A new chassis for testing next-gen graphics cards : Test |CUP | Specs |Config

It’s an open secret that the next-gen graphics cards will require more power than the current generation – potentially much more. Tests have shown that the previous test system housing used by ComputerBase was overwhelmed by the heat to be dissipated – so a change is now taking place.

GeForce RTX 4000 & Radeon RX 7000 will consume even more

The next-gen graphics cards GeForce RTX 4000 (Ada) and Radeon RX 7000 (RDNA 3) will consume a lot of electrical energy, which can be considered safe. Nvidia’s Ada generation is said to set new records: from 450 to 600, 800 and 900 watts, everything is included – new values ​​are speculated on almost every week.

It remains to be seen what will happen in the end. However, it can be taken for granted that the 450 watts of the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti (test) will at least be found again in the high-end models.

However, the test of the 3090 Ti on ComputerBase had already shown that such a power consumption is not easy to handle. It’s less about the power supply, because that’s where the requirements are pretty obvious, and more about the case.

No more reserves in the current test system

The Phanteks Enthoo Evolv X previously used in the ComputerBase test system was completely overwhelmed with the waste heat at 450 watts of power loss from the graphics card. Within a few minutes, heat built up, which caused a high volume and at the same time a high temperature development of all components in the PC – although the Enthoo Evolv X does not have bad ventilation. It definitely plays in the middle of the case.

In another article, ComputerBase then compared three different cases with the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti. The test confirmed that with such a graphics card, it was not the Asus GeForce RTX 3090 Ti Strix OC used that was responsible for the high volume, but the case. In another housing, the accelerator was suddenly quiet – because there was no heat build-up in it.

After this result at the latest, the editors decided to move the graphics card test system to a different case. Because otherwise it would simply have been impossible to evaluate the volume and temperature development of the upcoming GeForce and Radeon accelerators even halfway in isolation. Instead, the case would have been rated almost consistently. That would already apply to a 450-watt graphics card and would only have gotten worse with even higher power consumption.

From now on, the Fractal Design Torrent takes over for GPU tests

From now on, graphics card items will use the Fractal Design Torrent, which was completely convincing in combination with a GeForce RTX 3090 Ti. This automatically means that several series of measurements have to be repeated: In addition to the actual volume, this also applies to the temperature, of course. And it shows that the GeForce RTX 3090 Ti was the only graphics card in the previous test system that completely succumbed to the heat build-up, but other models have already gotten into the problem area.

The article presents the new results so that they don’t cause irritation in the next graphics card test. Instead, they can now be given more attention without re-introduction. In addition, comparisons are drawn between the old and the new test system.

The new graphics card test case

The version of the case is the Fractal Design Torrent Black RGB TG Light Tint with glass window, which costs around 230 euros, whereby the other variants are identical in terms of cooling performance. The factory pre-installed fan assembly is used, accordingly three 140 mm fans suck cool air from the bottom into the case and two further 180 mm fans do the same on the front.

However, they are significantly limited in terms of speed. The 140 mm fans operate in the new housing with 800 revolutions per minute, the 180 mm counterparts with 500 revolutions. In one breath, the editors also reduced the CPU fan (Noctua NF-A15) from 900 to 800 revolutions. This means that the new case is quieter than the previously used Phanteks Enthoo Evolv X, despite the significantly better cooling performance. The noise level of the case fans is only 33.5 dB compared to 36 dB.

The power supply is also changed

There has also been a change in the power supply. Not because the old one was no longer powerful, but the goal was to operate all next-gen graphics cards and also the current models – as far as possible – exclusively with the new 16-pin power connector according to the PCIe 5.0 standard. Accordingly, the Asus ROG Thor Platinum II with 1,200 watts is now used, for which Asus already provides a suitable adapter cable.

Apart from that, there have been no changes to the rest of the hardware of the graphics card test system.