Asus GPU BIOS modding

[Fors1k]

This GP don't let me set fan speed lower than 30%(1253rpm).
Primary target: get absolutely silence while i don't game, and just surfing web sites.
So i extract bios from my gp bu gpu-z, modify min value of speed fan to 0.
After i was able to set the fan speed to 0%, but i still can hear the noise.
Then...checkout screenshot. FAN% = 0, RPM = 1253 (!) How it can be possible?


So...who have any ideas?)) I need to turn off gpu fan.

 

[MarkyB916]

Hi.

I think you are running into the 'idle off' problem. This is a feature that some manufacturers are disabling by default on certain cards. If enabled, then the fans will turn off completely when there is little/no activity. When disabled there is a minimum fan speed (usually around 30% of maximum) that the card will run at regardless of what you set in any software tuning tools.

This is hard coded into the BIOS and cannot be over-ridden. The only theoretical way to over-ride this would be to either modify the BIOS or flash with another BIOS with this feature enabled. Both approaches are risky. In recent times NVIDIA and manufacturers have made this difficult by encrypting BIOS etc.

There have been a number of threads where users have complained about this and many requests to card providers to either release an update BIOS or allow users to turn this feature on/off, but they don't seem to be interested in helping.

For example. I purchased a ZOTAC GTX 1660 based on the fact that I had one of there previous cards which I was very happy with. Unfortunately, they had disabled the 'idle off' feature so I have had to return the card and switch to a different manufacturer (MSI).

I must admit. I'm a little surprised that someoe more technically minded hasn't figured out a solution to this problem yet.

 

[Regeneration]

I advise against messing with the fan speed from the BIOS. It says "experimental" for a reason.

You can use MSI Afterburner to setup a custom fan curve.



"Idle off" is a bad idea for the long term. Higher temperature = shorter lifespan.

If the stock fans are too noisy even in low RPM, you can buy a VGA cooler like the Accelero Xtreme.

 

[MarkyB916]

My current card has the 'Idle off' feature by default and has had no problems. Because they are only off when idling there's no temperature issues. For example. My current temps are around the mid 20s which is well within tolerance.

Although I accept the argument Higher temperature = shorter lifespan I would also counter that with Fans always on = shorter fan lifespan/Higher power consumption.

It's always a trade off but I think, what we are aiming for here is a silent (or close to) PC during normal use i.e. web browsing, checking emails etc.