I've recently had problems while playing games where the whole system crashes. After touching the video card and realizing it was much too hot, I decided to monitor (with SIW) the temperatures while playing games and sure enough, they rise to over 100 C. At the same time, I'll check the fan speed and it'll be in the range of 80% (correct), but the actual speed is 1140 RPM (25% default). I've updated the drivers of my GeForce GTX 570 card (version 337.88) and no change.
I decided to disable nVidia's GeForce Experience software and manually attempt to change the fan speed. I installed both MSI Afterburner and EVGA Precision to manually control the fan speeds (using one at a time, so there are no conflicts). When doing so, I'll get temporary lapses of having control for 5 - 20 minutes, then it goes back to the 1140 RPM default. Note that the speed will be what I set it (~80%), but the fan speed doesn't adjust to the correct revolution count, and remains at 1140 RPM. I also tried setting fan speed curves, and there is no change.
The behavior of it all is interesting as well. Sometimes the fan speed does adjust without any problems, both in manual and auto (as well as curves). These periods last from a few minutes to about an hour. When the system does seemingly decide to set the GPU's fan to 1140 RPM (25%), it stays at that regardless of what settings I change (via Afterburner or Precision). That period lasts from 10 minutes to an hour, after which I have control again. The card's fan is capable of running at full speed and operates faithfully when it does. There are no airflow issues and it has been running in its current configuration and location for two years (ie. no system component changes). Because of this, I believe the issue is software-related. Whether that is in the operating system or the graphics card firmware, I'm not sure.
When playing a game, the GPU's temperature slowly rises to 100 C, at which point I exit the game so that it can cool. It appears to get up to around 110 C before the system crashes - but I don't want to test that limit too often. As stated before, when the fan does open its control, it can operate at full speed no problem. Before looking at the hardware issues, are there any software related things that could be causing this?
I've attached a couple of screenshots to illustrate what is happening.
Exhibit A: When the GPU's fan is in "no control" mode, it doesn't matter what the fan speed is set to. It spins at the minimum 1140 RPM.
Exhibit B: When the GPU's fan is in "allow control" mode, I can adjust it at will and the real speed (RPM) updates.
Has anyone else had similar problems? Afterburner and Precision are nice, but is there a deeper level to look at and change variables associated with the card's fan? Any help would be fully appreciated. For system specifications, see the following:
Hardware
Motherboard: ASRock M3A770DE / Bios: P1.80
CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 640
Memory: 20 GB DDR3 G.Skill F3-12800CL9
Graphics Card: nVidia GeForce GTX 570 (distributed by eVGA)
Audio: M-Audio Delta 1010LT Multichannel interface on PCI
Storage: 6 TB (3 TB Seagate, 2 TB Hitachi, 1 TB Seagate)
Power Supply: Corsair CX750M 750 Watt Supply
Software
Operating System: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
Video Drivers: GeForce version 337.88
Video BIOS: 70.10.58.00.72
MSI Afterburner 3.0.1
EVGA Precision 4.2.1.2143
I decided to disable nVidia's GeForce Experience software and manually attempt to change the fan speed. I installed both MSI Afterburner and EVGA Precision to manually control the fan speeds (using one at a time, so there are no conflicts). When doing so, I'll get temporary lapses of having control for 5 - 20 minutes, then it goes back to the 1140 RPM default. Note that the speed will be what I set it (~80%), but the fan speed doesn't adjust to the correct revolution count, and remains at 1140 RPM. I also tried setting fan speed curves, and there is no change.
The behavior of it all is interesting as well. Sometimes the fan speed does adjust without any problems, both in manual and auto (as well as curves). These periods last from a few minutes to about an hour. When the system does seemingly decide to set the GPU's fan to 1140 RPM (25%), it stays at that regardless of what settings I change (via Afterburner or Precision). That period lasts from 10 minutes to an hour, after which I have control again. The card's fan is capable of running at full speed and operates faithfully when it does. There are no airflow issues and it has been running in its current configuration and location for two years (ie. no system component changes). Because of this, I believe the issue is software-related. Whether that is in the operating system or the graphics card firmware, I'm not sure.
When playing a game, the GPU's temperature slowly rises to 100 C, at which point I exit the game so that it can cool. It appears to get up to around 110 C before the system crashes - but I don't want to test that limit too often. As stated before, when the fan does open its control, it can operate at full speed no problem. Before looking at the hardware issues, are there any software related things that could be causing this?
I've attached a couple of screenshots to illustrate what is happening.
Exhibit A: When the GPU's fan is in "no control" mode, it doesn't matter what the fan speed is set to. It spins at the minimum 1140 RPM.
Exhibit B: When the GPU's fan is in "allow control" mode, I can adjust it at will and the real speed (RPM) updates.
Has anyone else had similar problems? Afterburner and Precision are nice, but is there a deeper level to look at and change variables associated with the card's fan? Any help would be fully appreciated. For system specifications, see the following:
Hardware
Motherboard: ASRock M3A770DE / Bios: P1.80
CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 640
Memory: 20 GB DDR3 G.Skill F3-12800CL9
Graphics Card: nVidia GeForce GTX 570 (distributed by eVGA)
Audio: M-Audio Delta 1010LT Multichannel interface on PCI
Storage: 6 TB (3 TB Seagate, 2 TB Hitachi, 1 TB Seagate)
Power Supply: Corsair CX750M 750 Watt Supply
Software
Operating System: Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
Video Drivers: GeForce version 337.88
Video BIOS: 70.10.58.00.72
MSI Afterburner 3.0.1
EVGA Precision 4.2.1.2143
Facebook
Twitter