Wednesday, September 26th 2018

ASUS Clears the Air on Missing Fan Connect Case-Fan Headers on GeForce RTX 2080 Ti STRIX

by
btarunr
 Discuss (35 Comments)
ASUS ROG Fan Connect is a feature that allows you to connect up to two of your case-fans to two standard 4-pin PWM fan headers present on an ASUS ROG Strix series graphics card, letting you synchronize your case's front intake and rear exhaust fans to the temperature of the GPU, and control them using the GPUTweak software. ASUS has introduced the feature with the Pascal and Vega architecture, and has since included it with its ROG Strix series graphics cards.

When we published our reviews of the ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 2080 Ti and its sibling based on the RTX 2080, we noticed something curious, and our readers were quick to spot it as well. ASUS did not add the Fan Connect 4-pin PWM case-fan headers on its GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Strix card, while the company's RTX 2080 card had them. Adding to the confusion, the PCB of our review sample had blank traces where the headers are supposed to be. This got our readers asking if the final product has those headers. The box doesn't advertise those headers anywhere, neither does the ASUS website, so it isn't a case of false-marketing yet.

We reached out to ASUS to clarify about this issue. ASUS, in its response, stated that while the RTX 2080 Ti Strix PCB does feature traces for these headers and related SMT components, they decided not to implement the feature in the initial RTX 2080 Ti production batch, because the designers ran into "technical problems." The company stated that all future production batches will include this feature. To avoid having to mark the cards with headers in future batches leading to consumer-confusion, ASUS decided to omit mentions of fan headers throughout its marketing material for the cards. You won't find any mention of the headers (or lack thereof) on either the boxes, or the product-pages on ASUS website, or any other marketing material.

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35 Comments on ASUS Clears the Air on Missing Fan Connect Case-Fan Headers on GeForce RTX 2080 Ti STRIX

#1
Vayra86
Totally not rushed, this whole RTX deal. Nope.
Posted on Reply
#2
londiste
Vayra86Totally not rushed, this whole RTX deal. Nope.
Based on a technical issue with a custom feature on an specific AIB custom card with custom PCB?
Posted on Reply
#3
DeathtoGnomes
So people that bought cards without are hosed.
Posted on Reply
#4
HELLSMAN
I love Asus and ROG line but that's a dick move they should get some form of compensation for that missing feature or RMA option. If they were not many reasons already, here is one more reason not to preorder shit and wait for full reviews/benchmarks, some people prefer to be the guinea pig.
Posted on Reply
#5
Vayra86
londisteBased on a technical issue with a custom feature on an specific AIB custom card with custom PCB?
Of course. Technical issues don't just pop up out of the blue, they pop up because there is a lack of time before release. Its not like ASUS is doing those fan headers for the first time - but they are doing Turing for the first time.
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#6
Ferrum Master
Bad description, the fan headers is not only thing missing, the whole PCB design and routing and most probably and importantly schematic changed. It was a derp.
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#7
Caring1
"technical problems" may have been supply issues, and they simply decided to rush the cards out anyway.
Posted on Reply
#8
Frick
Fishfaced Nincompoop
Caring1"technical problems" may have been supply issues, and they simply decided to rush the cards out anyway.
For fan headers? Or are there controller ICs missing as well?
Posted on Reply
#9
Basard
So they put the headers on the card that doesn't really need it (the 2080) but not the big, hot one?
A nice restock fee on a $1300 card. I wouldn't buy the thing (if I were in the market for a $1300 GPU) unless I knew for sure the fan headers were on there. And they wont even put it in the specs or on the box in the future??
Posted on Reply
#10
newtekie1
Semi-Retired Folder
btarunrThe box doesn't advertise those headers anywhere, neither does the ASUS website, so it isn't a case of false-marketing yet.
rog.asus.com/articles/gaming-graphics-cards/introducing-geforce-rtx-2080-ti-and-rtx-2080-graphics-cards-from-rog-and-asus/

Except their website does state the 2080Ti and 2080 both have the fan connect headers. And before anyone says "oh, you found a random page deep on their website that says it", no this is literally the first result in Google when you type Asus 2080 Ti.
Posted on Reply
#11
GlacierNine
newtekie1rog.asus.com/articles/gaming-graphics-cards/introducing-geforce-rtx-2080-ti-and-rtx-2080-graphics-cards-from-rog-and-asus/

Except their website does state the 2080Ti and 2080 both have the fan connect headers. And before anyone says "oh, you found a random page deep on their website that says it", no this is literally the first result in Google when you type Asus 2080 Ti.
You're right. They did forget to edit the copy on that blog post.

The product pages themselves contain no mention however. I hardly think you've caught some wild conspiracy to defraud the consumer by identifying a single (if prominent) page that wasn't edited.
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#12
newtekie1
Semi-Retired Folder
GlacierNineYou're right. They did forget to edit the copy on that blog post.

The product pages themselves contain no mention however. I hardly think you've caught some wild conspiracy to defraud the consumer by identifying a single (if prominent) page that wasn't edited.
It isn't about a conspiracy, it is about them promising something they didn't deliver. And when a page is the top google result for a product, you better make sure everything on it is accurate.

All it really did was open them up to allowing everyone that buys a first batch 2080Ti to demand a replacement that does have the feature ASUS said it is supposed to have. It's not a big deal, but it needs to be known that anyone buying these cards should contact ASUS for a replacement with the FanConnect headers.
Posted on Reply
#13
Hood
I wouldn't use the card's header anyway, that's just another way to possibly burn up my very expensive video card (shorted fan or wire). I can control fans many ways, why risk your single most expensive component to control your cheapest component ($20 fan)?
Posted on Reply
#14
niboar
Anyway it's a nice feature that I'd like to see more.
Before my 1070 strix I used to do a DIY wiring to extract the pwm signal of the gpu's fan to control some case fans.
Posted on Reply
#15
Gasaraki
Vayra86Totally not rushed, this whole RTX deal. Nope.
Stop watching LinuxTechTips, you'll get brain cancer.
Posted on Reply
#16
natr0n
I would never use case fan headers on a gpu. It has enough stresses of use and to put additional load on it no thanks.
Posted on Reply
#17
crazyeyesreaper
Not a Moderator
ASUS has a long line of doing shit like this. I still remember my 7970 DirectCU II TOP. Was suppose to have voltage control it was listed all over the box in reviews etc. In the end actual cards did not have voltage control the traces were different. A few RMAs later I get a card with voltage control but its been flashed with the LN2 bios so it ran max clocks 24/7. A certain Canadian has to solder some wires and do some modifcations to get things working. Its why I won't by ASUS products. I paid nearly $150 premium for the best cooled 7970 and ASUS cocked it up eventually releasing the Matrix lineup instead.
Posted on Reply
#18
Ferrum Master
crazyeyesreaperASUS has a long line of doing shit like this. I still remember my 7970 DirectCU II TOP. Was suppose to have voltage control it was listed all over the box in reviews etc. In the end actual cards did not have voltage control the traces were different. A few RMAs later I get a card with voltage control but its been flashed with the LN2 bios so it ran max clocks 24/7. A certain Canadian has to solder some wires and do some modifcations to get things working. Its why I won't by ASUS products. I paid nearly $150 premium for the best cooled 7970 and ASUS cocked it up eventually releasing the Matrix lineup instead.
Had the same issue with my Gigabyte WF3 7970, first revisions were on reference VRM, later cut down.
Posted on Reply
#19
xorbe
Guessing the power usage of the fans, even if just a few watts, cut into the top end of the card's performance. This is why it's on the less power hungry card, but not the top dog that needs every watt.
Posted on Reply
#20
GvonTech
Really not interested in fan headers on a graphics card anyway it's kind of a bonehead move if you ask me.
Posted on Reply
#21
Basard
GvonTechReally not interested in fan headers on a graphics card anyway it's kind of a bonehead move if you ask me.
It's nice if your fans die.... What gets me all riled up is why they ever started using smaller fan headers for GPUs in the first place.... to save a quarter of a cent?
Posted on Reply
#22
DarkHill
GvonTechReally not interested in fan headers on a graphics card anyway it's kind of a bonehead move if you ask me.
nope, syncing a case fan with the gpu fans makes a lot of sense. for example one front intale front fan and one intale bottom or one intake and one output fan synced with the GPU header. Due to fan-stop technology neither will run of the gpu is idle ensuring you can run your more silently if ie only the cpu is under load. I have the 1070 strix with the same feature and its very nice to have this.
Posted on Reply
#23
jmcosta
This is probably because those connections count on the power target of the card and that( if they were used) would impact on the OC ability or even the factory OC, resulting to a slightly worse performance compare to other cards.
The 2080 might not have this issue due to lower power wattage and since both use the same VRM....
but yea they might have rushed the product.
Posted on Reply
#25
Vayra86
GasarakiStop watching LinuxTechTips, you'll get brain cancer.
I completely agree with you. I don't need influencers to form an opinion though, unlike what you seem to be alluding to.

I've said RTX was shit *during* the GDC Keynote, before it dawned upon most people here or even Linus himself. No I don't need a cookie for that, just to illustrate my point. I've even said long before Turing launch that this gen would likely be a tiny jump in performance and I predicted when RTX was first announced that they were going to sell Turing on this feature alone. And all on this very forum too, so you can scan my post history to verify everything.

Crystal ball or common sense, you decide.
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