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Cooling & Noise
Cooling System & Backplate
As mentioned, Gigabyte's backplate plays an active role in cooling this card. It's not just there to look pretty or add structural stability.
The foil has some cut-outs for thick thermal pads, which create contact between the backplate and PCB to help with voltage regulation circuitry cooling.
| Cooling System Overview | |
|---|---|
| Type | Air cooling |
| Heat Sink | Aluminum heat sink for GPU with heat pipes that make direct contactMemory cooling (modules, voltage converters) via mounting frame on heat sink |
| Cooling Fins | Aluminum, vertical orientationNarrow configuration |
| Heat Pipes | 2x 8mm, copper composite material |
| VRM Cooling | GPU-VRM via heat sink built in to coolerMemory VRM on the rear via backplate |
| RAM Cooling | Via mounting frame, and indirect cooling via heat sink |
| Fans | 3x 8cm fan module (7.7cm rotor diameter)11 rotor blades eachSemi-passive control |
| Backplate | AluminumCooling function, foil on the inside with cut-outs for padsRGB effects |
The GeForce GTX 1070 Ti Gaming 8G employs a simple finned cooler with a thick aluminum base plate, which also serves as sink and mount for the two flattened 8mm heat pipes. As you can see in the picture below, these pipes are only able to cover part of GP104. Might that be a sign attempts were made to cut costs?
Fan Speeds & Noise
Our fan data shows how Gigabyte compensated for the cooler's limited surface area with higher rotational speeds. A cynical reviewer might point out that big, beefy heat sinks cost manufacturers money, while power and noise become your problem at home. But there's something to be said for striking a balance, particularly when it comes to a high-end graphics card priced just $10 under the least-expensive GeForce GTX 1080.
Nothing much changes during our stress test. Armed with three rather small fans, it's almost impossible for this card to operate quietly. In the end, though, we aren't assailed by obtrusive noise levels.
The 1070 Ti Gaming 8G's thermal solution has no reserves left to facilitate lower fan speeds. Any attempt to dial down the curve would sacrifice at least one GPU Boost step in the process.
| Fan Speed & Noise Output | |
|---|---|
| Fan Speed (Open Test Bench, Maximum) | 1825 RPM |
| Fan Speed (Open Test Bench, Average) | 1802 RPM |
| Fan Speed (Closed Case, Maximum) | 2001 RPM |
| Fan Speed (Closed Case, Average) | 1992 RPM |
| Noise (Air Cooling, Maximum) | 40.8 dB(A) |
| Noise (Air Cooling, Average) | 40.2 dB(A) |
| Noise (Air Cooling, Idle) | 0 dB(A) |
| Acoustic Characteristics | Almost no low-frequency bearing noiseAudible motor noise <1 HzVery audible air/tearing noiseSlight voltage converter noise |
This snapshot illustrates the entire frequency range of our laboratory measurements, adding some data to our subjective observations.
We're not at all impressed by an almost 41 dB(A) measurement. However, given how light this card is and the temperatures we observed, it's pretty remarkable that Gigabyte was able to use a solution from its GeForce GTX 1070 to address 1070 Ti as well. Cost-cutting can obviously be made to work, even if it has to be paid for with higher noise levels.
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