Engineering Memes

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My GPU fans on the “Auto” setting (i.ibb.co)

submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

11 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I know the max rated temperature for my GPU is 92°C, but that doesn’t mean it’s your target temperature!

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Well, if you're looking at Tdie/edge temps it's pretty unavoidable to see 80-90c on modern cards, at least if they're air cooled. I think amd has a 20-30c delta between Tdie and average 'gpu' temp, nvidia is around 20c? Either way, even with a perfect paste application you can set your target temp to 70c and still get some nasty looking temp spikes.
Thermal protection is way faster than software can report, unless you're overclocking it's really not something to worry about imo.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Thanks for your post. I learned something.

I do worry about the temperature because I don’t like the smell of burnt dust. Also the coating of my table starts decoloring if my laptop sits on it at peak temperature. All that would be avoidable if the fan controls would just raise the fan speeds sooner.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

No problem, although I was definitely thinking of desktops and not a laptop. Some of the 'quiet' fan curves can be very underpowered and are detrimental to performance.

If it's not under warranty and you're comfortable opening it up, replacing the thermal pads and paste will do wonders for your temps though. Even if it's fairly new, a lot of laptop OEMs just have terrible paste applications.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

I’m comfortable opening it up, but applying thermal paste, possibly fucking up and frying the chip? Hell, no! :D

Edit: If I start tinkering with this, I’ll first look into other fans that might shovel more air more quietly.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

I don't know of any modern paste that is electrically conductive, heck I basically use old thermal paste as an extra layer of protection on my gpu with liquid metal. You can be sloppy and contrary to the old belief, you can't use too much.
The bigger thing to watch out for is dried paste that essentially turns into adhesive. You can break a contact applying too much force, though with a heat gun (or hair dryer) and some patience it should be easy to avoid.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

I don’t know of any modern paste that is electrically conductive

I wasn’t trying to imply that. When I said “frying the chip” I meant through bad thermal coupling.

contrary to the old belief, you can’t use too much.

You’re the first person to suggest that, and frankly, I find that counterintuitive. Everything isolates if it’s thick enough. However I’ll also look into that someday and see if there’s something to it. Thanks again.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Your correct that thickness plays a role in theremal transfer, but the paste and amount you use is not what determines that gap. Both laptop and desktop heatsinks are under quite a bit of pressure, more than enough to squish out extra paste. If you want to be extra sure you can spread a thin layer across the entire chip, but a dot or two usually works just fine. This video is on desktop coolers but mounting pressure should be similar.

If your laptop is over a couple years old I can almost guarantee there are dry spots on the chip currently. Laptops already run pretty hot and it's a double whammy for drying and pump out.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago (2 children)

You need Fan Control

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I’ll check it out, thanks. Unfortunately, it’s for Windows only.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

Boo. I didn't realize it was Windows only. I had it locked and loaded in my brain for my eventual Linux desktop build. Maybe something like this will exist over there sometime soon.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

Or afterburner