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Fans and Noise
XFX’s semi-passive mode works as advertised. When the fans do spin up, they start in the 700 rpm range.
Faced with a real-world gaming workload, the fans gradually ramp up over 15 minutes to just under 2,000 rpm, maintaining a temperature just over 80 degrees Celsius. They don’t need to spin nearly as fast in an open case, where temperatures level off around 79 degrees Celsius.
There are no reserves to adjust the fans down a bit. Rather, you may feel compelled to turn them up for more cooling. Unfortunately, noise becomes an issue not long after.
| XFX Radeon RX 590 Fatboy 8GB OC+ | |
|---|---|
| Fan Speed: Open Test Bench (Maximum) | 699 RPM (gaming, peak) |
| Fan Speed: Open Test Bench (Average) | 1652 RPM (warmed up) |
| Fan Speed: Closed Case (Maximum) | 2028 RPM (gaming, peak) |
| Fan Speed: Closed Case (Average) | 1947 RPM (warmed up) |
| Noise (Air, Average) | 41.4 dB(A) (closed case, peak) |
| Noise (Air, Idle) | Passive mode, no noise |
| Sound Characteristics | Audible bearing and motor noises, buzzing from the coils. |
Spectrum Analysis
The 38.1 dB(A) we measured is based on fans set to spin at 1700 rpm in a closed case.
To generate these images, we recreate the same conditions from our closed-case testing on an open test bench in a test chamber. Although the results don’t look bad, we’re able to identify several points along the spectrum with activity. First, we can see and hear the fans’ motor and bearing noises. Then, there’s high-pitched coil whine up at the top of the spectrum.
Since FurMark coaxes higher temperatures from the Polaris GPU using a more constant load, fan noise in the middle of our range is naturally quite a bit louder. Interestingly, there’s also a lot less buzzing from the coils.
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