I currently have the EVGA 460 1024 in SLI and I can say the performance is very impressive. I had no trouble in overclocking to the levels that CPC detailed in their 460 OCing article they recently posted. I would imagine I could push it even further but I haven't yet tried. The only thing that is really bugging me is the noise from the fans. Even at the lowest level (40%) they are very audible and somewhat irritating. I've come from an XFX 260 Black Edition and in comparison it was very much quieter. This may well be a deal breaker for me if i'm honest and I'm considering returning the cards and switching them for a different manufacturer. When I'm gaming the noise doesn't bother me as my headphones almost mute all sound around me but when I dont have them on, when simply browsing the internet for example, its somewhat distracting compared to what I'm used to. I've never spent this much on GPU's before and so in essence I was expecting a little more. However I would spend a little more if I was sure that other manufacturers had far quieter cards. To put things into perspective heres a clip of a guy with the same card: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqsYD0RleHs I'd be interested in hearing other peoples opinions on their 460 cards from EVGA or from other manufacturers to get an idea of whether it's simply the 460 is relatively loud or that the EVGA cards seem louder than others.
Sorry I don't have anything constructive to add, but I was a little worried that this would be the case with the 460 reference coolers. I'm going to wait until more is published about the Gigabyte and MSI then make a choice.
For 2D work could you not set the fans to say 20-25%. I don't know how much this would make a difference to the temps / noise but it might be worth a shot?!
Don't think fans can be set below 40% that's the default min And that seems pretty high, my m8s 460 sli is pretty noisy idle also but he's always got music on so it doesn't bother him much
That would be ideal if I was able to do it but unfortunately the lowest fan RPM I am able to set is 40% in MSI Afterburner. If there was a way to go even lower then that would solve the issue I have with the card. Maybe there is a way but I'm yet to find out how.
I heard from someone at the [H]ardforums that the EVGA GTX460 cards are noisier than others, maybe that's the issue here? Every GTX460 review I have read notes that it's very quiet with the reference cooler.
At the end of the day it all depends on whether SCAN will allow me to return the cards I bought from them with the intent to exchange them for another manufacturer. Before I go down that road I'd like to try and exhaust all other options though. In the end I may have to grin and bear it.
True, but in my current build that's not really feasible given that the R2 will only fit an external radiator. Less than ideal.
problem is if you sli or crossfire graphics cards noise does become an issue even my 5870 vapor x crossfire gets noisy under heavy load, yes its silent in general usage as i set fans to 20%. but in gaming if i take head phones off i can here the noise there making.
The guy who posted that video posted about the noise from his card on the EVGA forums and he was told by an EVGA rep to RMA it for a new one as it sounded like a fault - I believe his replacement was much better, although I can't find the link to his post atm. I've just ordered an EVGA GTX 460, it was the warranty among other things that tipped me to EVGA. I don't mind a bit of noise as I've got a fairly well sound-proofed case, but with limited space (hence the external exhaust option) - I'm just looking forward to being able to play games at decent frame rates again
After some rooting around on some other forums I found someone thats got a modded Bios that allows you to change the fan speed below 40% and above 70%. I'm not altogether confident with flashing a GPU bios so if Scan tell me I can't return the card I guess this could be an option. The R2 has soundproofing too and hasnt seemed to have minimised the fan noise drastically. On another note where did u order your EVGA 460 from as i assumed when I ordered my card it was EE (external exhaust) but it actually just vents heat into the case.
I ordered from Scan, with the manufacturing code 01G-P3-1373-ER (the pre-OC'd model) - which according to EVGA (and someone I asked at Scan) is the EE model, is it not then? I have to admit though (slight side note), I'm not impressed with the information that Scan provide on their website, it's not always accurate and often important specs and info are missing. Edit: I'll also make a point of posting my thoughts on the card when it arrives.
Yea its definitely not the EE model, and it produces a lot of heat. I've emailed SCAN and they've been nice enough to accept the cards back under RMA. I have heard good things about the Gigabyte and MSI card. Unfortunately the MSI doesnt seem to be stocked in many places so the Gigabyte will be my choice. It uses 2 proper fans rather than a turbine set up. However, there is a premium to this cooling solution and that is an added £13 per card but if its going to make a decent amount of difference then I'm willing to pay for it.
I just double checked and there's a lot of hot air being exhausted into the case, more so on one card than the other. My 2 cards are right on top of each other so there's a fair bit more turbulence on the top card and that seems to be exhausting all the air into the case whereas the bottom fan seems to exhaust a little more out of the case. I'm not entirely certain whats going on lol.
let me know how u get on Chris P. Just packed all mine up ready for RMA tmoz. I just put my 260 back in and I cant hear it, now its just the hum from the Fenrir ^^
Interesting post. I have a pair of EVGA 768 SC GTX460 (not in SLI) but just used for folding@home. Compared to the previous cards (GTX260 & 9800GTX) the fan noise is much lower with the new 460 cards. I have the case side removed to help with heat problems and I find the CPU fan noise much more unpleasant (soon to be replaced with a H50 [water] cooler). I might add that I'm going a little deaf and I so am reasonably tolerant to noise, therefore I appreciate what qualifies as noisy will vary from person to person. Perhaps as one poster indicated, you might have received faulty cards, however to get 2 faulty cards would be very unlucky.
I have done a bit more research and read somewhere that it's a bearing issue in the turbine fan but as this card is still very new, specific details are hard to come by. Either way my order has been delayed but as soon as I receive the card I'll let you know how I get on.
I'll ask SCAN once they receive my cards whether they can tell me if the fan is at fault as you say. If they are both faulty I will have been extremely unlucky :/
