Reviews - Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 1GB Vapor-X graphics card: the best in the world?

[HEXUS]

An aftermarket cooler on the best GPU around. Find out if Sapphire has done it right with the Radeon HD 5870 Vapor-X.

Read more.

[Phage]

<Sigh>....I would just love one of these. The few mm less of length wouldn't hurt either.
However, I'm not yet seeing any huge improvements over my 4890, other than power/temp, that would entice me to outlay the £330 for an upgrade.
Probably in the summer, when DX 11 may start to be more important.

[GheeTsar]

I'm a bit disappointed that it is louder than the reference design under load. Considering the lowered temperatures, there seems to be scope to have the fan running slower/quieter without going above the reference temps.

Having said that, those few extra mm saved on length could help me - my case only has 11" between the HDD enclosures and the rear of the case, exactly the length of a 5870, shaving a few extra mm could mean the difference between fitting and not fitting in my case.

[cobhc]

Did you transpose the 285 and 295 temperatures? I find it hard to believe the load temps of a 285 being higher than a 295?

[Syllopsium]

I'm a bit disappointed that it is louder than the reference design under load. Considering the lowered temperatures, there seems to be scope to have the fan running slower/quieter without going above the reference temps.

Where does it say that? I can't see any mention about noise at all.

PK

[GheeTsar]

Where does it say that? I can't see any mention about noise at all.

PK

Oddly the noise bit was tucked away on the card description page:

http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=20948&page=2

Looking quite funky in a perforated black housing, the card is quieter than the reference when idling in 2D, barely noticeable above the background noise, but is a touch louder when playing games.

[Perfectionist]

That kind of defeats the point then! Sad... Oh well, I was going for watercooling already since I figured it probably couldn't be much quieter due to the heat generated, so I'm not too disappointed. Reference or branded standard for me!

[Zhaoman]

Is that saying a touch louder than reference or a touch louder than background? I read it as a touch louder than background the first time i skimmed over it... it is a bit too ambiguous :/ Can Hexus clarify please?

[Phage]

Is that saying a touch louder than reference or a touch louder than background? I read it as a touch louder than background the first time i skimmed over it... it is a bit too ambiguous :/ Can Hexus clarify please?

That's how I read it as well. Clarification would be great as it's one of the key selling points.

[scaryjim]

I read it as a touch louder than background the first time i skimmed over it...

That's how I read it too - it'd seem odd to make a point of it being quieter than the stock cooler at idle and *not* also make a point of it if it was louder than the stock at load...

But anyway, the point of Vapor-X is not that it's quieter than normal cooling, it's that it's ... well, cooler! Which this one is, significantly.

[GheeTsar]

That's how I read it too - it'd seem odd to make a point of it being quieter than the stock cooler at idle and *not* also make a point of it if it was louder than the stock at load...

But anyway, the point of Vapor-X is not that it's quieter than normal cooling, it's that it's ... well, cooler! Which this one is, significantly.

I hope you are right about being only slightly louder than idle at load rather than louder than the reference card at load as I would be willing to pay the premium on the card for the quietness (although I wouldn't if it was just for the performance/coolness).

Tarinder - can you shed some light please?

[Phage]

I hope you are right about being only slightly louder than idle at load rather than louder than the reference card at load as I would be willing to pay the premium on the card for the quietness (although I wouldn't if it was just for the performance/coolness).

Tarinder - can you shed some light please?

Exactly. The card sells on it's cool and quiet credentials, not straight performance.

[Perfectionist]

Dropped Tarinder an email asking to take a look at the questions posed to him by forum users via the contact form that pops up when you click his name at the top of the review

[Parm]

Chaps, thanks for the commentary. Tarinder is currently away from his desk, but he has updated the article to clarify the segment on noise. It now reads:

Looking quite funky in a perforated black housing, the card is quieter than the reference design when idling in 2D, and it's barely noticeable above the ambient background noise. However, put it to work in 3D gaming, and the Vapor-X is a touch louder than AMD's stock cooler.

Hope that helps clear up any confusion.

[Phage]

Yes it does thanks.
<dammit>

[scaryjim]

One suspects that you could set slightly quieter fan profiles - although then would you get the same benefit from the enhanced cooling? Sounds like ATI have put a *really good* fan on the reference card...