Thermal Performance

To thermally test the cards we recorded GPU temperatures for each individual core using RivaTuner. Idle readings were taken at the desktop in Windows Vista 64-bit Home Premium with Windows Aero enabled, while the load reading taken while the GPU configuration was running our Crysis benchmark at 1,920 x 1,200 with 0xAA.

This is one of the most demanding tests in our benchmarking suite, and is sure to get those GPUs sweating. We didn't go higher because we felt that if we increased the load too much, some of the slower cards wouldn't deliver realistic numbers because they'd be bottlenecked in other ways.

All temperatures were taken with the cards cooled using only their standard stock coolers and running on our open air test benches, which have no additional airflow other than that present in the room.



Sapphire has rigged the Vapor-X to idle at a fairly warm temperature, but 59°C is nothing to be worried about especially as the reference card idles at 67°C. That's even more impressive considering the slow and quiet fan of the Vapor-X's cooler - the fan wafts air down onto the heatsink bonded to the vapour chamber, with warm air slowly leaking from all sides of the card.

If we have a criticism, it's that the card doesn't exhaust its heat from the case as a reference design does, so your case should have good airflow and preferably a side panel exhaust fan.

Under load the temperature of the Vapor-X's GPU rises by only 14°C, again a good showing considering that the noise level barely rises at all. While it looks as if the HD 4890 cooler is even more effective, this is only because the reference HD 4890 is fitted with a hair dryer for a cooler - anything that noisy had better be good at cooling, that it doesn't even vent much of the total heat generated by the card is disappointing.