08

Spudgun said:
Any online purchase can be returned under the DSR regulations. As long as you've taken good care of everything and are happy to pay the return postage you've not lost too much

Well obviously its in perfect condition - it's been in use for like 30 minutes. Hmm, I guess thats an option. But where to go from here? I wanted the performance this card offers

kitch9 said:
New cards in this era of gpu accelerated windows, and videos won't clock down with a second monitor attached.

Try disconnecting a monitor and see how that affects things.

Wow, stunning difference. It's now idling at just 43c! The fan is still ridiculous, mind.

[timko];18384927 said:
Does your 280 have the stock reference cooler?

Yes it does.

[TW]Fox · 3 Feb 2011 at 19:11

zAndy1 said:
It's not the end of the world anyway, put a Zalman cooler on it, problem solved

If this didnt void my warranty thats exactly what I'd do.

I'm now thinking about either a 570 or waiting for the 560 Ti SOC instead

mattjd · 3 Feb 2011 at 19:13

If the stock cooler is too loud, search for this little gem - Inno3D i-Chill Hawk Graphics Card Cooler. For 20 quid it looks great!

[TW]Fox · 3 Feb 2011 at 19:14

mattjd said:
If the stock cooler is too loud, search for this little gem - Inno3D i-Chill Hawk Graphics Card Cooler. For 20 quid it looks great!

It's £220 if the card fails and you dont have a warranty..

zAndy1 · 3 Feb 2011 at 19:14

[TW]Fox;18384977 said:
If this didnt void my warranty thats exactly what I'd do.

I'm now thinking about either a 570 or waiting for the 560 Ti SOC instead

That's the problem though, pretty sure it does invalidate the warranty putting a 3rd party cooler on

Sat with it here thinking do I or don't I.....

kitch9 · 3 Feb 2011 at 19:18

[TW]Fox;18384945 said:
Well obviously its in perfect condition - it's been in use for like 30 minutes. Hmm, I guess thats an option. But where to go from here? I wanted the performance this card offers

Wow, stunning difference. It's now idling at just 43c! The fan is still ridiculous, mind.

Yes it does.

I've set a manual fan profile in afterburner that keeps the fan at 30% up to 45C and then gradually ramps up to 65% to 85C, then ramps up to 100% at 100C which is just below the cards safety threshold of 105C.

Just tested heaven and at that profile it hangs around 82-83C full load.

Pic of profile if you are interested.

zAndy1 · 3 Feb 2011 at 19:19

Did you lot receive FarCry 2 btw, no sign of it in my package

EDIT: Ignore that, found it in the box

[TW]Fox · 3 Feb 2011 at 19:20

kitch9 said:
I've set a manual fan profile in afterburner that keeps the fan at 30% up to 45C and then gradually ramps up to 65% to 85C, then ramps up to 100% at 100C which is just below the cards safety threshold of 105C.

Trouble is if I put the fan at 30% with 2 monitors plugged in the idle creeps above 70c.

Edit: Yes, I received Far Cry 2.

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*** 25/02/2011 EXTENSION! *** DEAL OF CENTURY: Asus GeForce GTX 480 1536MB Graphics Card with 2 FREE

* 25/02/2011 EXTENSION! * DEAL OF CENTURY: Asus GeForce GTX 480 1536MB Graphics Card with 2 FREE