Power, Temperature and Noise
Nvidia's reference cards always do well in this test. The reference GTX 980 is the most power frugal of the lot. Partners need to increase voltage when raising the core speed, so the Palit GTX 970 Jetstream slots in alongside the inferior GTX 770 and below the GTX 780 it replaces.
Higher idle temperature is due to the fans switching off when there's no load on the card. Cooling the GM204 GPU is no problem, clearly, with under-load temperatures close to 70°C.
Going against its name, you can't hear the Jetstream in idle mode. Twin fans spin at 1,600rpm when under sustained load. The decibel reading makes it sound quieter than it actually is; the noise pitch is a touch higher than the GTX 980 and Titan cards'.
