Radeon HD 4870 - Noise?

[achitophel]

Has anyone seen any hard data on the noise level of the 4870s?

Most of the reviews ignore the issue entirely, Anands implies that it is bad whenever the card is under load, whilst Hothardware states that it is only a problem at start-up, but almost inaudible after that...

I like everything else about it and would buy one now if I could be sure it was quiet...just can't deal with ruining the immersion factor in games by having a turbine in the room with me

 

[toxic]

i was looking for that data also....I sooo hope it not like the 1900XTX's....or mine wont be staying long!

 

[Jakus]

I promise You Guys it will be quiet

 

[Deluxe1]

If its anything like the 260 / 280 at full pelt you'll be dissapointed.

 

[Markus123]

I don't have any "hard data" (i.e. numbers), I do however have a 4870 and a love of quiet PCs. The stock cooler, for me, was "OK" at idle but unacceptable (FAR from quiet) under load, luckily I had a spare Accelero AC-S1 r2 and it fits the 4870.

ATI 4870 + Accelero AC-S1 r2 + 120mm 600RPM fan (attached with zip-ties) = Quietness and power ! (and it's 30c cooler under load, 84c -> 54c)

 

[jrodga2k5]

Will probably cool identically to the 3870's which you would hear spin up to max fan for 1second on boot and then after that you wouldnt hear it

 

[achitophel]

I don't have any "hard data" (i.e. numbers), I do however have a 4870 and a love of quiet PCs. The stock cooler, for me, was "OK" at idle but unacceptable (FAR from quiet) under load, luckily I had a spare Accelero AC-S1 r2 and it fits the 4870.

ATI 4870 + Accelero AC-S1 r2 + 120mm 600RPM fan (attached with zip-ties) = Quietness and power ! (and it's 30c cooler under load, 84c -> 54c)

Thanks for that - really helpful!

I might go down the same route and buy an accelero S1 at the same time - I think they have them for sale here as well. Can I ask:-

which 120m fan you used (e.g. Sharkoon etc?)

what zip ties are (apologies if that it a noobish q)

 

[Phatzy]

what zip ties are (apologies if that it a noobish q)

cable ties

 

[Jakus]

I don't have any "hard data" (i.e. numbers), I do however have a 4870 and a love of quiet PCs. The stock cooler, for me, was "OK" at idle but unacceptable (FAR from quiet) under load, luckily I had a spare Accelero AC-S1 r2 and it fits the 4870.

ATI 4870 + Accelero AC-S1 r2 + 120mm 600RPM fan (attached with zip-ties) = Quietness and power ! (and it's 30c cooler under load, 84c -> 54c)

That's not the cooler's fault, It's the fan profile/lookup table....no speed until too late then 100%, Just the same as the HD3850, do We see a pattern here ?

 

[Markus123]

Yeah cable ties, just to hold the 120mm in place, I'm using a Nexus 'real-silent' 120mm fan @ 7v/680RPM

Exactly like in this picture (the picture isn't mine, but the cooler/fan/attachment is the same - hope it's okay to post):

That's not the cooler's fault, It's the fan profile/lookup table....no speed until too late then 100%, Just the same as the HD3850, do We see a pattern here ?

My main point still stands though, regardless of heat it's a whiney little cooler, fine for people not fussed with noise... I'm very fussy however and even in low/2d mode it was a little annoying. My whole computer is as quiet as I can make it (without watercooling) and I'm not letting a graphics card ruin that . The accelero is so cheap and makes such a big difference in noise if you like quietness it's a great choice.

 

[carrot1401]

Thats the hole dimensions to fit the Vortexx cooler. So would the Akasa AK-VC03-BLUV Vortexx NEO VGA Cooler fit?? According to OCUK it fits the 3870...

 

[chaosophy]

Worried about this also. My 2900XT was far too loud so I slapped a HR-03 on it. Annoyingly this doesn't look like it will fit on the new cards, so I'll probably need to look at buying something else.

 

[Darkwave]

Worried about this also. My 2900XT was far too loud so I slapped a HR-03 on it. Annoyingly this doesn't look like it will fit on the new cards, so I'll probably need to look at buying something else.

The HR-03 GT has been confirmed to fit.

 

[chaosophy]

I'm talking about the HR-03/R600 that's currently on my 2900XT, which I'm fairly sure will not work. The GPU is rotated at 90 degrees.

edit: good to know the GT one fits as as a cooler I do quite like it, means I can reuse the fan I have as well.

 

[Darkwave]

I'm talking about the HR-03/R600 that's currently on my 2900XT, which I'm fairly sure will not work. The GPU is rotated at 90 degrees.

edit: good to know the GT one fits as as a cooler I do quite like it, means I can reuse the fan I have as well.

Ah sorry, I thought you said 3800.

 

[achitophel]

Yeah cable ties, just to hold the 120mm in place, I'm using a Nexus 'real-silent' 120mm fan @ 7v/680RPM

Exactly like in this picture (the picture isn't mine, but the cooler/fan/attachment is the same - hope it's okay to post):

My main point still stands though, regardless of heat it's a whiney little cooler, fine for people not fussed with noise... I'm very fussy however and even in low/2d mode it was a little annoying. My whole computer is as quiet as I can make it (without watercooling) and I'm not letting a graphics card ruin that . The accelero is so cheap and makes such a big difference in noise if you like quietness it's a great choice.

Thanks again for that Markus - that looks like exactly what I need! Will use a noctua rather than a nexus, as I find they are even more quiet!

And to the over-zealous mod that deleted the pic Markus posted, I appreciate that the posting may not be in accordance with board policy, but if you check you'll see just ordered £300 of kit from you and I can assure you that that order would not have been placed if I couldn't have physically seen the card with the HS applied.

 

[toxic]

got my 4870 in now and I cant really hear much noise form the GPU fan when gaming...it spins up for a few seconds when booting up....but is pretty quiet at the moment. Its no worse than a 8800GTX which ive used for over 1 1/2yrs now.