Most graphic cards (GPU) nowadays have something called Thermal Design Power (TDP) which essentially limits the level of performance output when the card reaches a certain temperature. In other words, an overheated GPU won’t give you the highest theoretical performance.
To solve this, try to lower the thermostat, clean the computer from dust, and adding more fans into the system. Furthermore, increasing the GPU fan speed could also significantly makes it cooler.
In this article, I will show you a detailed guide on how to control the GPU fan speed relative to its temperature. This guide should be easy to follow for both NVIDIA dan AMD graphic cards owner.
#1 First, download and install MSI Afterburner
In case you haven’t heard, MSI Afterburner is a free tool to access some advanced configurations on a GPU, mainly for overclocking. Despite being entitled to a specific brand, the tool can work well on all GPU manufacturers. It is also the reason why MSI Afterburner is so universally adopted.
You can download MSI Afterburner here, and then install it onto your machine. After that, hop on and follow these steps.
#2 How to change the GPU fans speed
1. Run MSI Afterburner and click the Settings icon.
2. Navigate to the Fan tab, then tick Enable user defined software automatic fan control.
3. Add or move nodes based on your preferred fan speed settings.
4. Click Apply. Don’t close the window yet.
5. Go to General, tick both Start with Windows and Start minimized. This will ensure the fan setting is applied at startup.
6. Finally, click Apply, then OK.
The new fan profile will run right away. Always monitor the temperature especially when running GPU-intensive tasks such as video games and rendering videos. Increase the fan speed if the temperature is beyond what’s acceptable. Running the card above the TDP may cause glitches on the screen, stuttering, and other failing signs.
Conversely, if you get annoyed by the noise produced by fans, it is best to lower the speed. Other measures like cleaning air vents from dust, adding extra fans, and lowering the room temperature can greatly help the GPU runs at its ideal temperature.
