Initial acoustic testing in a SHIFT for 3-way Fermi

[ChrisMorley]

48.5 dB under full load, taken from ear height sitting at a table with the SHIFT about 2 feet away - panels on, grill on, NO acoustic dampening, 180mm fan on full load.

I expect some fine tuning of the fan and the acoustic dampening will bring it down even further - but considering Guru3D was hitting over 45 dB under load with a SINGLE card in an Corsair 800D, I'm VERY happy with the SHIFT's performance.

[widdlecat]

The SHIFT case is proving to be very impressive. Scary loud system with 3-way fermi, but all things considered, not bad at all! I wonder how loud my falcon nw mach V was in contrast... it was annoyingly loud. LOL!

[JPG]

Just to give you an idea what 48.5 dB is like.

See below. Usually when you start to get above 70 it is hitting a level that most people would consider annoying. As you hit 85-90 there is some degree of hearing damage starting.

Chris, did you take a reading with the case open? What was the level then? Curious if it was at ""Vacuum Cleaner".....lol


30 dB = Whisper, Quiet Library
40 dB = Normal Quiet Room
50 dB = Moderate Rainfall
60 dB = Normal Conversation, Dishwasher
70 dB = Vacuum Cleaner
80 dB = Alarm Clock, Busy Street
90 dB = Lawnmower, Shop Tools, Truck Traffic, Subway
100 dB = Snowmobile, Chain saw, Pneumatic Drill
110 dB = Machinery, Model Airplanes
120 dB = Jet Plane Take-off, Amplified Music at 4-6 ft., Car Stereo, Band Practice
130 dB = Jackhammer: WOW, jack hammers are louder then I thought!
140 dB = Firearms, Air-Raid Siren, Jet Engine
150 dB = Rock Concerts at Peak

[golfman560]

Umm Whats the difference between a "Normal" Quiet Room and the library quiet? Because I'm pretty sure quiet means quiet.

[JPG]

Take it up with coopersafety.com

[widdlecat]

I've found "quiet" to be relative to the observer as well as the quality of the sound sampled. Some types of noise are more disturbing than others. Basically, the smoother the sound, the more easily masked it becomes. Digital noise, for example, is very difficult to mask and may take nearly double the level for another source to hide it. Compare ticking noises to humming noises to get a rough idea.

As to how noise affects different people, consider that ticking noises disturb me if they reach 30 db@1 m typically. Many people wouldn't notice the noise or could easily overlook it. BTW, I live out in the country and my room is very quiet. I've also attuned my hearing to any spurious noise from when I used to review high end home audio equipment for magazines.

P.S. I'm really looking forward to my passively cooled SHIFT to arrive! Now that will be an extremely quiet pc!

[Grimmy77]

Just to give you an idea what 48.5 dB is like.
Usually when you start to get above 70 it is hitting a level that most people would consider annoying.
140 dB = Firearms, Air-Raid Siren, Jet Engine
150 dB = Rock Concerts at Peak

155db = My wife in total "UNHAPPY" mode!
((Come on, several of you were thinking it))

[JPG]

Widdlecat, I am TOTALLY with you on PC noise being held to a minimum. I really am sensitive to sounds on my desktop PC; high pitched whine and loud fan noise drives me insane. I tend to hear every little click and weird noise too, and it can drive me crazy.

Tell me about your passively cooled shift...did you get liquid cooling on the video as well as the CPU? Or some kind of heat sink? There has to be a fan involved somewhere? My dream is to have a totally silent PC. Have you seen the case that uses a special non-electircal-conductive cooling liquid and the entire inside of the PC is submersed in it? I forget the details, I will look for the a link to it. Its not really practical right now, but some day....!

But tell me or if there is another post about your passively cooled design...I am very intrigued!

[JPG]

lol Grimmy77

[innergy]

P.S. I'm really looking forward to my passively cooled SHIFT to arrive! Now that will be an extremely quiet pc!

Me too! I have a very similar distaste for noise, and just a week ago I ordered a Shift with the passively cooled CF 5750s and an SSD drive (no mechanical drive at all). Can't wait!

[widdlecat]

Widdlecat, I am TOTALLY with you on PC noise being held to a minimum. I really am sensitive to sounds on my desktop PC; high pitched whine and loud fan noise drives me insane. I tend to hear every little click and weird noise too, and it can drive me crazy.

Tell me about your passively cooled shift...did you get liquid cooling on the video as well as the CPU? Or some kind of heat sink? There has to be a fan involved somewhere? My dream is to have a totally silent PC. Have you seen the case that uses a special non-electircal-conductive cooling liquid and the entire inside of the PC is submersed in it? I forget the details, I will look for the a link to it. Its not really practical right now, but some day....!

But tell me or if there is another post about your passively cooled design...I am very intrigued!

My cpu will be cooled by at Thermalright HR-01 plus (no fan) with a duct running to the exhaust fan for maximal thermal extraction. I will have two passive cooled Powercolor ATI radeon HD 5750 vid cards in crossfireX. The only fans in the system are the SHIFT case fans. The two intake fans are quiet enough, but I may eventually decide to swap another quiet 120mm fan like the nexus 120 or a scythe slipstream in its place. I theoretically could omit the top fan and allow the stack effect plus the positive pressure cool the system. Unfortunately I can't fit an SSD into my budget so I'm going with a WD 15EARS caviar green HDD. The power supply is a Seasonic X-650 which should run without the fan kicking on until I game and then only to "silent" mode. Seek noise from the samsung optical drive or the HDD will be the only true noise in the system. I'm hoping that the exhaust fan noise can be masked by ambient room noise. The fan that Silverstone originally used in the raven rv-01 had a ticking characteristic, albeit at a very low level.

[MoonGear]

170 dB = Me, after the hammer fails to find the nail.


Umm Whats the difference between a "Normal" Quiet Room and the library quiet?

The "Normal" Quiet Room has a PC in it. :D