Permanently setting 8800GT fanspeed...can it be done?

[Golgatha]

I would like to set my 8800GT's fanspeed to a constant 40-50% starting point, instead of the default 29% it seems stuck at. I know that RivaTuner can do this, but I hate having to launch an extra program in both Vista and XP when I want to game.

Any chance someone here knows how to alter the video card BIOS to achieve 40-50% constant fan speed?

 

[Capt Caveman]

Rivatuner only takes 8k of memory and can be auto-started with windows. Just set it and forget it.

 

[thilanliyan]

Just set Rivatuner to start with windows and load the fan settings at start. I wouldn't flash your BIOS...you void the warranty doing that.

DOH!!!...Caveman beat me to it.

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: thilan29
Just set Rivatuner to start with windows and load the fan settings at start. I wouldn't flash your BIOS...you void the warranty doing that.

DOH!!!...Caveman beat me to it.

Does it work with Vista 64 too?

 

[alcoholbob]

Bah, vista keeps disabling Rivatuner at startup.

 

[MTDEW]

Theres only one fan setting in the bios and thats the Critical core Threshold and its set at 100% fan speed.

You cant edit the 2D-3D-thrtl fan settings in the cards bios, they are greyed out.

I do know that the gainward expert tool works on 8800GTs in Vista 64.

But the Expert tool really only lets you set a fixed speed, but its better than nothing i guess.

 

[taltamir]

This is a valid question... what if you are running linux? What if you want to change it once and never worry again?

I agree with the OP that setting the bios to 50% fanspeed instead of 29% as the default forever solves the problem.. I would love to do it if someone knows how.

 

[MTDEW]

Im looking at the bios now in NiBiTor and i just dont see how it can be done.

 

[bryanW1995]

if I understand rivatuner correctly, it actually makes changes to the card's startup features. I don't think that you need to start rivatuner to force the fan to a set speed.

 

[MTDEW]

I dont think rivatuners settings kick in until you hit the desktop and the utility loads.

 

[bryanW1995]

wow! that means that I've been running crysis at 860/2602 with the default factory fan settings and only getting 47c? while that's certainly possible I don't think that it's likely.

edit: Actually, there's a check box in the fan control setting that says "Apply fan settings at Windows startup." Mine is set to 53% since that is inaudible for me and can handle anything.

 

[MTDEW]

860/2602

Wow!
My card would probably melt at those speeds. :shocked:

 

[bryanW1995]

you don't have a 3870. most of them will do that or better.

 

[JustaGeek]

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
if I understand rivatuner correctly, it actually makes changes to the card's startup features. I don't think that you need to start rivatuner to force the fan to a set speed.

Correct.

In Low Fan Speed Control just select 45%, 50% or whatever speed you choose, select "Apply at startup", and you don't have to start RivaTuner at startup at all.

This setting will start the fan with Windows at the selected speed.

 

[MTDEW]

Cool, i guess a fixed fan speed is better than nothing if you dont want rivatuner to load.
Any idea how it does that?
Can you uninstall rivatuner completely and have the setting stick?

 

[bryanW1995]

I don't think so. It's not taking up any system resources if it's not loaded though, so who cares?

 

[MTDEW]

Just wondering how it does it...thats all.
I dont mind it loading and i like my dynamic speed settings, its actually a good indicator if my card starts getting too warm, i'll hear the fan speed up.

But that certainly solves the Vista 64 problem psoted above....VERY COOL

 

[zorrt]

Can't you just use ntune if you're just setting your fan at 1 speed?

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: MTDEW
Im looking at the bios now in NiBiTor and i just dont see how it can be done.

Yeah, I tried setting more levels for the BIOS, and then editing fan speeds for each level, but the only thing that gets me is a corrupted BIOS. Not sure what's going on there.

Since Rivatuner just does a driver level control of the fanspeed, is there a registry key that sets this by any chance?

 

[Golgatha]

This isn't exactly what I wanted to do, but I'm calling it good enough for now. I downloaded the ExperTool software from www.gainward.com and installed under XP and Vista 64. You set the fan speed to 50% (minimum value for the software) and put the .exe shortcut in your Startup folder. Works like a charm under both OSes with minimal memory footprint, and most importantly, it works every time at bootup without the user having to do anything whatsoever.

Link for the interested - http://www.gainward.com/support/support_uk.html

 

[taltamir]

eVGA released a bios update for the OC version to make their 8800 scale the fan properly... The other versions will have a bios update released as well soon.

Soon other companies might follow suit... They should considering anandtechs report that 2 8800GT and 1 3870 fryed on them during testing.