Noise levels - Sound pressure readings

Acoustic Performance

With a certified dBA meter, we measure how many dBAs originate from the PC. It's slightly subjective as there is always noise in the background, from the streets, from the HD, PSU fan, etc. so this is by a mile or two not a precise measurement. You could only achieve objective measurement in a sound test chamber. Take this measurement as an indication, not a precise measurement, please.

The human hearing system has different sensitivities at different frequencies. This means that the perception of noise is not at all equal at every frequency. Noise with significant measured levels (in dB) at high or low frequencies will not be as annoying as it would be when its energy is concentrated in the middle frequencies. In other words, the measured noise levels in dB will not reflect the actual human perception of the loudness of the noise. That's why we measure the dBA level. A specific circuit is added to the sound level meter to correct its reading in regard to this concept. This reading is the noise level in dBA. The letter A is added to indicate the correction that was made in the measurement. Frequencies below 1kHz and above 6kHz are attenuated, whereas frequencies between 1kHz and 6kHz are amplified by the A weighting.

At idle you cannot hear the fans. Once we put the processor at 100% load with several full wPrime runs, we once again notice that Vardar fans are not exactly silent. We recommend fixing fan RPM at a low and then silent value, as the airflow is enough for cooling. 

So that makes one wonder; what happens when we overclock? We'll if you leave your RPM settings at default, the cooler becomes noisy real fast. Again, fix the fan RPM to a low RPM you find yourself comfortable with. You can also create a fan rpm delta with a maximum of, say, 600 RPM. Then it'll be silent, however, that will cost you some performance/cooling capacity.