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Cooling & Noise
Thermal Solution
Asus’ cooler is quite simple. It consists of an aluminum body with fins, which is made using continuous casting. Below it, there's a separate sink for the GPU’s VRM. Meanwhile, the memory VRM doesn't receive any cooling.
| Cooling Solution Overview | |
|---|---|
| Type of Cooler | Air cooling |
| Heat Sink | Aluminum; two partially-flattened, pressed-in heat pipes |
| Cooling Fins | Aluminum block; continuous casting |
| Heat Pipes | 2x 6mm, nickel-plated |
| VRM Cooling | Only via separate (small) sinkCooling for MOSFETs-only |
| RAM Cooling | None; indirect via fan airflow |
| Fan | 2x 7.5cm fan assembly11 rotor bladesControlled; semi-passive |
| Backplate | None |
The big heat sink has wide slits cut through it, allowing air to pass through to the PCB from both sides. Two heat pipes are partially flattened and pressed into the cooler’s body; this is supposed to improve heat transfer from the GPU throughout both sides of the sink.
That VRM heat sink we mentioned is more than ample. It doesn't have much headroom for cooling, though. Our highest overclock necessitated a manual fan speed increase to keep the VRM continuously under 100°C.
Fan Speeds & Noise
The fan curves suggest a conservative and noise-optimized profile. There’s no sharp initial impulse to get the fans spinning, and no clear hysteresis. Asus' semi-passive mode is simply a product of the fans’ mechanical/electrical limits and the corresponding voltages. This is what causes the fans to start and stop. It’s a simple, but not very elegant, solution.
The stress test results are similar., though the fans spin a bit faster due to the card’s higher power consumption.
| Fan Speed & Noise Measurements | |
|---|---|
| Fan Speed (Open Benchtable, Maximum) | 2058 RPM |
| Fan Speed (Open Benchtable, Average) | 2050 RPM |
| Fan Speed (Closed Case, Maximum) | 2222 RPM |
| Fan Speed (Closed Case, Average) | 2214 RPM |
| Noise (Air, Maximum) | 41.7 dB(A) |
| Noise (Air, Average) | 41.2 dB(A) |
| Noise (Air, Idle) | 0 dB(A) |
| Noise Characteristics /Subjective Impressions | Almost no low-frequency bearing noisesClearly audible motor noises <1 HzAudible air/airflow noises |
What follows is a high-resolution graph of our measurements that covers the entire frequency spectrum, illustrating our subjective acoustic impressions.
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