Why does nVidia force me to futz with fan speeds?

[JeremyCT]

Using the nTune driver add-on, is there a way to increase the clock speeds without having to set the fan speed to a constant %? I know I can do it with a BIOS re-flash, but for the moment I'd like to do it in software. It seems as soon as I change the clock speeds in the control panel, the fan speed never varies from whatever the slider is set to in the control panel.

I'd really like to retain the automatic fan speed control and overclock the card. Is this possible with the nVidia software, or do I have to use different software to accomplish this?

[Rattle]

dump ntune its garbage, grab rivatuner, you can put the fanspeed at whatever you want but I always set up a dynamic fan speed so it goes up and down with temps automatically.

[JeremyCT]

That's the thing, I'd really rather not "set up" anything other than the clock speeds. I've used RivaTuner before, and the fan speed control was spotty. Sometimes worked as I told it to, sometimes it didn't.

[Rattle]

lol works perfectly for every card i ever had and you dont have to "set up" anything other than your clock speeds.....

not really sure what else to tell you.

[Aynjell]

If your card is evga, get precision.

[Special7]

If your card is evga, get precision.
Any brand nVidia card will work with precision.

[ChanceCoats123]

The reason it doesn't change when you raise the clocks is that it varies by TEMP and not by SPEEDS. Now the fact that your speeds are higher will equal higher temps and you fan will run higher. WHILST being used and once it is hot enough the fan will increase.

[Badbonji]

Yeah, my fan doesn't increase until it hits just over 60C from stock 40%, but I run it 100% constantly normally.

[Rich'[ard]]

lol 'futz' i like that...i like that a lot :p

[Aynjell]

Any brand nVidia card will work with precision.

Orly? Hrm, sounds good to me then. I know only evga users with approved products can download it but I'm sure somebody somewhere has mirrored it... whether or not that's illegal, I'm not sure.

[-Blue-]

Orly? Hrm, sounds good to me then. I know only evga users with approved products can download it but I'm sure somebody somewhere has mirrored it... whether or not that's illegal, I'm not sure.


you only have to be registered at their site to download it.. i'm not running any evga products and been using it.. and not sure it the voltage utility is working with other cards but i think they were also planning on releasing it for the rest of the cards

[ChanceCoats123]

I personally run my card at 65-70% 24/7 because that is right where I can hear it, but it isn't too loud while still keeping my card under 55*C.

[JeremyCT]

The reason it doesn't change when you raise the clocks is that it varies by TEMP and not by SPEEDS. Now the fact that your speeds are higher will equal higher temps and you fan will run higher. WHILST being used and once it is hot enough the fan will increase.

Right, but wrong. If you increase clock speeds via the nVidia Control Panel, the fan speed will stay at whatever speed is set in the control panel, regardless of GPU temperature. Default seems to be 45%.

[ChanceCoats123]

No, All right. I said that raising clock speeds woul equate to more heat which would cause the fan to spin up more. You're saying that raising the clocks in general would raise the speed. And the default is 35% on my card which will run all the way up to about 90% under heavy loads.

[JeremyCT]

::sigh:: I never said that raising the clocks should increase the fan speed directly. Please re-read the original post.

What I'm saying is that when I set the clock speeds in the nVidia Control Panel, the fan speed stays at whatever it is set to in that same Control Panel, regardless of card temp. IOW, if the slider is at 45%, fan speed stays at 45%, even with GPU temps topping 80C. This is extremely annoying, as I'd rather not have to listen to my fan at 70% when the system is at the desktop. I'd like the nVidia Control Panel to retain automatic fan speed while allowing me to adjust the clock speeds.

Apparently this is not possible without using third party software.

[ChanceCoats123]

Well that is more clear. But, I don't understand why it does that on your card because even without evga precision, my card's fan speeds up under load.

[JeremyCT]

It's a limit of the overclocking tools available in the nVidia Control Panel apparently. Third party apps or BIOS flashing seem to be the only way to do what I'd like.

[ChanceCoats123]

I like evga because they have good cards, good prices and their warrenty is basically only void if you hard mod the chip. I mean they even give you a utility to oc' with. And why don't you want to use precision? Just set it to start at windows and set the fan on auto then it will go up and down with usage 24/7, or how ever much you run your computer.

[MasterG]

dump ntune its garbage, grab rivatuner, you can put the fanspeed at whatever you want but I always set up a dynamic fan speed so it goes up and down with temps automatically.

I think this is the best option. It might take you a few minutes time to get it the way you want it, but I think it is worth it.

I run 6 cooling levels. In reality, only 4 are ever used, but the top 2 are there just in case things get out of hand. It is worth noting that these are pretty conservative temp settings. I could run this thing hotter if I liked.

30% duty cycle for 20C - 53C
45% duty cycle for 55C - 58C
55% duty cycle for 60C - 63C
65% duty cycle for 65C - 68C
80% duty cycle for 70C - 73C
95% duty cycle for 75C - 100C

During normal use, my temp hangs around at about 47C. Under a heavy load it will work its way up to a max of about 68C.

Why bother with this? For one, the hotter you run your card, the less life you'll get out of it. That is true for any electronic component. A temp profile allows you to tweak your fan settings to keep your core at a comfortable temperature.

The same is true for your fan, the more the duty cycle, the more wear and tear. There is no need to run your fan at high speed when you don't need it. Slowing it down reduces noise and extends life. At idle mine runs at 30% duty cycle and 47C. If I ran it at 65% all the time my idle temp would be 42C instead and things would be much louder. On the flip side, my load temp would be 79C while running at 30% duty cycle.

[mxthunder]

My 260 fan never changed speed anyways. If I were to run furmark with the card at totally factory settings, the fan would stay at 40% until like 80C then it would only jump to 45% which made no difference to temps. They are way under sensitive IMO.
I think what would be ideal is to have it so when the temp crests, say 55C, turn the fan to 100% because if the temp is getting that high, it basically means you are playing a game or have it under some type of load and noise is less of an issue at that point. When the card gets below 55c, have the fan go back down to 40%.

[mtber4life889]

My 260 fan never changed speed anyways. If I were to run furmark with the card at totally factory settings, the fan would stay at 40% until like 80C then it would only jump to 45% which made no difference to temps. They are way under sensitive IMO.
I think what would be ideal is to have it so when the temp crests, say 55C, turn the fan to 100% because if the temp is getting that high, it basically means you are playing a game or have it under some type of load and noise is less of an issue at that point. When the card gets below 55c, have the fan go back down to 40%.

But then wouldn't the card keep going back and forth from 40% to 100% because the 100% would put it below 55c then go back to 40% only to go above 55c... I think you would need more then one temp crest just because of the fact that the fluctuating might get really annoying after awhile.?

[Zap]

What I'm saying is that when I set the clock speeds in the nVidia Control Panel, the fan speed stays at whatever it is set to in that same Control Panel, regardless of card temp. IOW, if the slider is at 45%, fan speed stays at 45%, even with GPU temps topping 80C. This is extremely annoying, as I'd rather not have to listen to my fan at 70% when the system is at the desktop. I'd like the nVidia Control Panel to retain automatic fan speed while allowing me to adjust the clock speeds.

Apparently this is not possible without using third party software.

This sounds like NVIDIA System Tools behavior, not nTune.

You may be better off using a 3rd party utility.

My 260 fan never changed speed anyways. If I were to run furmark with the card at totally factory settings, the fan would stay at 40% until like 80C then it would only jump to 45% which made no difference to temps. They are way under sensitive IMO.

That's strange. Unless some software is changing the behavior like what JeremyCT is experiencing, the fan should ramp up more. Does temperatures go above 85ºC? Maybe the monitor is showing something else? Try (temporarily) GPU-Z's monitoring. I've found that to be simpler to use.

[jchunter]

Here's my theory: Nvidia's president's daughter married some shlock who needed a job. They put him in charge of controlling Nvidia's gpu temperatures. He has not yet mastered the <simple> art of the thermostat, which even Honeywell was able to understand. (They made a device that turned on the air conditioner if it got too hot in the house (or furnace, if it got too cold.) )

Lest I digress, the shlock does not understand that a default setting of 45% fan speed results in high GPU temps even if you are not running Crysis. However, if you are, he does not understand that Warhead can send the temperature of a GX2 or any other Nvidia GPU soaring to levels that can trigger graphical artifacts. :bang head

Anyway, I just use EVGA Precision to set GPU fan speed to 100% and I never have to futz again. :beer:

[mxthunder]

Maybe I didnt leave it stock long enough to let it get warm : )
From my 9800gt days, I remember the fan would barely go up to maybe 60% after playing COD4 for hours on end and temps reaching 90C

[ChanceCoats123]

I don't think they have realized that when you are gaming, low temps are more important than nice quiet system... Most people use headsets anyway.