Another Silencer thread, but this time a little more scientific.
BFG 6800 GT OC (the dual / "custom fan" version) and NV Silencer 5 from Arctic Cooling.
System Specs: See Signature plus:-
- Silverstone SST-B032FW Case
- 4x 80 mm Vantec Stealth Fans (2 rear ex., 1 inp. over cards, 1 inp. over hard drives)
- 1x 120 mm Enermax Adjustable Fan (UC-12FAB-B) set at about 80%.
- 430 W Antec True Power PSU
I installed a Rev 3 Silencer on my ATI 9800 Pro 128 MB last year and I was quite happy
with it. I very much liked the external exhaust so when the hot, hot, hot 6800 GT came
along I wanted an external exhaust for it too. So, after 3 weeks with my new card I
received my Arctic Cooling NV 5 Silencer this morning and installed it this afternoon.
I thought people may be interested in seeing results that included ambient internal case
temperatures in order to give some reference - if your case is running at 30 degrees C, you'll
get different results to me, but at least you have a frame of references since you know my
case temp, so you can repeat my conditions to some degree.
All temperatures are in Celsius/Centigrade). A thin film of Arctic Silver 5
was used on the GPU and a thicker, slightly goopy layer, was used on each of the RAM chips.
Each set compromises of numbers below consists of:
- Case Temperature (the internal case temperature reported by the motherboard using Abit EQ)
- Card Ambient Temperature as reported in the GeForce 6800 GT panel
- GPU Temperature reported in the GeForce 6800 GT panel
Stock cooler measurements were carried out about 3 hours prior to the Silencer 5 results.
Unfortunately, the room temperature raised by 2-3 degrees Celsius in the mean time due to
afternoon sun hitting the room. I would therefore take at least 2 degrees from the
post-installation Case temperature numbers in order to bring it into line with the Stock
Cooler. I may test the card again at the same time tomorrow if the room temperature is about
the same.
Load measurements were carried out after 15 mins running HDR demo in as large a window as
possible at 1280x1024 but still allowing me to barely see the temps. Please note that I had
already overclocked the chip in 3D to 400 MHz and I hadn't realised this until after I had
installed the Silencer.
BFG Custom Fan Stock Cooler
==================================
Idle - Card clocked at 370:1000 (2D setting)
--------------------------------------------
Case Temperature: 26
Card Ambient: 36
GPU: 57
Load - Card clocked at 400:1000 (3D setting)
--------------------------------------------
Case Temperature: 29
Card Ambient: 55
GPU: 84
NV Silencer 5
=====================================
Idle - Card clocked at 370:1000 (2D setting)
--------------------------------------------
Case Temperature: 27
Card Ambient: 32
GPU: 51
Load - Card clocked at 400:1000 (3D setting)
--------------------------------------------
Case Temperature: 28
Card Ambient: 45
GPU: 69
BFG cooler versus Silencer differences
======================================
Idle - 370:1000 (2D setting)
--------------------------------------------
Case Temperature: +1 (not counting
room temp change)
Card Ambient: -4
GPU: -6
Load - 400:1000 (3D setting)
--------------------------------------------
Case Temperature: -1 (not counting
room temp change)
Card Ambient: -10
GPU: -15
My own comments: Remember that I slipped up on the clock settings (3D was 400 MHz versus
2D in 370 MHz) so the load temperatures are certainly higher than they would be at 370 MHz.
I haven't investigated overclocking with the NV 5 yet. I'm saving that for later today but
I'll let you know. I am very happy with the temperature results though. I am very much in
favour of the DHES to prevent unnecessary heat increase inside the case.
BFG 6800 GT OC (the dual / "custom fan" version) and NV Silencer 5 from Arctic Cooling.
System Specs: See Signature plus:-
- Silverstone SST-B032FW Case
- 4x 80 mm Vantec Stealth Fans (2 rear ex., 1 inp. over cards, 1 inp. over hard drives)
- 1x 120 mm Enermax Adjustable Fan (UC-12FAB-B) set at about 80%.
- 430 W Antec True Power PSU
I installed a Rev 3 Silencer on my ATI 9800 Pro 128 MB last year and I was quite happy
with it. I very much liked the external exhaust so when the hot, hot, hot 6800 GT came
along I wanted an external exhaust for it too. So, after 3 weeks with my new card I
received my Arctic Cooling NV 5 Silencer this morning and installed it this afternoon.
I thought people may be interested in seeing results that included ambient internal case
temperatures in order to give some reference - if your case is running at 30 degrees C, you'll
get different results to me, but at least you have a frame of references since you know my
case temp, so you can repeat my conditions to some degree.
All temperatures are in Celsius/Centigrade). A thin film of Arctic Silver 5
was used on the GPU and a thicker, slightly goopy layer, was used on each of the RAM chips.
Each set compromises of numbers below consists of:
- Case Temperature (the internal case temperature reported by the motherboard using Abit EQ)
- Card Ambient Temperature as reported in the GeForce 6800 GT panel
- GPU Temperature reported in the GeForce 6800 GT panel
Stock cooler measurements were carried out about 3 hours prior to the Silencer 5 results.
Unfortunately, the room temperature raised by 2-3 degrees Celsius in the mean time due to
afternoon sun hitting the room. I would therefore take at least 2 degrees from the
post-installation Case temperature numbers in order to bring it into line with the Stock
Cooler. I may test the card again at the same time tomorrow if the room temperature is about
the same.
Load measurements were carried out after 15 mins running HDR demo in as large a window as
possible at 1280x1024 but still allowing me to barely see the temps. Please note that I had
already overclocked the chip in 3D to 400 MHz and I hadn't realised this until after I had
installed the Silencer.
BFG Custom Fan Stock Cooler
==================================
Idle - Card clocked at 370:1000 (2D setting)
--------------------------------------------
Case Temperature: 26
Card Ambient: 36
GPU: 57
Load - Card clocked at 400:1000 (3D setting)
--------------------------------------------
Case Temperature: 29
Card Ambient: 55
GPU: 84
NV Silencer 5
=====================================
Idle - Card clocked at 370:1000 (2D setting)
--------------------------------------------
Case Temperature: 27
Card Ambient: 32
GPU: 51
Load - Card clocked at 400:1000 (3D setting)
--------------------------------------------
Case Temperature: 28
Card Ambient: 45
GPU: 69
BFG cooler versus Silencer differences
======================================
Idle - 370:1000 (2D setting)
--------------------------------------------
Case Temperature: +1 (not counting
room temp change)
Card Ambient: -4
GPU: -6
Load - 400:1000 (3D setting)
--------------------------------------------
Case Temperature: -1 (not counting
room temp change)
Card Ambient: -10
GPU: -15
My own comments: Remember that I slipped up on the clock settings (3D was 400 MHz versus
2D in 370 MHz) so the load temperatures are certainly higher than they would be at 370 MHz.
I haven't investigated overclocking with the NV 5 yet. I'm saving that for later today but
I'll let you know. I am very happy with the temperature results though. I am very much in
favour of the DHES to prevent unnecessary heat increase inside the case.