Power, Temperature and Noise
Our overclocked Core i7-based system generally reports an under-load figure of around 300W when a high-end card is in situ. Sapphire's card draws a little more, but not overly so, meaning that power consumption isn't a real concern for us.
That massive cooler does a good job at keeping the GPU cool, and we like the fact that the VRMs, oft-neglected, also receive specific treatment. Cooling, then, is good. Notice the higher-than-normal idle temperature? That's because the fans switch off at low loads.
The trio of fans spin up from zero to about 2,200rpm under full load. Their size and blade design means that while the Tri-X is not the quietest card around, the pitch isn't overtly noticeable in an otherwise very low noise system.
