GTX 480: Your verdict

[apoppin]

The verdict:

i like my GTX 480

it is hot and power hungry .. but it IS the single fastest GPU and it overclocks very well

let me put this in perspective

i bought both a 8800-GTS640 and a 2900XT and i kept the 2900XT (and returned the GTS) because i got Orange Box with it and it was $60 cheaper. i liked that card (it kept me warm on cold winter mornings when i crossfired it with an o/c'd 2900pro). Later i got a 8800GTX because i always prefer a single-GPU solution if possible

But *imagine* if 2900XT had come out and beat up on 8800-GTX
- that is what Nvidia has managed to pull off ... their architecture is sound just like r600's was sound.

 

[crusher]

 

[apoppin]

it's too bad there is no way to recycle power - except as heat

i loved my 4870-X3 TriFire on those cold Winter nights and mornings; but now i have to put them away in favor of my 5870 CrossFire setup
--4870-X3 TriFire is totally eclipsed in every way, except as a space heater where it excelled

Worst of all, my GTX 480 just doesn't replace 4870-X3 as a decent heater for my room
.. i guess i will just have to get another GTX for SLi Surround Heating

 

[Savoy]

Lmao@that pic of nvidias ceo. Maybe he keeps one in the trunk of his Ferrari for when he wants to grill on the go. Lol

 

[vick1000]

1: Bad

Why? It's FX5800 all over again. A card that uses 50% more power than a HD5870, for ~10% more performance (sometimes), is a failure in my book. The new architechture is either flawed, or it's just too soon to go for such a focus on tesselation while sacraficing potential of more popular and current API.

 

[Tabasco69]

Very bad for all of us imo, stagnation is to ensue, I expect minor refresh from AMD if that cause really they don't need to improve that much to best NV....and prices will most likely not drop now from AMD, why would they when it wouldn't make any sense.

 

[SmokeRngs]

Oh please with the paper launch. The 5870 was the paperest of paper launches in the history of graphics cards. It took what? 5 months to see them in stock on newegg without hitting the lottery and signing in one day JUST as newegg got in their next shipment before all 20 of them sold out an hour later. Why do you think the price went from 399 to 459 on those things? Hint, it aint due to demand. More likely due to supply, or lack thereof. Stop with the fanboism. Both companies got their issues.

Some of you guys live in a dream world I swear to god it makes me lol, seriously. Amd jad a very very small amount of cards at launch and for months after that as well. In fact it wasn't until just recently that they got a decent amount of volume out. The same allocation issues nvidia had amd had also. They both use tsmc for fab.

So ya they sold out at etailers as soon as they got them sure, that's what happens when a place like newegg gets like 20 pieces in stock and people are waiting weeks. Take off the fanboy glasses for a minute and get a clue. Amd's launch back in the fall was pathetic and everyone knows so please be quite with that bullshit.

Nvidia'a initial allocation should be a bit better but not by much.

If I have 10,000 people waiting for months to buy my product but I only piecemeal a few hundred units out at a time over the span of five months does that make me a smashing success? Or is that simply my ineptness in being able to adequately fill my initial order's? Just giving an example since I don't know the exact numbers.

Yes nvidia did a true paper launch on Friday which is no surprise since we all knew retail availability wasn't going to be for a couple of weeks after anyway. Semantics aside my only point was that the reason you haven't been able to buy a 5000 series card for months after the initial batch sold out was because amd couldn't supply any real volume what so ever. Not because of the overwhelming demand that amd fans like to decree and scream from the mountain tops.

lol at the guys saying demand was the reason for the 5870 not being available in stores. paper launch. my comment stands and is well known amongst anyone in the hardware industry. And as the other guy said, it is JUST within the past month or so that readily available 5870 cards are in stock on a daily basis at major etailers. You still to this day can NOT find one at ANY brick and mortar store.

While i do agree that the gtx480 will be another 7800gtx 512 in that it will go to crazy expensive prices and be hard to find, it would be disingenuous to say that the 5870 was not an uber paper launch for at least 4 or 5 months.

So, we have people stating the 5xxx series was a paper launch. Then one of the people saying it was a paper launch admits that there were units available at launch and that there have been units slowly but steadily coming out since the launch.

First of all, I don't think you people have any clue what a paper launch is. It's extremely hilarious since a paper launch of the of GTX470 and GTX480 was shoved in your faces. A paper launch means there are no units available at launch. This is obviously not the case for the 5xxx series as many people got cards the same day and a slow but steady stream of cards has come out since then. If this wasn't the case, there wouldn't be anyone here with the cards. I don't think anyone is going to argue that the supply of cards wasn't as high as most would like to have seen.

I happen to know a little about economics and specifically about supply and demand. There was obviously a much larger demand for the cards as prices for the cards went up almost immediately compared to the supply. This doesn't mean there was huge demand where everyone wanted a card but it doesn't mean there were practically no cards to be found either. As usual, the truth happens to be in between. It was actually stated from the beginning that there would not be as many Radeon 5xxx units as AMD would like due to manufacturing issues. They were completely up front with this and stated approximately how many units they would be able to bring out and an approximate time before full volume would be available.

Now, back to paper launches. The people calling the Radeon 5xxx series a paper launch either need to reread the definition of a paper launch as they misunderstood it or they need to stop trying to redefine the phrase. A paper launch means that there are no units to be had at the time the product launches. That is the definition of a paper launch. Now, compare the actual definition of paper launch to what you saw with the initial release of the Radeon 5xxx series. After you're done with that and realize how foolish you look for calling the Radeon 5xxx a paper launch, look at the Fermi launch. You should feel doubly embarrassed for calling the Radeon 5xxx series launch a paper launch considering you have a true paper launch staring you right in the face.

 

[Vexerz]

So, we have people stating the 5xxx series was a paper launch. Then one of the people saying it was a paper launch admits that there were units available at launch and that there have been units slowly but steadily coming out since the launch.

snip

Now, back to paper launches. The people calling the Radeon 5xxx series a paper launch either need to reread the definition of a paper launch as they misunderstood it or they need to stop trying to redefine the phrase. A paper launch means that there are no units to be had at the time the product launches. That is the definition of a paper launch. Now, compare the actual definition of paper launch to what you saw with the initial release of the Radeon 5xxx series. After you're done with that and realize how foolish you look for calling the Radeon 5xxx a paper launch, look at the Fermi launch. You should feel doubly embarrassed for calling the Radeon 5xxx series launch a paper launch considering you have a true paper launch staring you right in the face.

Qft sometimes I wonder if people believe they can post a false statement enough times they can convince others its true. Should PM the two posters imo just so they can stop making themselves look foolish.

 

[BDV]

Make a pic with George Feremin... err I mean Foremen.

 

[TehQuick]

You should feel doubly embarrassed for calling the Radeon 5xxx series launch a paper launch considering you have a true paper launch staring you right in the face.

Semantics Who cares about the proper definitions? We are not linguists, we are [H]ardware enthusiasts... besides, this is totally OT in this thread

 

[alg7_munif]

1. Price, WTF for both cards.
2. Spec, 470 was good as was. 480, WTF are they thinking?
3. POwer hungry
4. HOT!

As to the info I posted here 2m before launch, according to my source, it was 512SP up until 1m ago when they decide quanity was more important. Bleh, bullshit, they didn't wanna waste money debugging a new stepping which might have FIXed most of their woes, mainly power and heat. Power more so than heat as it most likely would still be hot, just not as hot as it is now.

2m before launch?

On the 25th.:

GUessing by this thread, noone ahs seen this post yet

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1505872

The GTX480 specs from Giga-Byte says 512SPs fo the 480, not 480.

On the 22nd:

As to the 480Shader, I stand by my posts of saying 512 and Friday the world will know.

And price/performance DOES NOT mean it is faster which you and others have claimed it was at launch.

 

[AthlonXP]

Kinda like we have come full circle to about 7 years ago all over again:

 

[XMAN245]

2m before launch?

On the 25th.:



On the 22nd:

Yes, I posted what was leaked to me here on these forums. Having never been given different info since the day posted I stuck with the info I had on hand about the cards. Try digging a bit further back why dont cha.

Well, about 6 weeks ago anyways.
http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1035355056&postcount=90

 

[Gorankar]

Based on the benches, MSRP, and expected poor availability I gave it a slightly less than neutral score of 4.
If availability proves better than I expect, the 480 will rise to a bit better than neutral 6 in my book. It may make a 7 if they can get the MSRP down some and get enough inventory out there that we don't see any people complaining they can't get a card.
If they end up selling for excessively more than the MSRP, and/or are not in wide availability six weeks from now I will revise it to a 2.
If it costs too much more than MSRP and is just not available to buy, there is little point to it. It just does not outperform the 5870 enough to justify a price higher than the MSRP Nv has put out there.

(By comparison the FX series/2800/3800 were 1-2s, 8800 and 4870 were both 10s, and the 280 and 5870 were 8s. I would have scored the 280 as a 9 if Nv had priced it at anything close to a fair price at launch, and the 5870 a 9 as well if it had had better availability.)


Headphone gamer with well ventilated case housing a 1000 watt PSU here. Power, heat, and noise, while still considerations, are not as big an issue to me as they might be to others.

 

[ChronoDetector]

I waited 6 months for this shit and only to be disappointed. Its bullshit this card uses more power, generates more heat than a 5970 and only offers 10% more than a 5870 and is 6 months late which is less than impressive. WTF NVIDIA. Looks like I'll be grabbing a Sapphire 5870 Vapor-X and I don't want a card that peaks over 90C in gaming and a loud obnoxious fan while gaming.

 

[Kowan]

5

Temp/Heat/Power Consumption/Noise

^ Same vote here.

 

[djt]

Well, yeah. Kyle and this crew are certainly not even remotely in the realm of question or doubt as far as I'm concerned.

Saw post 228 as well.

It's funny you brought this up, I just saw this comment from one of the savvy individuals over at AVSIM -

http://forums1.avsim.net/index.php?showtopic=276675

“The noise results as measured by certain sites is questionable. Does anyone here have their PC 2" away from their ear? No, didn't think so. In that case you can ignore the B.S. 70 db claims from sites like TardOCP.”

Then again this is the same imbecile that claims he is god's gift to high end hardware since he spends his days fixing Pentium 3/Windows 98 machines that regularly see word document duty, lol.

 

[Zodan]

Stability > Power

So went with 480gtx, let's see if I will be disappointed or not.

 

[Q-BZ]

It's funny you brought this up, I just saw this comment from one of the savvy individuals over at AVSIM -

http://forums1.avsim.net/index.php?showtopic=276675

“The noise results as measured by certain sites is questionable. Does anyone here have their PC 2" away from their ear? No, didn't think so. In that case you can ignore the B.S. 70 db claims from sites like TardOCP.”

Then again this is the same imbecile that claims he is god's gift to high end hardware since he spends his days fixing Pentium 3/Windows 98 machines that regularly see word document duty, lol.

The only places and people I see those kinds of remarks from are, frankly, from Nvidia fanboys. Go to EVGA's forums or any of the other Nvidia brand forums and you'll see tons of that stuff of furied fanboys just trashing any outlet like HOCP for saying anything shy of 10/10, gold, worship, perfect.

They then cite Guru3D or other outlets that may have had a touch more positive spin on their reviews...not knocking them, they're a good outlet...and it's fanboy confirmation bias.

"That depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is."

^^ That's basically the level of stretching and reading into words I've seen some fanboys try to attempt with some of this.

It is what it is, folks. The numbers don't lie.

It's an awesome card but it's a heat and power hog and it makes noise that you are going to hear, especially if you turn the fans up which you will HAVE to do unless you go watercooling. All facts.

You can nitpick by how many decibels and how far away and all that other BS all day if you want, but it is what it is.



Fanboy confirmation bias: The review outlets that sounded the most positive are more credible than those that didn't and the "less positive" ones get trashed.


We've even seen some of that around here, unfortunately.

I love some of these guys that are posting their own private reviews and benchmarks like that's supposed to mean something.

Who are these people? No offense, but I'll take the word of a well established outlet like this place, or anandtech, or Guru3D and so on any day of the week over that of a screen name on some board.


I've had good experiences with both brands. My timing has just happened to work out where the last two cards I went for were Nvidias. 8800GT and then GTX 280.

Fanboys don't get it. It's a cycle. Right now we're in an ATI cycle again. 6-12 months from now the pendulum will probably be swinging back Nvidia's way again. That's just the way it is. You can't time the markets.

Nothing would make me happier than to see both brands step it up against each other. We need the competition to be tighter, nastier, and better so we can all benefit with better products and some MUCH needed price drops.

 

[rincewind]

Nothing would make me happier than to see both brands step it up against each other. We need the competition to be tighter, nastier, and better so we can all benefit with better products and some MUCH needed price drops.

I hear that. I'm still trying to find another killer deal on a 5850 in the UK. I can afford the current price (shelling out for a TorqX SSD and a Dell U2410, after all) but I know they've been hiked....still mighty tempted to just order one though, especially with 2 full weeks of free time. I'd consider a 470 at the right price if they can sort out idle power usage - not that bothered about load power and I watercool as a matter of course so noise is a moot point. However, at £90 more than a 5850 they can keep the smegging thing.

 

[J Macker]

Dang. I'm having second thoughts about giving it a 7.
I need to change my vote to a 3.

10 = Wow. nVidia is king again.
9 = Substantially better than competition
8 = Much better than competition
7 = C, matches competition
6 = D, matches competition, but 6 months late
5 = F, matches competition, 6 months late and no Eyefinity on a single card
4 = late, hot, expensive, no eyefinity for $300?!
3 = late, hot, expensive, I bought a Radeon 5870/5850 and have been playing Eyefinity for 6 months!
2 = Geforce 5900
1 = at least it has PhysX!


If I wanted something hot, late and expensive, I'd get a sexy hooker!

 

[Kangg]

I gave it a 6.

Too much, too little, too late imo.

Too much... heat and way too much power required to run it. Price is meh too, needs to be lowered.

Too little... not near enough improvement so far compared to AMD 58xx series cards and not enough of an improvement over my GTX 295.

Too late ... this one speaks for itself.

 

[LeninGHOLA]

5, it isn't terrible but it isn't great either. I'm just glad there is competition whether or not it turns into a price war.

 

[XMAN245]

The only places and people I see those kinds of remarks from are, frankly, from Nvidia fanboys. Go to EVGA's forums or any of the other Nvidia brand forums and you'll see tons of that stuff of furied fanboys just trashing any outlet like HOCP for saying anything shy of 10/10, gold, worship, perfect.

They then cite Guru3D or other outlets that may have had a touch more positive spin on their reviews...not knocking them, they're a good outlet...and it's fanboy confirmation bias.

"That depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is."

^^ That's basically the level of stretching and reading into words I've seen some fanboys try to attempt with some of this.

It is what it is, folks. The numbers don't lie.

It's an awesome card but it's a heat and power hog and it makes noise that you are going to hear, especially if you turn the fans up which you will HAVE to do unless you go watercooling. All facts.

You can nitpick by how many decibels and how far away and all that other BS all day if you want, but it is what it is.



Fanboy confirmation bias: The review outlets that sounded the most positive are more credible than those that didn't and the "less positive" ones get trashed.


We've even seen some of that around here, unfortunately.

I love some of these guys that are posting their own private reviews and benchmarks like that's supposed to mean something.

Who are these people? No offense, but I'll take the word of a well established outlet like this place, or anandtech, or Guru3D and so on any day of the week over that of a screen name on some board.


I've had good experiences with both brands. My timing has just happened to work out where the last two cards I went for were Nvidias. 8800GT and then GTX 280.

Fanboys don't get it. It's a cycle. Right now we're in an ATI cycle again. 6-12 months from now the pendulum will probably be swinging back Nvidia's way again. That's just the way it is. You can't time the markets.

Nothing would make me happier than to see both brands step it up against each other. We need the competition to be tighter, nastier, and better so we can all benefit with better products and some MUCH needed price drops.

I agree to an extent, but I too take issue with the noise and heat testing. Who really plays games with the cards 6" from their ears? Why is the setup not in a case? I am not trying to say the cards are not loud, far from, but it would be nice if the heat and noise tests were done in a fashion as to which 90% of all gamers have their rigs in. Cases closed up and sitting on the floor or on the desktop and place the microphone at about the same location, as best as can be placed, as where someone sitting in a chair would be then give us the results. That is more real world than their sitting on a open table top is. I love the [H] gaming reviews because they play the games and dont hold back, but the heat and noise testing should also be real world and not best case not how the majority of people keep their systems..

 

[Q-BZ]

I agree to an extent, but I too take issue with the noise and heat testing. Who really plays games with the cards 6" from their ears? Why is the setup not in a case? I am not trying to say the cards are not loud, far from, but it would be nice if the heat and noise tests were done in a fashion as to which 90% of all gamers have their rigs in. Cases closed up and sitting on the floor or on the desktop and place the microphone at about the same location, as best as can be placed, as where someone sitting in a chair would be then give us the results. That is more real world than their sitting on a open table top is. I love the [H] gaming reviews because they play the games and dont hold back, but the heat and noise testing should also be real world and not best case not how the majority of people keep their systems..

Fair enough points.

In my situation, my case is up on my desktop off the ground for a number of reasons not the least of which is to minimize dust. It helps.

It's definitely less than six feet away from me but obviously not close to 6 inches.

It's an enclosed well ventilated case and my GTX 280 SSC is in there and I can assure you that you can hear it quite easily when the fan HAS to be turned up to about 70 percent for most of my gaming purposes. It's loud and I can easily hear it with my headphones on while gaming.

It's a hot card. It's a loud one. It's borderline power hog but not terrible.

So the idea of an even hotter, louder and more of a power hog card makes me take pause.

Is it the absolute end of the world? No, but again: If ATI could do it six months ago (be more energy efficient, not be a lawn mower, etc.) than Nvidia can and should be able to do it and especially six months later to the party. That's basically the point I'm trying to make.

Is it an awesome card? I'm sure it is. I haven't completely written it off for myself yet although I think if I went that route being one of the first on the block with it might not be the best idea in the world.

And it is an overpriced MSRP IMO. It just flat out is when you see what the competition has had for the past six months. That's another important consideration when I add it all up.

So for the first time since the 9800 Pro, which was my very first GPU in my first gaming rig...I'm starting to look in ATI's direction if I even decide to upgrade in the here and now.

I have plenty of fence sitter excuses and fodder to use.

 

[vjcsmoke]

I agree to an extent, but I too take issue with the noise and heat testing. Who really plays games with the cards 6" from their ears? Why is the setup not in a case? I am not trying to say the cards are not loud, far from, but it would be nice if the heat and noise tests were done in a fashion as to which 90% of all gamers have their rigs in. Cases closed up and sitting on the floor or on the desktop and place the microphone at about the same location, as best as can be placed, as where someone sitting in a chair would be then give us the results. That is more real world than their sitting on a open table top is. I love the [H] gaming reviews because they play the games and dont hold back, but the heat and noise testing should also be real world and not best case not how the majority of people keep their systems..

The reason they test the video cards in open air rather than a case is simple:

1) Open air makes sure that the video cards run their coolest. No matter how good the case, it's not going to get the video card to run cooler than open air. Those temps are best case scenarios.
2) Sites like HardOCP cannot possibly forsee all the different cases that consumers would have. Thus rather than pick just one case and falsely represent that ALL consumers would get the same noise experience they picked none.
3) Some cases may muffle noise better than others but again see point 2.
4) ALL video cards were tested under the same conditions so their relative noise compared to each other could be objectively measured. Rant all you want, It still doesn't change the fact that the 480/470 video cards are noisy leafblowers.

 

[T4rd]

I gave it a 5 which seems to be on par with everyone else's rating, including Kyle's, lol. So that has to say something right there. It's a fast-ass card, but not fast enough to justify all the other drawbacks compared to ATIs offering (noise, heat, power, etc.). This card is reserved for hardcore folders and fan boys for the time being, IMO.

 

[XMAN245]

The reason they test the video cards in open air rather than a case is simple:

1) Open air makes sure that the video cards run their coolest. No matter how good the case, it's not going to get the video card to run cooler than open air. Those temps are best case scenarios.
2) Sites like HardOCP cannot possibly forsee all the different cases that consumers would have. Thus rather than pick just one case and falsely represent that ALL consumers would get the same noise experience they picked none.
3) Some cases may muffle noise better than others but again see point 2.
4) ALL video cards were tested under the same conditions so their relative noise compared to each other could be objectively measured. Rant all you want, It still doesn't change the fact that the 480/470 video cards are noisy leafblowers.

1. Granted, but it isn't real world.
2. So pick one this is propably most used. Antec 300 or Solo and just add that heat and noise will vary based on case and case cooling setup(ie number of fans and fan placements)
3. see point 2
4. Where did I say it wasn't?

 

[T4rd]

1. Granted, but it isn't real world.
2. So pick one this is propably most used. Antec 300 or Solo and just add that heat and noise will vary based on case and case cooling setup(ie number of fans and fan placements)

1. It's as real world as they can get so people don't have to guess as to how well the case they use is relative to the one in the review.
2. See point 1.

This isn't the first time people have bitched about this but the majority of people, including me, prefer they leave out as many variables as possible. This means use an open case so it shows best case scenario temps and worst case scenario sound. You should know your case well enough to know about how much temps raise and sound is muffled when you enclose it. So learn to compensate for it.

They can't please everyone and they're not going to try to, I wouldn't either. The majority of people prefer this method, so as Kyle would say; "you know we don't know shit about hardware, so go somewhere else" (or something to that effect).

 

[JayteeBates]

1. Granted, but it isn't real world.
2. So pick one this is propably most used. Antec 300 or Solo and just add that heat and noise will vary based on case and case cooling setup(ie number of fans and fan placements)
3. see point 2
4. Where did I say it wasn't?

With regard to heat on the first one - it's only going to run hotter in any case so you can take those Temp readings and add at least a couple C or so. That makes it even worse for the fans and rest of the case.

 

[Sikkyu]

i voted 4

it does beat a 5870, but not by much and and great cost in power and price...

also if i want to run this in the summer do i need to buy an AC unit for my room?

 

[XMAN245]

1. It's as real world as they can get so people don't have to guess as to how well the case they use is relative to the one in the review.
2. See point 1.

This isn't the first time people have bitched about this but the majority of people, including me, prefer they leave out as many variables as possible. This means use an open case so it shows best case scenario temps and worst case scenario sound. You should know your case well enough to know about how much temps raise and sound is muffled when you enclose it. So learn to compensate for it.

They can't please everyone and they're not going to try to, I wouldn't either. The majority of people prefer this method, so as Kyle would say; "you know we don't know shit about hardware, so go somewhere else" (or something to that effect).

So your saying that there are people who play games with their ears 6" from the fans of the GPUs they are using? I'd like to see that. Also heat output closed up in a case it just as important because if it gets hotter inside a case, wouldn't you like to know a basic range as to where that might be?

I have a Cosmos 1000 case with 6 120s in it. 1 blows fresh cool air on my cards(2x GTX260s with fans at 100% 24/7) and without my headphones on, it is noticable, but with, I dont hear it at all. Either way, I have no plans on getting a 480 or 470, wanted too, but once the reviews came out i'm holding out for another gen or mid ranges, maybe a pair of lower end cards if the price/performance/heat make it worthy of doing so.

 

[T4rd]

So your saying that there are people who play games with their ears 6" from the fans of the GPUs they are using? I'd like to see that. Also heat output closed up in a case it just as important because if it gets hotter inside a case, wouldn't you like to know a basic range as to where that might be?

I have a Cosmos 1000 case with 6 120s in it. 1 blows fresh cool air on my cards(2x GTX260s with fans at 100% 24/7) and without my headphones on, it is noticable, but with, I dont hear it at all. Either way, I have no plans on getting a 480 or 470, wanted too, but once the reviews came out i'm holding out for another gen or mid ranges, maybe a pair of lower end cards if the price/performance/heat make it worthy of doing so.

Where did I insinuate people have their ears 6" from the fans? I didn't, and neither did Kyle. Again, what they're doing is giving us the most accurate stats they can give us with the fewest variables to interfere with the outcomes. By measuring the sound directly next to the card, you know exactly how loud they are when exposed. If you take this information and compare it to the cards you're using right now (in decibels when sound it taken with the card fully exposed), you'll know if it's going to be significantly louder or not relative to whatever your case/sound setup is.

All of the heat/noise info in the review is NOT to be taken at face value. For example; in Kyle's review of the 285s, he said the cards max at 85°C when running Furmark. In my case (a Thermaltake Armor+ w/ a 230mm fan on the side and a few 120mm's for exhaust and intake) my 285s ran at the exact same temps (bad example, lol, but at least I know there's no compensation). So I know I can prolly expect about the same temps with these cards. If you're gaming with your case hidden away and using head phones, then obviously you don't have to factor in noise from them nearly as much as some other people that have their case a few feet from them on/under their table.

It's all relative, man. If you just use the most direct way of measuring these stats, then it's more universal for everyone to be able to compensate for the numbers given previous data on hardware they've already had and seen reviewed using the exact same method.

 

[thehybridfrog]

With regard to heat on the first one - it's only going to run hotter in any case so you can take those Temp readings and add at least a couple C or so. That makes it even worse for the fans and rest of the case.

Um not true. If you have 1 or 2 good side case fans blowing at the card, with those exposed heat pipes, I'd be willing to bet they'd run cooler (Just a conjecture). A case can be modded or bought with fans pointed at the card (Thermaltake element V Nvidia 480 Sli edition or whatever posted on [H] today) is an example.

An open air bench has no extra fans helping out (usually).

 

[akotlar]

If I wanted something hot, late and expensive, I'd get a sexy hooker!

Is she pregnant?

 

[Flyinfinni]

not worth the the cost, and I'm not just talking the price tag, but also the electric bill INCLUDING the cost of running the AC more since its so darn hot!

 

[XMAN245]

Where did I insinuate people have their ears 6" from the fans? I didn't, and neither did Kyle. Again, what they're doing is giving us the most accurate stats they can give us with the fewest variables to interfere with the outcomes. By measuring the sound directly next to the card, you know exactly how loud they are when exposed. If you take this information and compare it to the cards you're using right now (in decibels when sound it taken with the card fully exposed), you'll know if it's going to be significantly louder or not relative to whatever your case/sound setup is.

All of the heat/noise info in the review is NOT to be taken at face value. For example; in Kyle's review of the 285s, he said the cards max at 85°C when running Furmark. In my case (a Thermaltake Armor+ w/ a 230mm fan on the side and a few 120mm's for exhaust and intake) my 285s ran at the exact same temps (bad example, lol, but at least I know there's no compensation). So I know I can prolly expect about the same temps with these cards. If you're gaming with your case hidden away and using head phones, then obviously you don't have to factor in noise from them nearly as much as some other people that have their case a few feet from them on/under their table.

It's all relative, man. If you just use the most direct way of measuring these stats, then it's more universal for everyone to be able to compensate for the numbers given previous data on hardware they've already had and seen reviewed using the exact same method.

And again, that still is not an accurate reading. I know there are some cases that are made where everything is out in the open, but do people have them 6" from there ears? No. So why put the Mic 6" from the fans when people dont have their ears remotely that close. Place the Mic at approximitely where one head would be in distance from the setup, that would be an accurate reading. Having it 6" from the fan amplifies the sound.

 

[BullsEyeBob]

Gave it a 6. I'm hoping for refreshes from both companies sooner than later.

 

[akotlar]

And again, that still is not an accurate reading. I know there are some cases that are made where everything is out in the open, but do people have them 6" from there ears? No. So why put the Mic 6" from the fans when people dont have their ears remotely that close. Place the Mic at approximitely where one head would be in distance from the setup, that would be an accurate reading. Having it 6" from the fan amplifies the sound.

It doesn't "amplify" the sound. It gives you a higher decibel reading because there is less falloff. Everyone has different configs and different distances that they sit from the case, so you put the mic 6" away to cut down on the importance of environmental variables and create a comparison your readers can use to judge relative noise levels. Testing it without a case is actually a best case scenario.

 

[Anemone]

Nice chip, but power consumption needs to get under "some" control and no card without at least one displayport should be "new" in this day and age.

DP can be changed over to just about any needed port - so leaving it out was done solely to protect their "pro" cards which all have DP.