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Acoustics
To test the sound levels coming from each graphics card, all other devices in the area are turned off to avoid outside noise contamination. After running a 10-minute benchmark in Battlefield 4, a decibel meter is placed two inches from the rear of the exhaust outlet.
The meter used for this test is not as accurate as the tools used in some of our labs; this one starts reading at 35 decibels. This hasn't been an issue in the past, though this time around we're flirting with the instrument's floor.
In the graph, MSI’s card is listed at 34 decibels. This is done to represent just how quiet the Twin Frozr V solution really is. The meter wouldn't register a reading two inches from the rear panel, even when the fans started up.
To test this further, the meter was placed one inch from the fans on the inside. Only then did we measure 36.5 dB. The fans are almost imperceptible. The Zotac 960 AMP! was tested in the same way and registered 39.5 dB next to the fan.