[section_title title=”GPU Performance”]
GPU Performance
For GPU thermals we use the Unigine Heaven Benchmark 4.0. This powerful tool is a GPU-intensive benchmark that hammers graphics cards to their very limits and can not only be effectively used to determine the stability of a GPU under extremely stressful conditions, but also check the systems cooling potential under maximum heat output.
The Carbide 400C may offer no shortage in space when it comes to Graphics Cards and will accept cards of up to 370mm in length, which is why the test GPU for case thermals has been chosen as the colossal Powercolor R9 NANO(?!?). Ok, so perhaps colossal and the Nano don’t quite pair up given the cards total length of a meager 154mm. What it does allow for us to do, is to use a small but powerful GPU, that’ll likely to fit inside very nearly every case we are going to see on the test bench. We’ve already found that to hold a 100% stable 1000MHz, the AMD Nano needs its Power Limit increased by +50%, but thermal throttling will still occur at temperatures of 85C+. While under full stress Heaven 4.0 really pushes the GPU hard, but the card still tops out with a maximum Delta of 48C. Something I actually expected to be little higher because the stock set-up for the fans within the 400C seem to be squarely aimed at cooling the CPU more than the GPU (the intake fan could easily be moved if you should so wish).
While initially overclocking the R9 Nano may seem fruitless with both a Core and Memory clock that seem oddly low, its worth remembering that even a marginal overclock with 1050MHz Core and 1050MHz (effective) Memory Clock still give us a pretty respectable performance boost and make the card more comparable to its bigger brother the Fury X. Sadly this also comes at the cost of additional heat, yet the wide open space within the Carbide 400C still helps to keep the Nano well cooled with an 57C Delta.
