In House HD2900XT vs. 8800GTS 640

[Laminator]

I'm guessing that there is some sort of driver issue with the X2900XT and S.T.A.L.K.E.R., like the 6800-series and Need for Speed: Underground 2. There is no way that AMD/ATI would not notice this, so hopefully a fix is coming soon. The X2900XT is appearing to be faster than the 8800GTS in DirectX 9 games, anyway.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

is there a way to ban someone from posting in a certain thread? if yes, that should be done here since the OP and the two testers have already declared that sound/noise ratings will not be included in any of the testing done and BFG10k is in here trolling going on about noise in every one of this posts... yea, i dont mind noise either.. i sleep with my PC/AC on every day (since its summer) and watch movies with my 2 x Delta 120x38mm fans @ 3000rpm. my M-Audio LX4's do a pretty good job of covering up any sound my pc makes

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: bfdd

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS
damn just read through the whole appopin/BFG10k arguements. You guys are arguing over something thats obviously not getting anywhere. BFG, wth are you arguing about, its obvious that you're against the HD2900xt and doesn't look like you'll buy one since it sounds like a jet. It's also obvious that you're on the 8800's nuts since the difference in 'noise' between the two cards probably dont make that much of a difference. Really, does 2db really matter when you're playing a game? do you own headphones or speakers? seriously... you're starting to sound like gstanfor and not really contributing to these two guys' testing. They've already stated that they're testing based solely on performance and NOT sound. appopin, the recording with the mic for the sound of the 2900 wouldn't be necessary here.

Thing is it's making computers 50db+? That are already pretty loud imo. My PC is pretty f'in quiet I barely hear it when it's on and that's with my GTX fan set to 100% full time. My PC is right next to me and I have a hard time telling if it's booting up or not when I turn it on till I hear the floppy do it's thing. When it's on and my brothers PC is on and he has my old Antec 900 his sounds a LOT louder than mine I can't even hear mine when I have headphones on period. I doubt it's a big deal to most gamers, but to others who have speakers and watch movies and crap it must be annoying. *shrug* it sucks it's loud but I just don't see it as a big deal.

if the reviewers wanted to give us a real impression of the actual SPL of "only" the HD2900xt and how it is perceived by the human ear, it should be completely isolated from every other ambient sound in a dead silent room and measured outside the case ... with the fan spinning up at maximum and a microphone at stated distance and characteristics and a chart of the frequencies ... you know that is what they did when they designed and tested it ... then the test would be repeated over and over in different cases to see how loud the practical "noise" is and at what frequencies the noise is occuring

now 50db for the "entire computer" is really not so loud ... to most of us

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_pressure_level

Jet engine at 30 m 630 Pa 150 dB
Rifle being fired at 1 m 200 Pa 140 dB
Threshold of pain 100 Pa 130 dB
Hearing damage (due to short-term exposure) 20 Pa approx. 120 dB
Jet at 100 m 6 ? 200 Pa 110 ? 140 dB
Jack hammer at 1 m 2 Pa approx. 100 dB
Hearing damage (due to long-term exposure) 6×10-1 Pa approx. 90 dB
Major road at 10 m 2×10-1 ? 6×10-1 Pa 80 ? 90 dB
Passenger car at 10 m 2×10-2 ? 2×10-1 Pa 60 ? 80 dB
TV (set at home level) at 1 m 2×10-2 Pa approx. 60 dB
Normal talking at 1 m 2×10-3 ? 2×10-2 Pa 40 ? 60 dB
Very calm room 2×10-4 ? 6×10-4 Pa 20 ? 30 dB
Leaves rustling, calm breathing 6×10-5 Pa 10 dB
Auditory threshold at 2 kHz 2×10-5 Pa 0 dB

now 60 db is approximately twice the loudness of 50 db ... normal talking would encompass 50db ... a VERY CALM room is is 30 db ... a watercooled rig would add no noise to a room ... and a HD2900xt wouold be far more noticeable in a watercooled rig than in a rig with OTHER fans.

a HD2900xt does not "add" +50 db to your environment as our noise princess would have you believe ... i.e. loud ... NO review says that and they go OUT of their way to point out it is NOT as loud as a DustBuster or even the x1800xt's original stock cooler


BTW, Oblivion runs fine ... and IS faster than my x1950p
-quick first impression so i can finally sleep tonight

Goodnight!

 

[bfdd]

Apoppin some people think it's loud*shrug* I play my music blaring so loud I can't hear the person in the passenger seat speak when I drive. I work in the oil and power plant industry around huge machinary all day that's equally as loud or louder. I'm not one to complain about noise =) I'm just saying some people might find it loud.
-edit: Oblivion looks glorious with everything maxed just wish I could run it with a higher res than 1680x1050 =\ stupid monitor

 

[chunkylafanga]

In high school (long long time ago), I remembered one of the teachers bringing in a decibel meter - our classroom was rated at about 70dB - apparently we didn't know when to shut up

 

[BFG10K]

you type as though you have actually have a clue about the HD2900xt's relative loudness

I do, based on the reviews. You don't because you haven't tested anything.

i have tested audio equipment and i know the variables and how to set it up far better than any of the HD2900xt's review's weak attempt at a "relative" comparison with unweighted decibles and an "impression" of how they felt about it's "loudness" - directly compared to G80

Riiiight, you mean like your comical attempt to record with a microphone and allow us to play it back with infinite possible volume levels inside infinite possible environments? Oh yeah, I can really see how that's going to disprove them. :roll:

*none* of the reviewers support your silly claim that the card is "loud"

Tell me what parts of the quotes you're having difficulty understanding and I'll attempt to reword them into simpler terms for you.

Perhaps a haiku with pictures may be better for you?

The...
:heart: :wine: 2900...IS... :sun: :laugh:
LOUD
:frown:

you say things the reviewers don't and attempt to twist my words and then have the temerity to ask me to retract your 'twist' on my words

Seriously, are you even capable of sticking to your own arguments?

i feel like buying a g80 just to shut you up ... but then you would say i "cooked" the test

So you can record it with your microphone? LOL, whatever makes you happy bud.

just because you say so? or are you reading into the reviews like our noise princess does?

No, because you - the grand master of audio reviews - is threatening to brandish his microphone.

please ... show me where the "multiple reviews contradict me" ... they do NOT say ... anywhere - that the HD2900xt is *LOUD*

It's like arguing with the Gstanfor version of an ATi supporter.

 

[BFG10K]

please ... show me where the "multiple reviews contradict me" ... they do NOT say ... anywhere - that the HD2900xt is *LOUD*

Click.

At this "cool off the card at any costs" speed, it's simply too loud for our tastes. This bothers some users more than others, but we feel the card frequently enters a mode where it's clearly beyond our tolerable threshold for high-end GPU noise.

Now are you going to stop your ridiculous nonsense?

 

[CaptainJackSwallows]

Bench ET:QW (enemy territory quake wars) if you can get your hands on a key. I don't even care if only one of you has it, I just want to see its approximate performance.

 

[Extelleron]

Originally posted by: BFG10K

please ... show me where the "multiple reviews contradict me" ... they do NOT say ... anywhere - that the HD2900xt is *LOUD*

Click.

At this "cool off the card at any costs" speed, it's simply too loud for our tastes. This bothers some users more than others, but we feel the card frequently enters a mode where it's clearly beyond our tolerable threshold for high-end GPU noise.

Now are you going to stop your ridiculous nonsense?

PLENTY of people "tolerated" the X1900XT and XTX, they made plenty of noise but it never bothered a lot of people. Why suddenly, is HD 2900XT "beyond our tolerable threshold for high-end GPU noise" when it is QUIETER than the X1900's?

 

[Extelleron]

Originally posted by: CaptainJackSwallows
Bench ET:QW (enemy territory quake wars) if you can get your hands on a key. I don't even care if only one of you has it, I just want to see its approximate performance.

It'd be nice to see performance on the beta, but remember it's not yet the final game. I'm still excited for Quake Wars, though from what I've heard it's not the best graphically, especially in regards to far away textures.

 

[Bateluer]

Some people are getting too hung up on loudness. The 2900XT is not that loud. When you're idle, the card is no louder than the rest of a high performance system. When you're gaming and the card is working, the sound of the game covers the sound of the card. If it doesn't, you should probably turn on your speakers.

 

[mruffin75]

Originally posted by: BFG10K

please ... show me where the "multiple reviews contradict me" ... they do NOT say ... anywhere - that the HD2900xt is *LOUD*

Click.

At this "cool off the card at any costs" speed, it's simply too loud for our tastes. This bothers some users more than others, but we feel the card frequently enters a mode where it's clearly beyond our tolerable threshold for high-end GPU noise.

Now are you going to stop your ridiculous nonsense?

Well that's just the reviewers opinion isn't it... much like our opinions that you "shrug off" saying it's not technical enough...(I guess it only matters when it shows your opinion)..

1. Is the card louder than a G80?? Maybe.. but what the hell does that matter? (see point 2)
2. Even with the "noise" that it does make, is it ok? Yes..

It's not anywhere near as loud as reviewers make it out to be (I remember reading one saying that it sounded like a server... obviously they've never heard a HP DL385 G2)..

Just give it up BFG....from the sounds of it it seems you're after a PR job with Nvidia..
People who have bought the 2900XT seem to be happy with it...you don't own one...probably never will.. so just give it up and get onto something useful..

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: BFG10K

please ... show me where the "multiple reviews contradict me" ... they do NOT say ... anywhere - that the HD2900xt is *LOUD*

Click.

At this "cool off the card at any costs" speed, it's simply too loud for our tastes. This bothers some users more than others, but we feel the card frequently enters a mode where it's clearly beyond our tolerable threshold for high-end GPU noise.

Now are you going to stop your ridiculous nonsense?

when do you stop with yours ? ... failed and inept reviewer


"for *our* tastes" !?!?
--what are their tastes?

dead silent?

you are the noise princess that settled for a dud XL card half as fast as the one you sold because you can't stand any noise ... and you are the one spreading FUD that the HD2900xt is as "loud" as the Ultra DustBuster

*no one* says that but you ... and Gstanfor
-check him out at NV News



... and ... i can't get PCMark05 to run on Vista ... even as Administrator ... i have the latest version

so far .... i am NOT that impressed with the HD2900xt ... based on Oblivion and [especially] STALKER ... compared to my x1950p
... two games ... but the initial impression [aside from 3DMark06] is not that good

 

[KeithTalent]

Good lord this degenerated into a big pile of crap. What a shame, I was hoping this would be a useful and informative experiment.

Oh well.

KT

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: KeithTalent
Good lord this degenerated into a big pile of crap. What a shame, I was hoping this would be a useful and informative experiment.

Oh well.

KT

you have to remember that Keys ANTICIPATED this ... note the "reserved" posts at the beginning of this thread ... we *will* see benchmarks and impressions from the HD2900xt and GTS/GTX owners

see my note above ... i'll repeat it since it was a late edit:

i can't get PCMark05 to run on Vista ... even as Administrator ... i have the latest version

so far .... i am NOT that impressed with the HD2900xt ... based on Oblivion and [especially] STALKER ... compared to my x1950p
... two games ... but the initial impression [aside from 3DMark06] is not that good

 

[nullpointerus]

Maybe keys and apoppin should re-title this thread and then start a new thread w/ a no-noise-comparison rule.

 

[ShadowOfMyself]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: KeithTalent
Good lord this degenerated into a big pile of crap. What a shame, I was hoping this would be a useful and informative experiment.

Oh well.

KT

you have to remember that Keys ANTICIPATED this ... note the "reserved" posts at the beginning of this thread ... we *will* see benchmarks and impressions from the HD2900xt and GTS/GTX owners

see my note above ... i'll repeat it since it was a late edit:

i can't get PCMark05 to run on Vista ... even as Administrator ... i have the latest version

so far .... i am NOT that impressed with the HD2900xt ... based on Oblivion and [especially] STALKER ... compared to my x1950p
... two games ... but the initial impression [aside from 3DMark06] is not that good

Well keep in mind STALKER is one of the bugged games where it sits at X1950XT level

 

[KeithTalent]

Originally posted by: nullpointerus
Maybe keys and apoppin should re-title this thread and then start a new thread w/ a no-noise-comparison rule.

I agree with this. The noise thing is just too subjective and apparently some people just get all bent out of shape about it for whatever reason (maybe they need to turn their hearing aids down?).

@apoppin: I should have STALKER here in a couple of days, so I will check to see if I get the same type of performance. I no longer own Oblivion, but I saw it at BestBuy the other day for $30, so I may just grab it again.

KT

 

[yacoub]

BFG: You need to remember that a lot of these kids have the case on the floor away from them and are in a noisy room with a TV blaring and whatever else going on, so they simply don't care how loud the card is.

Others of us do, and clearly it's important to us, but asking them for input on the noise levels has clearly proven to be a futile thing.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: nullpointerus
Maybe keys and apoppin should re-title this thread and then start a new thread w/ a no-noise-comparison rule.

i don't see why ... there are so many *reserved* posts for the benchmarking

and i'd still like to post the sound of my HD2900xt "revving up" to full load from idle ... that way you can hear the relative increase over my single OCZ PS fan ... you can hear it with the case open and closed
--i know there were plenty of these soundbytes with nv30's ultraDustbuster's cooling ... and no one said they were inappropriately made or that the wouldn't show anything

Well keep in mind STALKER is one of the bugged games where it sits at X1950XT level

in my testing ... much *worse* than the x1950p ... UNplayable with FDL and maxed "in game" settings

 

[RussianSensation]

194 replies and no benchmarks? I strongly suggest you guys start a whole new thread WHEN you both decide to provide benches so its fairly easy to navigate

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: RussianSensation
194 replies and no benchmarks? I strongly suggest you guys start a whole new thread WHEN you both decide to provide benches so its fairly easy to navigate

why?

once we actually start the benchmarking, there will be 200 replies in 2 hours ... most of them fluff n' flames

it doesn't matter if there are 100 pages of crap or only 10 ... the first 5 posts or so are reserved for the benchmarking and they can be edited over-and-over to reflect updated tests and results

you never have to navigate off the topic's FIRST page ... except to see the latest flames ... and you can be sure they woon't be edited into the first few posts

stay tuned

my rig is getting there with Vista ... should have everything migrated and installed by tonight ... then it's some preliminary benchmarking WHILE i install XP and Keys installs Vista

this thread can be properly kept alive for a couple of weels
--Keys is pretty smart

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: yacoub
BFG: You need to remember that a lot of these kids have the case on the floor away from them and are in a noisy room with a TV blaring and whatever else going on, so they simply don't care how loud the card is.

Others of us do, and clearly it's important to us, but asking them for input on the noise levels has clearly proven to be a futile thing.

i care how loud my card is.
--what kind of noise levels "input" ARE you asking for?


i offered - still offer - to record my HD2900xt in as quiet a room as i can make it with only my single OCZ fan running .... then you will hear the idle noise of the 2900xt OVER the OCZ's noise ... and then you will hear it REV-UP under full load ... you will hear three steps of increase and judge for yourself if it is that more annoying than a single PS fan
--and i will do this case open and case closed ... mic settings and distances the same
--Of course, make sure you turn up your speakers so you can hear it over your OWN rig's noise ... and note the RELATIVE increase ...

that's what reviewers did to demonstrate the lawn-mowerlike sound of the Ultra Dustbuster ... our noise princess didn't complain then about those nv30 sound bytes
--Do you want to hear it or not ?

i am sure *every* hd2900xt owner with a mic can ALSO do this for you guys

LMK if you think the test will be useful ... i'm off to the relative quiet of SoCal's freeways

 

[CaiNaM]

Originally posted by: apoppin
just because you say so?

no, because multiple review sites state it's a noisy card, and it's backed up by by the tests they run.

or are you reading into the reviews like our noise princess does?

and you consider yourself more credible than professional reviewers? all you've really ever shown is a tendenct to show a certain... let's just call it fondness, of whatever gfx card you happen to own at the time.

please ... show me where the "multiple reviews contradict me" ... they do NOT say ... anywhere - that the HD2900xt is *LOUD*

what.. you want to play semantics? and what difference would it make? you've been shown quotes stating that, but you choose to ignore them and continue with your .. let's call it what it is - rant.

but here goes

"The bad: Not a definitive winner on today's games, and next-gen performance is too early to call; Nvidia's competing card costs $50 less; hot, power-hungry, and noisy card"

"Further, this card runs hot, as evidenced by the hot air blowing out of the back of it. The exhaust is so warm it feels like it could roast a marshmallow. It's also loud."

ZDnet


"You?ll be happy to know there is no ?whine? to the fan, but when the fan gets going at full speed there is a decent amount of audible wind noise and the air exhausting can be felt a few feet away from the back of the video card. The actual change in the fan rotation speed is also noticeable as it will go from quiet to somewhat loud very quickly."

Hardocp


"The fan is quite loud at times"

Overclockers Club


"t this "cool off the card at any costs" speed, it's simply too loud for our tastes. This bothers some users more than others, but we feel the card frequently enters a mode where it's clearly beyond our tolerable threshold for high-end GPU noise."

Extreme Tech


"cooling system that produces rather loud noise is something that should definitely be corrected on commercial Radeon HD 2900 XT graphics cards."

xbit labs

"AMD has equipped the Radeon HD 2900 XT with a blower than can move an awful lot of hot air, and that inevitably translates into noise. This isn't anything close to GeForce FX 5800 Ultra Dustbuster levels?that card hit 58.8 dB on the same meter?but the 2900 XT is in a class by itself among high-end graphics cards."

Tech Report
(they have a nice chart up showing the "relative" noise compared to other cards)

"There's no other way of saying this ... the card is very noisy."

guru3d

"Under the load condition generating that heat, the fan speed is such that board volume is higher than any of the board boards on test, and that the pitch of the noise is annoyingly high with a whistling property to it, at least in our test system and to our ears. Added to that, the speed steppings of the fan make pitch changes very noticeable, and the board constantly alters fan speed in our test system, even just drawing the (admittedly Vista Aero Glass) desktop"

beyond3d

this paints a pretty clear picture - the 2900XT is noisy. while i'm sure you will continue to ignore this, at least other more reasonable readers will clearly see you're continued denial is quite laughable. your continued efforts in arguing this makes one wonder if any of your upcoming results in this comparison will be anything close to objective.

rather they say the G80 is "whisper quiet" in COMPARISON ...

they do say that as well, but that's not all they say.

that IS a not so subtle difference, you know

? makes no sense when your argument already fails on every level

Originally posted by: Extelleron
PLENTY of people "tolerated" the X1900XT and XTX, they made plenty of noise but it never bothered a lot of people. Why suddenly, is HD 2900XT "beyond our tolerable threshold for high-end GPU noise" when it is QUIETER than the X1900's?

some people are more sensitive to it. because one could "tolerate" it doesn't make it any quieter; just means someone was willing to put up with it, or didn't have enough case to do anything about it. and there were plenty of people who removed the coolers or got rid of the card as they couldn't "tolerate" the noise.

I for one "tolerated" it (i kind of got used to it), but i still wanted to do something about it. it just wasn't real high on my list of priorities, and before i got around to finding a cooling solution i liked, i replaced the whole card.

 

[bfdd]

Apoppin, what's wrong with Oblivion? Also, you're using 32bit Vista right? So you don't have to worry about Driver Signature Authorization? Did you turn off UAC?