Page 10 - Noise Factor and Conclusion
The cooler is actually very quiet and nearly inaudible. To be honest, I am sure you read how 'quiet' things are on your quest of reading the last 2,000,000 reviews. But the truth is that, this is literally almost inaudible.
My test machine is completed with some of the quietest components in the market today -- with Noctua NF-S12-800 and Noctua NF-S12-1200 (ULNA @ 600RPM) fans installed, complete with a Scythe Infinity with Asus AI Quiet enabled (So the 120mm fan spins at 800RPM), and the famous quiet PSU Seasonic M12 -- the only thing left audible in my case, even with the Asus EAX1950PRO installed, is not the graphics card -- it's actually the ambient noise of the motor on my Seagate 7200.10 320GB PMR drive. The rest is not audible, so it makes my entire computer no louder than a standard external hard drive. Quiet enough? Heck, yes!!!
(Notice the three exclamations, har har.)
Well, anyway, the point is that this card is not only quiet, but with the fan spinning at a typical 19% -- the only time it spins up is during initial boot at 100% when it sounds like a vacuum cleaner -- even in 3D mode, the fan does not spin up enough to make a clear audible difference.
The Asus EAX1950PRO has a National sensor on board. According to the sensor, the graphics card is 47c idling and 79c under load. These temperatures are completely acceptable. Another advantage of this Asus cooler is that it cools down the memory as well.
In general, despite the recent release of midrange DX10 cards, the ATI Radeon X1950 Pro based Asus EAX1950PRO provides excellent bang for your buck -- the average cost of a similar performing 8600GTS costs 33% more than the EAX1950PRO at press time. This is up to you to decide though -- whether you want to save some cash for a low cost, fairly high performance card or spend more cash on a DX10 midrange card, it can be quite a hard thing to decide. Regardless of all other factors, among all X1950 Pro based video cards, the Asus one may be one excellent choice that distincts itself for various factors. It's widely available worldwide and at virtually all retailers, it is very affordable, and the cooler is nice and quiet. If you are looking for something in this price range, the Asus EAX1950PRO definitely fits your bill. Definitely.
Special thanks to Charlton over at Asus for making this review possible.
Rating: 7.7/10
- The rating 7/10 means "Great product with many advantages and certain insignificant drawbacks; but should be considered before purchasing".
- The rating 8/10 means "Definitely a very good product with drawbacks that isn't likely going to matter to the end user".
- More information in our Review Focus.
Low cost, great performing video card. Relatively low power consumption, and best of all, excellent cooler for quietness during both 2D and 3D mode. If you aren't jumping onto midrange DX10 any time soon such as a 8600GTS, this card is cheaper, and better performing card, just without DX10.
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Page Index
1. Introduction, Specifications, Bundle
2. A Closer Look
3. Test System, Benchmark: Half Life 2: Lost Coast
4. Benchmark: FEAR
5. Benchmark: Prey
6. Benchmark: Quake 4
7. Benchmark: CS:S cs_militia
8. Benchmark: 3DMark06
9. Power Usage, Overclocking
10. Noise Factor and Conclusion
