Graphics cards with fans that spins only when needed!

[Gew]

Hi guys!

Since I seldom play games, and mostly use my desktop for regular office stuff, web browsing, and also as HTPC, I've always bought entry-level graphics cards not because of their cheap price tag but just because they are the only one that are 100% (fan-less) silent.

I've always been happy about this, but then once in a while I've thought that it could be nice to buy a more "serious" graphics card (i.e. better than the Geforce GT 520 that sits in my rig right now) to be able to let the kids (and myself) play some modern PC games. But even sometimes having been somewhat close to a decision, I've always come to finally reject the idea, thinking that the humming fan noise would ultimately cause more irritation than comfort. I'm really all about having a silent setup.

A couple of days ago, however, I noticed what seemed to be a gaming-oriented graphics card with one of it's selling bite points was that it's fan(s) were only activated on high load, i.e. the card was 100% silent under normal office space conditions.

Wow, I thought to myself, why haven't manufacturers brought this feature up earlier? Now, browsing, it seems that several cards _do_ have this feature. In fact, it doesn't even seem to be a particular new feature, but something that has been around for a while. Could it be like ten years, and I've missed out on it completely?

Anyways, to my question. Could any of you guys recommend a graphics card that has this feature, and is worth it's money? Money isn't the big issue. Something modest, not too wild and crazy, but still able to perform well in games without having to resign to low quality graphics and stuff? Any input would be highly appreciated. Both AMD/ATI and Nvidia cards are interested, but I think I prefer Nvidia, since they're told to hold better Linux compatibility, where I have Debian installed side-by-side with my Windows, and would like both operating system to benefit from my hardware.

Cheers!

 

[R0H1T]

A price range or performance akin to say an RX 480 would be helpful, the "Money isn't the big issue" covers an awful lot of current & last gen (28nm) cards.

 

[PrincessFrosty]

Some of the MSI Nvidia cards have this, my GTX980 OC edition is a dual silent fan which runs either just 1 fan or neither fan when idle or under very low load.

I wouldn't recommend getting anything from the last gen right now, you'd get better bang for buck when the mid range cards are released from the new generation, Nvidias 1060 range is on the horizon and should offer good range of products for a reasonable price, many of the vendors will create custom cooling solutions, some of which will almost certainly be good enough to be passive when idle.

 

[4K_shmoorK]

Almost all (as in, I don't know of any) custom 1070s and 1080s have a silent operation that stops fans until core temperatures reach ~60C. Most custom 980 Tis have this feature as well. I'd imagine certain coolers on other mid to high end (970,390/x,480 and 1060 when they come) cards from big AIBs (MSI Frozr, EVGA ACX, ZOTAC AMP!) have this feature as well. It's fairly common these days and will likely be listed on the box and/or product description of the GPU.

 

[Headfoot]

I would not get anything last gen for HTPC. The new gen has much better/future looking port connectivity with latest DP revisions, latest HDMI revisions, latest decode/encode blocks, etc.

 

[Golgatha]

As far as I know, most (if not all) of the 9xx/10x0 series from eVGA with the ACX 2.0/3.0 coolers have this feature. My 970, 980 Ti, and 1080 all keep the fans spun down when not running under a gaming load.

 

[Piroko]

A couple of days ago, however, I noticed what seemed to be a gaming-oriented graphics card with one of it's selling bite points was that it's fan(s) were only activated on high load, i.e. the card was 100% silent under normal office space conditions.

Wow, I thought to myself, why haven't manufacturers brought this feature up earlier? Now, browsing, it seems that several cards _do_ have this feature. In fact, it doesn't even seem to be a particular new feature, but something that has been around for a while. Could it be like ten years, and I've missed out on it completely?

There were a couple of models here and there that supported it, but the AMD 300 series kicked this off in a larger scale as far as I know (pretty much all models do this).

As for your case, I'd say you might want to wait a couple of weeks for the AMD RX470 (which will cost ~180$?) or the Nvidia GTX 1060 (which will cost around 250$). Both will come at ~120W power consumption at load which is easy enough to handle even in badly ventilated cases. And both will be an astonishing jump over your GT520. Keep an eye out for (probably custom) models that advertize Zero Fan or something along these lines.

 

[Sushisamurai]

IIRC, Asus Strix cards were the first to implement silent fan feature if passive cooling was enough, with everyone else following suit.

Edit: yeah, Asus Strix has had that "silent" fan tech. Feature since the 750, so it's been around for ?3-4 years. As for what card recommendation, totally up to you and your gaming needs. I've always liked Asus for their features and balance between noise and temperatures - with that said u have a nice choice between AMD's 300 series and Nvidia's lineup (1XXX and 9XX)