I recently build this new system:
Fractal Design Define R3 chassis
Intel® Core™ i5-2500 with Noctua NH-D14 heatsink/cooler
Asrock Z68 PRO3 motherboard
8GB DDR3 1600 Kingston HyperX RAM
Corsair 450w power supply that I kept from my old system
OCZ Summit Series 2,5" 60GB SSD that I kept from my old system
More info about the process can be found in this post from last month:
http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...uiet-PC-setup)
And here comes the problem. I still have my more than 2 year old Geforce GTS 250 plugged into this new system. I know its an old card, but it does the job very well, especially for WoW.
But I've always had a problem. I have a SoundBlaster Arena USB headset, with a build in microphone. When this microphone is turned on there is a VERY annoying lowlevel buzz in the headset. This gives me a headacke when I use Ventrilo etc. If I disable the microphone in the Windows Recording Device menu the buzz/wiizzzz noise is totally gone, so yeah I've turned into some kind of "mute" on VT
The thing is this buzz/wiizzzz noise change in volume, and how should I put it, "beat" when I turn the camera around ingame, as if it was based on my FPS or what the GFX writes on the screen. If I plug a normal speaker set into the motherboard I get a similar buzz/wiizzzz based on how the camera is turned. But this is even without microphone plugged in. This problem was the same before I got this new system so the cause can ONLY be my PSU, Razor Naga mouse or my Geforce GTS 250. I've tested the USB headset in my laptop and there the microphone work just fine with no noise, also with the Naga mouse plugged in.
What makes me think it is the GFX is the fact that the same squeeeeeeeeek/bzzzzzz comes out of the card physically, its not very loud but if I put my ear to the case I can hear it clearly. I've read a lot about this problem on random cards. Its something to do with the coils on them.
So now I'm trying to find a new Graphics card with absolutely NO COIL PROBLEMS, I can't express how important this is. I wan't one that sends out close to 0db. So I will be looking at some passive GFX cards, and then I will put my own 120mm fan on it to keep it at a decent temperature (Have bought some VERY VERY low noise ones earlier). The reason for this is my whole system is now build around being so silent you could hear a needle drop to the floor.
Here is the cards I am considering:
Club 3D Radeon HD 6570 CoolStream Edition (1 GB)
http://www.club-3d.com/index.php/pro...m-edition.html
Idle: 10W
Maximum load: 44W
613 DKR = 82 Euro
Club 3D Radeon HD 6750 CoolStream Edition (1 GB)
http://www.club-3d.com/index.php/pro...m-edition.html
Idle: 16W
Maximum load: 86W
902 DKR = 121 Euro
PowerColor Radeon HD 6850 SCS 3
http://www.komplett.dk/k/ki.aspx?sku=634547
http://www.powercolor.com/global/pro...res.asp?id=358
http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Ha...0_SCS3/19.html
Maximum load: 127 W
1399 DKR = 187 Euro
Here is a Tom's Hardware - Benchmark Unigine Sanctuary - Gamer comparison of the 3 Cards
Yes I know the prices here in Denmark are a bit steep, but you gotta take our social security system, welfare, wage and tax system into consideration. So no reason to comment on that. Would like to stay in a 200 Euro budget though.
My first thought is that the HD 6850 might be overkill for WoW and since it use higher watt (still lower than my shitty 2 year old 250GTS, it use 150watt) than the others I suspect it will become hotter. Have any of you tested any of these cards or most important of all, heard about Coil noise problems on any of them. I've tried to search youtube and random reviews but none seem to speak about coil-problems. Is this problem solved or is this totally ignored today because most cards sound like a jet engine due to the crappy fans they put on them, and thus totally outnoise any possible Coil squeek. Or have you heard of any other cards that can be used in a silent PC setup ?
And before you ask, I've not been able to find any Nvidia based passive cooled cards.