Noise and 2D Quality

We measured the level of noise produced by the PowerColor X1900 GT with the help of a digital sound-level meter Velleman DVM1326. This instrument has a resolution of 0.1dB and allows measuring in a range up to 130dB with A or C weighting.

The background noise level was 36dBA in our lab when we were conducting the measurements. At a distance of 1 meter from the test platform in which a graphics card with passive cooling was installed the level of noise was 40dBA. These are the reference numbers we’ll base our judgments upon.

Here are the results:

Most of the time the PowerColor X1900 GT isn’t audible against the noise from other components of a working gaming system. You surely won’t hear the card in a closed system case as the numbers suggest: the loudness of its noise is 42.6dBA. Compare this with the near-silent GeForce 7900 GTX’s 44.6dBA.

Lacking any fan speed management system, the GeForce 7900 GT produces much more noise. The difference is 3.6dBA when the measurements are performed at a distance of 1 meter from the testbed. This is quite a lot, considering the logarithmic nature of the decibel. You can always hear the card when the system is working while the PowerColor X1900 GT only makes itself heard at those rare moments when the GPU temperature reaches a certain threshold value after long running 3D applications. It then produces noise with a sound intensity of 45.2dBA. This seems to be not very loud, but the spectrum of the noise from the small but high-speed fan is very annoying. Fortunately, this doesn’t happen too often and may not happen at all if your system case is well ventilated.

The noise characteristics of the PowerColor X1900 GT are overall acceptable except for the start-up moment when the cooler works at its full speed for a few seconds and for those moments when the GPU overheats. This graphics card is surely better from this point of view than the GeForce 7900 GT which has a rather poorly designed cooler and cannot reduce the speed of the fan (although the G71 chip itself doesn’t generate too much heat).

We have no complaints about the image quality the PowerColor X1900 GT provides in 2D applications. No wonder as all senior models in the Radeon family are manufactured at one and the same fab where each card undergoes a strict quality check. So, the card yielded a sharp picture without any shadowing or fuzziness in all display modes, including 1600x1200@85Hz and 1800x1440@75Hz. We’d like to note that the quality of a graphics card’s analog output isn’t as important nowadays as it used to be. LCD monitors with a DVI input are currently widespread and provide an immaculate 2D image quality due to the digital nature of this interface.