Locked Options - GPU Fans on/off?

[JimmyRecard00]

Hello

I'm looking at probably getting a 3060 Ti (unlikely - but maybe a 3070/ti etc) and I came across an odd issue...

I was looking at a ZOTAC GAMING GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Twin Edge OC LHR and came across a review that said it doesn't have Fan stop - you have to pay extra to get a different version that allows that?

Is there any way around this eg disable the software or hardware lock etc?

Note - there are comments below that too. In particular one about tightening screws - is this a risky/bad idea?
https://www.zotac.com/tn/faq/how-can-i-enabledisable-fan-stop-certain-graphics-card-models


At first I thought that meant you had to pay extra to be able to 'stop the fans' if you wanted... but then I read you have to pay extra to 'stop it from STOPPING the fans'?

Have I got this wrong - which is it?

Can you say in general/as a rule - with most 3060's/3070's - you can ALWAYS or NEVER stop the fans if you want too....


And how common is this with these kinds of cards (all brands)?
Are there specific 3060 Ti, 3070, 3070 Ti models/brands that are known for this issue?

Also please note most the cards for sale at the moment are the LHR models - not sure if that's important?

I want to game but also want to do audio recording with microphones so it would definitely help to be able to turn off the fans if its not needed!

As an aside - re recording audio... if whatever card I got couldn't disable or slow the fans enough to be quiet - is there some way that I could simple 'disable' the 3060 and revert to using the 12th gen Integrated Graphics for desktop use ?

Would that be simple... could I make some kind of macro or would I need to boot up in a special way etc?

I'm interested in both options!


Thank you for your help?

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

I havent researched every manufacturers card, but for the last couple of generations fan stop has been a feature on a lot of cards. The cheaper models from a manufacturer sometimes dont have it, and its not possible to enable it AFAIK if its not there.

LHR models are gimped for crypto currency mining, if you only want to play games it wont affect anything.

I'm not aware of any way of disabling a GPU in a desktop without unplugging it.

 

[Brian Boru]

couldn't disable or slow the fans enough to be quiet

Start each recording with silence, apart from the fans running—10 seconds should work. Then when finished, sample some of the silent part and then remove it from the recording in post.

Putting some sound absorbing material between PC & mic will also help.

 

[JimmyRecard00]

fan stop has been a feature on a lot of cards. The cheaper models from a manufacturer sometimes dont have it, and its not possible to enable it AFAIK if its not there.

I've since read that you can overide this with something like MSI Afterburner or similar.... does that sound likely?

I've gone for a Gigabyte in the end so hopefully this won't be an issue - but still curious

I'm not aware of any way of disabling a GPU in a desktop without unplugging it.

Seems really odd that this isn't an option if you want to extend the life of your card and not use for non gaming - default to onboard gpu?


cheers

 

[JimmyRecard00]

Start each recording with silence, apart from the fans running—10 seconds should work. Then when finished, sample some of the silent part and then remove it from the recording in post.

Nice idea in theory, but in practice it mutilates all the other sounds enough that it doesn't sound very good.

Putting some sound absorbing material between PC & mic will also help.

Yeah that's not a bad idea - was thinking about something like this - just not sure what?

cheers

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

I've since read that you can overide this with something like MSI Afterburner or similar.... does that sound likely?

I've gone for a Gigabyte in the end so hopefully this won't be an issue - but still curious

Seems really odd that this isn't an option if you want to extend the life of your card and not use for non gaming - default to onboard gpu?


cheers

If you don't want the fan to stop you can override it with Afterburner yep. But if a card doesnt have fan stop I dont think you can make them stop completely. At least with my older cards it wasn't possible, so I assume it wouldnt be listed as a feature otherwise.

I'm pretty sure when a card is idling at desktop with very little voltage or current running through, it's almost as good as it being completely off as far as longevity is concerned.

With a laptop the 20 or 30 watts of idle power a GPU might use probably helps a lot with battery life, that's why you find it there.

 

[JimmyRecard00]

'm pretty sure when a card is idling at desktop with very little voltage or current running through, it's almost as good as it being completely off as far as longevity is concerned.

While you're probably right - surely it'd be better to have no power running through it at all when it's not needed.

I know this might seem like something silly to think about - but I think this kind of thing should become more commonplace for lots of appliances in the future - re climate change and the increasing cost of energy etc.

But my main concern is just longevity.


cheers

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Well, think of it in terms of your card has a warranty for usually something like 3 years. That includes at 100% load 24/7, for example mining. Your 7970 is what 8 years old? Still going ok. Longevity isn't significantly affected by time spent idling at the desktop on a desktop card.

The power use part I get and agree with totally. But look at the way Nvidia are releasing cards using literally twice as much power as previous generations. They couldnt give a monkeys about lessening total power usage. No one else has even mentioned it in those terms in the media taht I'm aware of, which I have found very strange.

 

[JimmyRecard00]

Well, think of it in terms of your card has a warranty for usually something like 3 years. That includes at 100% load 24/7, for example mining. Your 7970 is what 8 years old? Still going ok. Longevity isn't significantly affected by time spent idling at the desktop on a desktop card.

The power use part I get and agree with totally. But look at the way Nvidia are releasing cards using literally twice as much power as previous generations. They couldnt give a monkeys about lessening total power usage. No one else has even mentioned it in those terms in the media taht I'm aware of, which I have found very strange.

Yeah you're right - no one else worries about this stuff... but I've chosen my new build to last as long as possible and age as well as possible.... that's why I'm thinking this way.

It's tempting to do 'safe' OCing on the gpu with stuff like MSI afterburner etc... but I'm hesitant to even consider it cause it'll mean it runs hotter and will reduce the life - which matters most to me.

So yeah - that's my mindset I guess.


cheers