Power consumption, temperatures, noise, real-world assessment
Power-draw numbers refer to a system-wide consumption measured with a mains-connected meter.
Coming in at just below single-GPU GTX 480.
The worst-case power-draw scenario for a graphics card is to run FurMark. The numbers quoted represent the peak draw after running the benchmark for 10 minutes. The numbers are in line with the two other multi-GPU setups and the single-GPU GTX 480.
Temps remain pretty good with a second card added.
A real-world assessment
A real-world assessment Examining the whole noise/heat/power issue in more detail and taking a real-world game into account, we played through Crysis Warhead and noted where system-wide power-draw was highest. We then left the card rendering the high power-draw scene for 10 minutes and logged the maximum temperature, fan-speed, and power-draw.The observations were noted with the card(s) installed inside a Corsair Obsidian 700D chassis with side panels on. All cards were tested with ambient temperatures between 24°C and 25.5°C. The 'upper' (hotter) card's temperature and fan-speed are noted if we're evaluating a multi-GPU setup. The table, below, highlights our findings and provides a subjective analysis of the fan noise.
| GPU | Power-draw (maximum) | Temperature (maximum) |
Fan speed (maximum) |
Quietness /10 (higher is better) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GeForce GTX 460 SLI 768MB | 375W | 69°C | 53 per cent | 7 |
| GeForce GTX 480 | 389W | 90°C | 3,720rpm | 3 |
| GeForce GTX 470 | 346W | 89°C | 3,510rpm | 3.5 |
| GeForce GTX 465 | 333W | 87°C | 3,210rpm | 4.5 |
| GeForce GTX 460 1,024MB | 287W | 68°C | 51 per cent | 8 |
| GeForce GTX 460 768MB | 270W | 64°C | 45 per cent | 8.5 |
| Radeon HD 5870 2,048MB | 345W | 75°C | 2,320rpm | 7.5 |
| Radeon HD 5870 1,024MB | 297W | 79°C | 2,150rpm | 7 |
| Radeon HD 5850 XF | 400W | 78°C | 2,300rpm | 5 |
| Radeon HD 5850 | 270W | 75°C | 2,000rpm | 6 |
| Radeon HD 5830 | 273W | 66°C | 1,700rpm | 6 |
Noise
A single EVGA SC 768MB card is very quiet when gaming. Adding another pushes the sound up a notch but not to the extent where it would be considered noisy when playing real-world games.
