Ambient noise in the room is around 20-25dBa. We measure from a distance of around 1,5 meters from the closed chassis and 4 foot from the ground to mirror a real world situation.
We use a calibrated meter.
KitGuru noise guide
10dBA – Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves
20-25dBA – Whisper
30dBA – High Quality Computer fan
40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refrigerator
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 system when idle, is very quiet.
Under general gaming load demands, the fans spin up to remove heat. Noise levels when gaming are not too intrusive, although you will clearly hear the system running.
Taxing the system with Prime and Furmark simultaneously pushes the cooling system to the limits and noise levels rise to 41.2dBa. This is rather intrusive, but not truly realistic of a real world situation we could replicate.