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We have changed our method of measuring noise levels. We have built a system inside a Lian Li chassis with no case fans and have used a fanless cooler on our CPU. The motherboard is also passively cooled. This gives us a build with almost completely passive cooling and it means we can measure noise of just the graphics card inside the system when we run looped 3dMark tests.
Ambient noise in the room is around 20-25dBa. We measure from a distance of around 1 meter from the closed chassis and 4 foot from the ground to mirror a real world situation.
Why do this? Well this means we can eliminate secondary noise pollution in the test room and concentrate on only the video card. It also brings us slightly closer to industry standards, such as DIN 45635.
KitGuru noise guide
10dBA – Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves
20-25dBA – Whisper
30dBA – High Quality Computer fan
40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refridgerator
50dBA – Normal Conversation
60dBA – Laughter
70dBA – Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer
80dBA – City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal
90dBA – Motorcycle or Lawnmower
100dBA – MP3 player at maximum output
110dBA – Orchestra
120dBA – Front row rock concert/Jet Engine
130dBA – Threshold of Pain
140dBA – Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range)
160dBA – Instant Perforation of eardrum
The fan profile on the Sparkle Calibre X680 Captain is interesting. At idle they are rotating around 1,400rpm. They only rise to 1,800 rpm when gaming which creates around 32.2dBa noise. Under the synthetic Furmark stress test the fans spin to 2,200rpm rising to a peak 33.6dBa noise emission.
In real world terms, this means that the graphics card is basically silent when idle and quiet under gaming load. This is actually one of the quietest high performance graphics cards we have ever tested. Impressive results.
Wasn’t expecting this. I dont see anyone in UK stocking these however?
unusual design for a high end card. never really heard of the company to be honest. far east brand?
I always wondered why this design wasn’t used more often (fans under cooler). it should in theory lower noise as the main fan noise is behind a rack of fins and air will be sucked in. good idea.
Are Sparkle linked to Gainward? the cooler looks very like the phantom cooler they had out a while ago. (was a good cooler, not a bad thing).
very impressive card, would you guys say its better than the KFA2 3 fan cards though?
Thats a good question. If you like the KFA2 white PCB and want the slightly higher clocks then they are good options. They are slightly louder and more expensive however.
One of my good friends once told me that Sparkle and Gainward are a sister company. I believe him now.
Thank you all for reading the review, can I clarify that Sparkle are an independent company and in no way related to Gainward.
The use of similar coolers in pure coincidence
Sparkle are an independent company and in no way related to Gainward.