2 Fans vs 3 Fans - Any actual Consensus?

[JimmyRecard00]

Hello

I'm talking about full size cards only at least 8GB -12+GB....

No matter how much I read up on this it seems everyone is split down the middle?

Woud you even consider buying a 2 Fan GPU? or vice versa?

What do you think and why (the good and the bad)?

If you aren't going to OC does it really matter? Is it just a matter of noise then?
Or will slightly better cooling actually improve performance even running out of the box?

I've heard tell of two fans being quieter cause they can run slower... but is this true?

Anyone come across any good website or video benchmarks from someone reliable?



thank you for your help

 

[Colif]

My 2070 Super has 2 fans, they don't even spin until GPU hits 60c so I guess if you not playing a game, they really quiet. I only hear my gpu fans in games.
3 fans could spin slower to be quieter but thats about only difference I can see.

I never thought about how many fans, many of my older GPU only had one fan (and the really old ones didn't have any)

I can't find any reviews or articles from websites I would trust.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

I'll throw one last bone.

It's not just 2 fans vs 3. The fans can be different sizes, and rpms, the heatsinks can be different sizes, the amount of heatpipes and their placement over components can be different. The type of blades on the fans and the width of the fan frames....

Heres a 2 fan cooler that cools amazingly well compared to 3 fan alternatives.

Techpowerup is very well regarded.
Gamers Nexus if you want Youtube.
Toms Hardware.

If you want to know how a cooler performs vs alternatives you have to find a comparitive review, you cant do it 'by eye'.

I'm usually looking mostly for a quiet cooler, but you need to look for 'noise normalized' test for that, because manufacturers tune their fan curves differently.

 

[Brian Boru]

will slightly better cooling actually improve performance

What it might improve is reliability and longevity. Heat is the enemy of hardware, anything which decreases it is generally 'a good thing'. The closer parts run to max temp, the more they're stressed.

good website

When I built my first PC over 20 years ago, the 2 sites I used to educate myself are still going strong—they'll be my first port of call when I'm building next:

Anandtech

Tom’s Hardware