ZOTAC GeForce GTX 950 AMP! Edition 2 GB Review 9

ZOTAC GeForce GTX 950 AMP! Edition 2 GB Review

Performance Summary »

Fan Noise

In past years, gamers would accept everything for a little bit more performance. Nowadays, users are more aware of their graphics card's fan noise and power consumption.

In order to properly test the fan noise a card emits, we use a Bruel & Kjaer 2236 sound-level meter (~$4,000). It has the measurement range and the accuracy we are looking for.

Fan Noise Measurement Setup

The tested graphics card is installed in a system that does not emit any noise on its own, using a passive PSU, passive CPU cooler, passive cooling on the motherboard, and a solid state drive. Noise results of other cards on this page are measurements of the respective reference design.

This setup allows us to eliminate secondary noise sources and test only the video card. To be more compliant with standards like DIN 45635 (we are not claiming to be fully DIN 45635 certified), the measurement is conducted at a distance of 100 cm and 160 cm off the floor. Ambient background noise inside the room was well below 20 dBA for all measurements. Please note that the dBA scale is not linear but logarithmic. 40 dBA is not twice as loud as 20 dBA, as a 6 dBA increase results in double the sound pressure. The human hearing perception is a bit different, and it is generally accepted that a 10 dBA increase doubles the perceived sound level. 3D load noise levels are tested with a stressful game, not with Furmark.
Idle fan noise is fantastic as the card completely turns its fans off in idle (up to 60°C).

During serious gaming, the card tends to be kinda noisy, with 38 dBA. Other GTX 950 cards we tested today are doing much, much better here. Since load temperatures are only at around 71°C, there is some headroom left to quieten down the fan.

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Dec 22nd, 2024 23:58 EST change timezone

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