Noise tests
NVIDIA makes explicit mention to the fact that the GTX 570's cooler is plain better than the previous generation's GTX 480. Honestly, that wouldn't take much, seeing how relatively poor the original's was.We want to shed some analytical light on the system noise levels generated when high-end cards are installed. To this end, we're using a PCE-318 noise meter placed at the front of a Corsair Obsidian 700D chassis that has the side panel on and card(s) screwed in. Only the test system is running in a quiet room with a sound floor of 28dB. Decibel readings are noted for idle, load (COD: Black Ops) and super-load (FurMark) after 10 minutes have elapsed.
You can't hear the GTX 570 over the quiet system fans.
Play a game for 10 minutes and the GTX 570 remains quiet, emitting a low humming sound that's not offensive to my ears.
Really push the card and the improved heatsink keeps noise at bay. Indeed, it's significantly quieter than a reference HD 5870 and discernibly less bothersome than a GTX 480 or GTX 470 GPU.
The fan spins at 63 per cent of maximum after 10 minutes of FurMark. It can be manually pushed up to a maximum 85 per cent, which leads to a noise rating of 50.7dB.
