Noise charts distorted? Comparing Tom's Hardware and techPowerUp

[arawn]

Hi,

I'm about to update my whole computer and was already set on the items:

Memory: 8GB Dual Kit Ripjaws X (2x4GB) DDR3 1600, $61/€45 (http://www.jimms.fi/tuote/BX80623I52500K)
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K, $278/€206 (http://www.jimms.fi/tuote/F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL)
MOBO: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3, $174/€129 (http://www.jimms.fi/tuote/Z68-EXTREME3-GEN3)
GPU: GeForce GTX 560 Ti DirectCU II TOP, 1GB + MW3, $304/€225 (http://www.jimms.fi/tuote/ENGTX560-TI-DCII-TOP-MW3)

But I ran on finnish forums into a thread, where a person was looking for a quiet GTX 560 Ti, same as me. What I found after that was that people have complained a lot about the noise the GTX 560 Ti DirectCU II creates.
Tom's Hardware 3D noise charts for Gaming GPU's gives the value of 33,7 dB(A) (http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/2011-gaming-graphics-charts/3D-Noise,2680.html)

and on the other hand techPowerUp gives 40 dB(A)! (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GeForce_GTX_560_Ti_Direct_Cu_II/27.html)

So which one should I believe? Neither? Which GTX 560 Ti IS the most silent?

 

[chesteracorgi]

There are lots of factors in evaluating the dBA, methodology, position of microphones, speed of fans, etc. One thing that may cause a huge difference in evaluating a single card is fan speed which can be altered by a fan controller or software like MSI Afterburner.

The best way you can evaluate the difference between different models is to look for comparison reviews of different manufacturers and see which is recommended for quiet. Another way is to read the reviews on a site like Newegg and look at the reviews to see if there are complaints about noise.

 

[arawn]

384-Bit: Thanks for the link, I'll take that into consideration.
Chesteracorgi: You are right of course, I suppose more studying for me then. Thanks anyway.

 

[DelroyMonjo]

Yeah, 384-Bit. That was an enlightening video on fan noise. I could actually reduce the fan noise by using the volume slider on my computer. Amazing! Like remote control!