decrease idle fan speed

[tdxloki]

Hi,

I cannot seem to make my XFX R9 280 fans spin lower than ~1100 rpm (20%). The GPU is completely idle and the fans run constantly at ~1100 rpm. They make the most noise in the case. I can use the Radeon Crimson Software to manually increase the speed at idle, e.g., to 50%, but any setting below 20% produces a fan speed of ~1100.

Is it impossible to make GPU fans spin down to 5% or even 10% when the GPU is idle?

I have a GIGABYTE Motherboard GA-Z97MX-Gaming 5 (rev. 1.0)

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Magic Carpet]

Depends on the fans used, depends on the BIOS settings. Then we have software control kicking in. Try modding the BIOS, it's fairly easy on GCN 1.0. If it doesn't help, change the fans.

BUT, fast-forwarding your situation. I'd just change the fans, quality fans shouldn't be making much noise at just 1000 RPM. But if you manage to make them spin at around 600 RPM, they will get fairly quiet as well, again, depending on fans. No idea what fans are used on your model. Or maybe just get a silent case to reduce the humming noise.

Or maybe just sell the card and get something that turns off the fans completely at lower loads (like the ASUS Strix series for example).

 

[Towermax]

Try modding the BIOS, it's fairly easy on GCN 1.0.

I have the same problem on an HD7770. What BIOS-modding software do you recommend?

 

[Magic Carpet]

I have the same problem on an HD7770. What BIOS-modding software do you recommend?

You can mod it with VBE7.0.0.7b and use ATIFlash 2.71 for easy DOS/WIN flashing. Also, you should use GPU-Z to read/save your current rom to a file and then feeding it to the editor. Good luck

EDIT: Also, if you are not overclocking, you can safely undervolt your card and save some power in the process but you need to find out the minimum safe voltage for your card to run before you make actual changes to the rom. Use something like MSI Afterburner, ASUS GPU tweak, whatever lets you change voltage. Do some gaming tests. I managed to save ~25w under load on my R9 270 this way.

 

[tdxloki]

Depends on the fans used, depends on the BIOS settings. Then we have software control kicking in. Try modding the BIOS, it's fairly easy on GCN 1.0. If it doesn't help, change the fans.

Thanks! Based on your follow-up post below and links I will probably give this a try.

BUT, fast-forwarding your situation. I'd just change the fans, quality fans shouldn't be making much noise at just 1000 RPM. But if you manage to make them spin at around 600 RPM, they will get fairly quiet as well, again, depending on fans. No idea what fans are used on your model. Or maybe just get a silent case to reduce the humming noise.

Or maybe just sell the card and get something that turns off the fans completely at lower loads (like the ASUS Strix series for example).

They are not loud at 1100 rpm, they are just tolerable. Running the fans when the card is idle seems unnecessary or at least 1100 rpm seems unnecessarily fast.

Do folks make it a habit swapping fans on graphics cards? I don't know. I haven't stumbled across that type of fix. The whole setup is less than a year old so I am not looking for a new case or card - decent suggestions though, thanks. (I am using a Thermaltake Core V21 case which is not designed for silence. Also, Strix cards were on my short list but I decided to get the XFX R9-280A-TDFD at a great price).

 

[Magic Carpet]

They are not loud at 1100 rpm, they are just tolerable. Running the fans when the card is idle seems unnecessary or at least 1100 rpm seems unnecessarily fast.

Yeah, it doesn't eat much power at all. They could have made it silent at idle if they wanted. The newer designs from ASUS/MSI/etc have this feature in nearly every card they produce today.

Do folks make it a habit swapping fans on graphics cards? I don't know.

I do it on all of my cards, because I can install bigger, quieter fans and when I get rid of the cards I have some weight to my word when I say, the fans are nearly brand new, for this exact reason. See if you can remove the plastic shroud first and fix it up with some 120mm fan and a pair of zip-ties?

I haven't stumbled across that type of fix. The whole setup is less than a year old so I am not looking for a new case or card - decent suggestions though, thanks.

There is nothing good to upgrade this card to and since I do have a similar card, I can tell you, that the next significant bump of performance you will see with a card of GTX 970 caliber, nothing else really. So unless you 1) want and 2) can afford this, I would advise you against any upgrades in the meantime, if the cards performance is fine for you now.

(I am using a Thermaltake Core V21 case which is not designed for silence. Also, Strix cards were on my short list but I decided to get the XFX R9-280A-TDFD at a great price).

I see, well most case fans aren't exactly silent by definition. I have to mod/replace nearly every case fan I encounter with my builds. So yeah, you chose money over features and now you are paying the price, now how smart was that? Well, at least now you can challenge yourself with this problem. Go for it