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Temperatures And Noise

Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 And 980 Review: Maximum Maxwell
By , Igor Wallossek

Temperatures During Normal Operation

Lower power consumption should result in lower GPU temperatures under load, which in turn should necessitate a simpler and quieter cooling solution. That’s the theory anyway, so let’s have a look at the GeForce GTX 980 in reality. We’re focusing on its behavior in a closed case, given the number of reader requests we've received about this topic.

Interestingly, we’ve identified a method to confirm what our sensors tell us and to spice up our usual temperature graphs a bit in the form of the PI450 by Optris. This piece of equipment is an infrared camera that was developed specifically for process monitoring.

It supplies real-time thermal images at a rate of 80 Hz. The pictures are sent via USB to a separate system, where they can be recorded as video. The PI450’s thermal sensitivity is 40 mK, making it ideal for assessing small gradients.

No Biggie: 15 Minutes at Idle

Let’s first take a look at the system’s state after the motherboard and graphics card warm up for 15 minutes at idle. We keep the chassis' side panel closed during this test, of course, only opening it briefly to snap a quick picture with our infrared camera.

Barbeque: 1-Hour Demanding Gaming Loop

Our second scenario changes the infrared picture significantly, really driving home differences between each graphics card's cooling solution. We begin with Nvidia's reference GeForce GTX 980.

The direct heat exhaust (DHE) cooler does its job and exhausts thermal energy from the case. The hottest part of the card’s shroud is above the voltage converters, which can hit 90 degrees Celsius or more inside of an enclosure. There’s really no thermal impact on the motherboard, though. It heats up mostly due to its own voltage converters and platform controller hub.

On Gigabyte's GTX 970 WindForce OC, the voltage converters are in the same spot (on the left) as the reference card. Consequently, the hottest spot is in the same place. Gigabyte’s board is a bit shorter than that of the reference design, too.

It’s plain to see that there’s a different cooling solution at work here. The motherboard gets its share of waste heat due to the graphics card’s axial fans, positioned above the cooler's fins. These temperatures don't endanger the motherboard in any way, though they can affect overclocking of other components in your system, particularly if you use multiple cards in SLI.

The factory-overclocked Gigabyte GTX 980 WindForce OC sports a redesigned board as well. The voltage converters are located to the right of the GPU, where they were located in the past. It’s easy to spot them in the infrared picture. Greater power consumption results in a higher measured temperature.

Overall, Maxwell’s cooling solutions don’t pose any problems in a closed case, which a lot of enthusiasts will be glad to hear (since that means slower-spinning fans and a quieter PC).

Temperatures During Gaming Loop
Open Bench Table
Closed Case
VRM
Gigabyte GTX 970 Windforce OC
61-62 °C
64-66 °C
91 °C
GeForce GTX 980 Reference
80-81 °C (Limit)
80-81 °C (Limit)98 °C
Gigabyte GTX 980 Windforce OC60-61 °C
64-65 °C
93 °C

Noise

Our noise measurements are performed using a calibrated high-end studio microphone positioned perpendicular to the middle of the graphics card in question at a distance of 50 cm. This distance, in conjunction with the microphone's very strong cardioid directionality, represents a compromise between avoiding noise due to fan turbulence and avoiding ambient noise, which can never be completely eliminated. We like to perform our noise measurements at night for this reason.

So how do the GeForce cards perform, acoustically?

Noise Level (Open Bench Table)
Idle
Gaming Loop
Gigabyte GTX 970 Windforce OC
31.8 dB(A)
41.8 dB(A)
GeForce GTX 980 Reference
31.4 dB(A)
43.6 dB(A)
Gigabyte GTX 980 Windforce OC30.4 dB(A)
40.2 dB(A)

The bottom line is positive when it comes to noise as well. No matter if you’re looking at Gigabyte’s card or the reference model, Maxwell can be cooled safely and quietly without resorting to liquid cooling during gaming.

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  • 0 Hide
    Ce3in , 19 September 2014 13:24
    Excellent Review!

    Looks like The Gtx 980 will become a part of my build family!
  • 0 Hide
    HEXiT , 19 September 2014 20:31
    went to buy 1 form ocuk today as they had around 70 in stock of both the 970 and 980... but by the time i sorted the order (about 10 mis) they were out of stock...
    so roll on next week and hopefully they will have them back in stock...
  • 1 Hide
    Marco Washa , 20 September 2014 06:09
    These cards are really impressive. GG nVidia you have done right this time.
    -Top performance as always
    -Low power consumption
    -A right price this time XD
  • 2 Hide
    Marco Washa , 20 September 2014 06:12
    These cards are really impressive. GG nVidia you have done right this time.
    -Top performance as always
    -Low power consumption
    -A right price this time XD
  • 0 Hide
    shaunwil , 20 September 2014 09:47
    Bought a 980 from scan. By 2pm they had sold almost 300 cards in the day. Looking forward to 4k G-sync with the card now when the monitor comes available.
  • 0 Hide
    Omar101 , 21 September 2014 22:51

    nvidia
  • 0 Hide
    Alpha3031 , 22 September 2014 05:00
    Now, if AMD actually made some progress with power. That should drive prices down too.
  • 0 Hide
    Mahisse , 22 September 2014 11:42
    I fear this may be the beginning of the end for AMD GPU. Seems like Nvidia is beating AMD on any entry level now with a better cost/performance ratio. I want competition not monopoly!
  • 0 Hide
    Alpha3031 , 23 September 2014 03:15
    Triple post?
  • 0 Hide
    Mahisse , 23 September 2014 09:30
    Don't know how that happened but they are deleted now :) 
  • 0 Hide
    Bitty , 9 October 2014 14:51
    Just getting back into gaming after a huge gap. Got a Gigabyte G1 gtx970 (another later) to replace a very well-behaved AMD 9790 GHz. All seemed ok until I hit replay in Grid2 when it froze. Repeatedly it did this with oc or not but temps etc were fine. hmmmmm. Valley worked like a charm with none and big overclocks - no artifacts. Titanfall would freeze too. Asetto Corsa was fine. I looked about and saw a few complaining of similar issues thinking the 344.16 drivers were the cause. I suspec ted that power might be an issue since other factors were okay and not everybody has the issue. I then found this article on power draw and the penny dropped.

    I have an oldish Antec TP New Series 650 watt modular psu. I had the gtx970 on one 25A 12v rail feeding the 8+6 connectors. It seems this was possibly not enough to cope with the peaks. Not up on psus but with 80% efficiency that 25x12 is not a full 300 watts - more like 240watts. So, I added another 12v rail for the 6pin and hey presto it worked fine no issue.

    So anyone with such an issue might try this or get a more powerful psu.
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