Axle GeForce GT 430 Review
Temperature
Controlling temperature is a vital part of the balance between noise and cooling. We all want to know that when we sink our hard-earned money into our hardware, it won’t fail due to overheating caused by inadequate cooling solutions.
FurMark 1.8.2 – the new Hot Like Hell Edition – was used to load the GPU for 10 minutes and the peak temperature was recorded. The idle temperature remained the same in each case.
The GT 430 idled at 33°C. While at full load, it had a peak temperature of 55°C and when stressed to the fullest with Furmark, the temperature crept up to a high of 65°C. These results were obtained with an ambient reading at 28°C. The cooling solution Axle uses is able to allow the card to idle just 5°C above ambient. This demonstrates that it is quite an efficient design.
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Noise
Owing to the lack of a decibel meter, I had to test by using more natural means. This was done simply by listening at an approximate distance of three feet away with the chassis closed. I was pleased to find that the fan was inaudible throughout. By default, when the GPU is loaded and putting out more heat, the fan spins up to offer more cooling to the cards’ components. The fan speed however, never increased from the default minimum of 65%.
Power Usage
Power usage is becoming increasingly important in this green age. Most enthusiasts disregard power usage in favour of raw performance but at the other end of the spectrum, budget and mainstream users are more wary.
The Axle GT 430 draws a maximum of 49W and this is easily supplied by the PCI Express motherboard slot which can provide up to 75W. Therefore, no additional power connectors were needed for this video card.
