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Am I the only person who doesnt care about fan noise?

beany_bot

beany_bot

beany_bot

Soldato
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I see so often, over and over again, a massive, if not the main thing people consider when buying a GPU (or any fans) is noise.

I can't be the only person who doesn't give two damns about fan noise? Once my headphones go on when I'm gaming (how many of us don't use a headset?) I cant hear anything to do with the tower.

Im just amazed at how much of an important thing this is to so many people? Are we not seeing the woods for the trees? Is it really that important? Im sure to some it is for one reason or another. But im just amazed at how highly it ranks in peoples eyes.

Another one is power draw, or performance per watt. This is literally used in the top 3 things when marketing a card.

I don't give a damn again how much power my card draws (within reason). I want the best FPS for the money.

Ahh well, just rambling on and thinking out loud really. Just curious as to the reason behind someone choosing one gpu over another because it is 1dB quieter than another. to then whack on gaming headphones and crank the volume up to the max lol.
 
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I wear a headset for twitch-shooters but everything else I don't. Also I do things with my computer other than game, and it being noisy is less pleasant.
 
Yep definitely, you dont want a GPU that goes off like a hairdryer/jet engine and I've had a few even audible above headphones. For people who dont use headphones you dont need fan noise detracting from the game sound. Also if your only option is to have your PC on the desk next to you 9 times out of 10 the location of the fans equate to ear height. Therefore the quiter the better.

Silence is king almost goes hand in hand with a cable tidy system, coloured lights through the window etc.
Loads of people with case windows (or without case windows) want there system to look nice even if it sits at there feet for most of the time.

We are called enthusiasts.
 
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I've always used a headset and I do agree, I'm not fussed on the fan noise. Heck, I used to have 2xGTX Titans in SLi with about 2-3mm space between them and they really made a noise but like you said, once the headset is on, can't hear a damn thing.
 
I never use headphones so yes noisy fans matter. Until recently my case sat at head height just a few feet away so I spent quite a lot on quiet edition case fans so I don't want a loud gpu cooler undoing the improvements they made.
 
snips86x said:
I've always used a headset and I do agree, I'm not fussed on the fan noise. Heck, I used to have 2xGTX Titans in SLi with about 2-3mm space between them and they really made a noise but like you said, once the headset is on, can't hear a damn thing.
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I'm not sure how this compares but I once owned 2 x1900xts in crossfire and holy hell, it sounded like a vacuum cleaner was living inside my brain. Like with your Titan xs it was the space between the cards that really heated things up and made the fans spin up. Headphones did nothing.

They also spun up to 100% on boot up :D
 
I also don't use headphones and my PC is right next to me on the desk so fan noise is very important to me, particularly when I am doing light tasks and there is no noise to drown it out. In fact I find most air-cooled GPUs to be annoying and I keep wishing that they could be as good as my NH-D15S CPU cooler in terms of noise.

My Sapphire Tri-X R9 390X is the best I've tried so far although it could be better, the problem is that it dumps all the heat into the case which does not have the best airflow in the world (Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ATX) driving CPU temperatures up and making the fans spin faster.

This is why I'm thinking of a Hybrid GPU cooler for my next purchase and I hope that they really are much better, given that I have not had any first-hand experience with them.
 
If you wear closed headphones for all games = no problem

If you use speakers or have open headphones = Noise is a problem

I like having a quiet PC, I have a fractal R4 case and I have it silent at idle and quiet as possible in games because I use my HIFI most of the time.

Also the power draw / performance per watt, is almost the same thing as noise, more power = more watts to remove and more fan noise.
 
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Different folks different strokes I guess.

I suppose not caring about fan noise and power draw probably led my to buying the 390x lol. I run it on auto fans with afterburner too. Im sure it would drive some people bonkers but I cant hear it. I turn up the volume in my headset so the gunshots in games are "realistic volume".... Im pretty sure I'll be deaf soon....
 
beany_bot said:
I can't be the only person who doesn't give two damns about fan noise?
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I don't personally give an especial damn, although quieter fans for better performance is always nicer... and in my case it's just the case fans, as my GPU is watercooled.

However, I do still have to give a damn because I game as late as 2 or 3am and The Wife is trying to sleep!!
 
Semi-passive is ideal for me. If I'm gaming then yeah headphones on and it makes no difference. If I'm working though or just browsing, I want as little noise as possible.
 
I agree, as I wear headphones even when not gaming I don't really care about noise. I guess quieter is better, but it is right at the bottom of the list of priorities for me and I wouldn't pay extra for it.
 
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