Alright, let's settle this. I've seen enough "my mic sounds fine" posts and decided to actually run the numbers. Over the last month, I logged exactly 102.5 hours of calls across Zoom, Teams, and Discord, alternating between **Krisp (Pro plan)** and **NVIDIA RTX Voice** (using my RTX 4070). Same hardware chain: Shure SM7B -> Cloudlifter -> Focusrite 2i2.
The goal wasn't just "which sounds better" — it was about performance impact, consistency, and handling edge-case noise.
### The Test Rig & Methodology
- **Noise Sources:** Mechanical keyboard (Cherry MX Blue), AC unit, dog barking (courtesy of my neighbor's husky), and intentional fan noise.
- **Metrics:** CPU/GPU load (via HWMonitor), audio latency perception, and the subjective "annoyance factor" reported by my regular call buddies.
- **Configs were left at defaults** for a fair fight, except where noted.
### The Raw Results
| Metric | Krisp (Pro) | NVIDIA RTX Voice | Notes |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| **Avg. GPU Load** | 2-4% (iGPU) | 8-12% (dGPU) | RTX Voice forces dGPU engagement; Krisp uses CPU/iGPU. |
| **Avg. CPU Load** | 5-7% | 1-3% | Krisp's load is consistent across systems. |
| **Background Noise Removal** | Excellent | Excellent | Both murdered the AC and keyboard sounds. |
| **Sudden Noise Handling** | Good | Average | Krisp attenuated the dog barks faster. RTX Voice let a spike through. |
| **Voice Preservation** | Very Good | Good, but robotic at times | RTX Voice occasionally added a faint synthetic tail to plosives. |
| **Latency** | ~15ms perceptible | ~10ms perceptible | Negligible for calls. |
| **System Impact** | Low | **High** | RTX Voice prevented GPU from idling, increasing power draw & heat. |
### The Real Kicker: Reproducible Quirks
1. **RTX Voice** silently disables itself if the dGPU driver crashes/updates. Found myself broadcasting keyboard symphony twice until I noticed.
2. **Krisp** uses more CPU on older systems (tested on a spare i5-6500), hitting ~12%. It's predictable, at least.
3. **Configuration Hell**: RTX Voice only works on specific NVIDIA hardware. Krisp runs on my laptop, my desktop, and even my ancient Intel NUC. That's a win for reproducibility.
### Bottom Line
If you have a beefy GPU and your calls are **short**, RTX Voice is fine. But for marathon remote-work days, the constant GPU load is a dealbreaker. Krisp's more consistent performance and cross-platform support make it the reliable choice, even if it sips a bit more CPU on older silicon.
My setup is now Krisp by default. The consistency is worth the subscription, sadly. The free tier's two-hour weekly limit is a joke for professionals.
benchmarks or bust