Windows 7: Auto Fan speed not working on GTS450....

I bought my GTS450 about 4 months ago. Didn't seem to have any problems with it for the first few months. Then I started getting alot of TDR's while playing Dungeons and Dragons Online, but only in certain areas. Then I got Sims Medieval and I started having the same problem in that game. Also in Fallout New Vegas.

I noticed during this time the GPU temp seemed high to me, running around 70C when in one of these games. But I looked around on some websites and saw a post from someone I thought was knowledgeable that newer video cards, especially the ones that need the separate power supply plug, run alot hotter than ones in the past so I dident really think anything of it after that.

After this problem became so pervasive I was getting TDR's like every 2-3 mins for a stretch while running some games I decided to come in here and post about the problem. I came to find out I was having a memory issue because I had 4x1GB sticks but they were matched in pairs, one was Kingston and one was OCZ and so far I haven't been able to get them to work happy together. So for now I am going to stick to just the two Kingston sticks, which get no errors in Memtest86+ after 20+ passes.

So now I have good running memory with no errors but the problem still persisted. I tried looking around again for info about nominal and peak temps for my GPU but I could not find any clear information. So I decided to see if I could resolve the problem.

I noticed that there was a supplemental utility from Nvidia that lets you control alot more of what your GPU settings and info is so I installed this. I discovered that the default setting for the card is an automatic control of the fan speed and it starts at 30% RPM. I tested it with the GPU monitor during games and it never moves from 30% and the fan RPM never moved from about 1250RPM. I always thought it was running faster when my temp was going up but it was still so quiet that I couldn't hear it.

So now I have come to find out that in automatic mode for some reason my fan speed never changes.



So, my main question here is. Why? As far as I know there is nothing else on my system that is controling my GPU fan speed. I tried manualy setting it at 80% - 100% and I can definately hear it now, louder but still not annoyingly so. The main difference is though that if I set it manualy at about 80% my GPU temp never seems to go above 52C even when running. I have found some tools in the Nvidia system tools program that let me set rules for the card about when to raise the fan speed when I start a particular game but it seems like sometimes this works and sometimes it does not. The only thing that seems to work consistantly is if I set the fan speed manualy at 80% after I have rebooted so when I go to play some games It keeps the GPU cooler and I do not have this problem with TDR's anymore.

So, anyone have an opinion on why the automatic setting on the card isn't working and apparently has never worked even before I got the Nvidia system tools? And also any opinions on simply leaving the fan speed set at 80% constantly.

i'm not sure if afterburner or evga precision can automatically control fan speed. try those program out.

Ok Ok I know.... tl;dr the most overused meme on the internet today. Sorry but when I speak of tech support I like to have all the details of the problem before I start trying to fix things. This comes from being an old school hardware tech.

Let me try to break it down for the short attention span theater people out there.

The auto fan control that, as far as I know, is based on GPU temp, and comes on all stock model video cards, has never worked to the best of my knowledge. It's always kept my GPU fan at 30% RPM, regardless of GPU heat.

I am wondering if A) This might indicate some kind of defect in the video card somewhere and I should think about talking to the company about a replacement. And/Or B) Is there anything really wrong with leaving the GPU fan speed manualy set at 80% with the Nvidia system tools I downloaded from Nvidia. I.E. is the fan running at 80% RPM constantly going to make it burn out faster? I know on older cards when they first started using fans there wasnt really any auto fan control and they just ran at 100% most of the time anyways so mainly what I am wondering is if this is an issue I should start talking to the company about getting a replacement card, would they see this as a defect, or is simply setting the fan speed at 80% and leaving it a resonable solution to the problem?

I have a GTS450 and if I do 2 Furmark tests one after the other the maximum temp goes to about 74-75C. Most of the time on normal use the fans run at 30% and about 55% under stress.
I have also just fitted a 120mm fan at the cost of £1.50p to keep the case that bit cooler.


PS. That will be about $2 in USA.

Well apparently what the issue was, is that since this is an EVGA card and not a Nvidia direct manufacture, the card wants the EVGA Precision program running if i'm going to run anything and not Nvidia's system tools. Also there was some belief from people on EVGA forums it might have been a driver corruption/conflict issue when I updated drivers about 3 versions ago.

Now that I used DriverSweeper and the latest version drivers, and am using only EVGA Precision, the problem seems to have resolved itself as far as getting high temps and the card fan not auto increseing RPM to compensate.

Thanks to people that gave ideas.