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Are hybrid cards actually quieter?

Mayh3M

Mayh3M

Mayh3M

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Recently I ditched my SLI setup because with the heat these days gaming was becoming uncomfortable. I'm looking to buy the EVGA 1080 Hybrid when it comes out in preparation for summer. I did some research on the 980 Ti Hybrid to get an idea of how AIO cards perform.

Based on reviews it seems that, while hybrid cards are much cooler, they might not actually be that much quieter.

That might be okay because I know that noise doesn't scale linearly. With my 980 TI ACX cooler for example, the difference between a 60 and 70% fan speed is the difference between a comfortable and uncomfortable level of noise (for me).

The consensus seems to be the hybrids are louder at idle, and quieter during load. But how much? I can't imagine the hybrids to be louder at idle than my Corsair H110i GT running on 'quiet' mode which is clearly audible but quiet enough to not be a distraction during focusing on say, a word document.

Please can users share their experience of noise levels in particular?
 
At the end of the day it's just a 120mm AIO bodged onto a GPU, so anyone with experience of a 120mm AIO will know how it sounds.

Personally I'd swap the fan and run a regular 120mm off the mobo and use my own fan profile because manufacturers idea of "quiet" fan profiles and my idea vary considerably.
 
Mayh3M said:
The consensus seems to be the hybrids are louder at idle, and quieter during load. But how much?
Click to expand...

It depends how far you chase genuine silence, used to run cpu/gpu aio, now went back to air with the massive Noctua and 970(0db on desktop)-on air it's quieter at idle, it's a genuine silent in my case(most you can hear is mechanacle storage if it spins up) to not very loud under load as my Evga 970 is factory set for low db with higher temps.
 
AIOs and a hybrid will likely be no different are very hit and miss in terms of noise level - I've experienced some where you can't really hear the pump realistically and others where the drone from it makes you want to smash the thing up :s
 
tommybhoy said:
It depends how far you chase genuine silence, used to run cpu/gpu aio, now went back to air with the massive Noctua and 970(0db on desktop)-on air it's quieter at idle, it's a genuine silent in my case(most you can hear is mechanacle storage if it spins up) to not very loud under load as my Evga 970 is factory set for low db with higher temps.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've had experience with systems with the same configuration. The 970 is amazingly quiet. Cards as powerful as the 980 Ti/1080 though are in a different league when it comes to noise which is understandable.
 
Telecaster said:
At the end of the day it's just a 120mm AIO bodged onto a GPU, so anyone with experience of a 120mm AIO will know how it sounds.

Personally I'd swap the fan and run a regular 120mm off the mobo and use my own fan profile because manufacturers idea of "quiet" fan profiles and my idea vary considerably.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I always do this. When I mentioned the 'quiet' setting, I was referring to the pump noise which can't be reduced below its minimum.
 
My 980ti Strix is currently set to max 42% fan speed, for me 45% is the limit before it gets offensive. It's obviously 0db up to 60c.

AIOs as mentioned are hit and miss with pump noise, unfortunately unlike fan noise it's not something you can change. If you could irradiate AIO pump noise then they would be awesome, as it is at the minute I try and stick to air cooled CPU and GPU.
 
The 1080 really disappointed me with its thermals. With such a lower TDP I thought it would run much cooler than the 980 Ti, but that's not the case it seems because of very high clocks and a higher concentration of heat (due to a physically smaller chip).
 
my Hybrid is noiseless. Loudest thing in my pc is... My main watercooling pump :D
 
Lord_ZED said:
my Hybrid is noiseless. Loudest thing in my pc is... My main watercooling pump :D
Click to expand...

So for near silence (or as close to as realistically achievable) you recommend your inno3d980TI ?

I have never experienced AIO either. Have big fat air cooler for CPU but considering Hybrid for my top card in SLI. Probably 2x 980Ti soon or 2x 1070 depends on price difference
 
Reviews account for the standard fan, I wouldnt keep the standard fan but saying that the only AIO I have at the moment is the H55 cooling my 290X and I still have the standard fan as it was only meant to be temporary but has stayed installed longer than I anticipated, the pump I got lucky with if I shut all my fans off I cannot hear it however the AIO fan is the nosiest fan in my build, I'll be selling it at some point this year otherwise I would swap the fan out

Moral of the story, when buying any form of AIO, budget for swapping out the supplied fan if you're sensitive to fan noise
 
All AIO noise in my experience has been with the pump, you can mess with the fan all you like but at the end of the day the pump is always audible.

It depends what you consider quiet, in my current build if I added an AIO then at idle it would be the noisiest component which would be annoying. At load however then I would expect an AIO cooled card to be quieter than an air cooled version.

I may try an AIO cooled card next and see how it does, if I cant live with pump noise then it will get binned off for an air cooled version.
 
I have a Titan X hybrid and its quite and cool best thing i bought..
really good in the summer not going over 60oc with hours of gaming with a big OC on the mem and core..

I had Titan X SLI with the normal blower cards and with them playing games in 4K it was like a hoover in my room no joke my GF hated it..

got a hybrid added to the top card loved it then quite and cool..
Sold the bottom..
Now i have a H100i on my CPU and Hybrid on my Gpu and i am happy..
will get the Next Titan Hybrid with my next card also never go back to air cooling
 
Do the EVGA Hybrids have variable pump speeds? What's the noise like compared to a normal CPU AIO pump at idle/quietest setting?
 
it all depends if u get a vega one, or make ur own hybrid with a h55 and G10 etc.

Then if u change the fans from the stock ones it can be deadly quiet or louder with mad cooling potential. but i find its quieter as the water alone helps keep the temp down then hen you add the fan onto its even better
 
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