Noise measurement
We want to shed some analytical light on the system noise levels generated when high-end cards are installed. To this end, we're using a PCE-318 noise meter placed at the front of a Corsair Obsidian 700D chassis that has the side panel on and card(s) screwed in. Only the test system is running in a quiet room with a sound floor of 28dB. Decibel readings are noted for idle, and real-world gaming load (COD: Black Ops) after 10 minutes have elapsed.
Pretty quiet when doing nothing of substance.
Placing two HD 6970s right next to one another increases the noise emitted by the system to the second-highest in this test. Only two KFA2 GeForce GTX 460 cards - whose fan isn't tuned via temperature - are louder.
