sck451
MOST VALUED CONTRIBUTOR
1000RPM is definitely audible for me. 850W isn't too bad, and that's 50% PWM, so I've done a test at that level. The lowest level I consider "silent" is 600RPM, so I gave that a whirl as well.
Here are the graphs. I think I've made a mistake somewhere, because the "power draw" one makes no sense: it seems that 600RPM is more effective at cooling than 850RPM. But presented here in the interests of full transparency.
My conclusion from this: I could probably run at a slightly higher level, and ramp up to a significantly lower level, and get virtually identical acoustic and very similar CPU performance. But leaving a static level at a level I consider silent does reduce performance: nothing seems to compete with "howling gale". My next test will be to add GPU load and see how that affects things, but I have a Sunday afternoon trip to the gym to do first!
Here are the graphs. I think I've made a mistake somewhere, because the "power draw" one makes no sense: it seems that 600RPM is more effective at cooling than 850RPM. But presented here in the interests of full transparency.
My conclusion from this: I could probably run at a slightly higher level, and ramp up to a significantly lower level, and get virtually identical acoustic and very similar CPU performance. But leaving a static level at a level I consider silent does reduce performance: nothing seems to compete with "howling gale". My next test will be to add GPU load and see how that affects things, but I have a Sunday afternoon trip to the gym to do first!
