Nvidia GeForce GTX 560Ti has fan speed maximum at 75%

[Elias Blackman]

I am using a Nvidia GeForce GTX 560Ti in my computer as GPU. I was playing Battlefield 3 on my computer when the temperature was been shown as 80 degree Celsius. I checked the fan speed and I found that it was running at maximum. But the speed which was shown as maximum was only 75% of the total speed it can achieve. I tried the Nvidia control panel to see if I can increase the speed of the fan but couldn’t find anything helpful. I want to ask if this is the maximum speed or speed can reach above as it is not the full speed that is mentioned in the manual. Is there any way to unlock the fan speed from its current speed?

[Tigerius]

It would be good if the developers of graphic cards could provide the speed control of fan directly in the BIOS menu. You can find the speed control for the main cooling fan in the BIOS settings and you can control it. To control the fan of graphic card, you need to have its option in the control panel of the graphic card. In your case, as you mentioned in question that no option for fan speed of you graphic card is available in its control panel. You can use 3rd party applications which can help you control the fan speed. I suggest you that you can MSI afterburner software to control the speed of the fan. It provides options to maintain the speed of the fans rotation, maintain a specific temperature for CPU and also you can set periodic schedule for the fan. Using periodic schedule you can optimize the use of power required by the fan of GPU.

[singham2011]

I have used a trick for getting control of graphic card’s fan control by tweaking the connections of it. Attempt it only if you have a good knowledge of hardware else you might mess the system. It is better if you get some professional help. You can connect the fan of graphic card into header of CPU fan. Due to this the fan of CPU and graphic card will be detected as one unit by the BIOS settings. If you reduce the speed of CPU fan it will also reduce the speed of graphic card’s fan. I control the speed of both my fans using this technique. It provides good control over my CPU’s temperature.

[Dixie-R]

Attaching the GPU fan and CPU fan’s connection together is a good technique, but see to it that the difference between speeds of both the fans in not much. Difference of 150 to 200 RPM is acceptable but if difference goes beyond it, never attempt it. If ever the difference is high and you attempt it, then chances of one of them not able to cool its assigned part may increase. Also the connection that you build between the two fans must be secure enough to bear small shocks that the CPU might experience. If the connection breaks, the GPU fan might shut down and any attempt to run heavy process requiring GPU might burn it.

[veeru s]

You can go for 3rd party applications or dedicated softwares that provide control on graphic cards fan but it has a big problem. This software tends to provide users options to increase the fan speed beyond the suggested speed. Many users are tempted to use it for better cooling, but the softwares fail to provide any control option on noise of the fan. So many times high speed of fan produces loud noises which can be irritating.

[Emeryjon]

I am a hardware engineer and I have built an own fan speed controller for myself. You can build your own Radio Shack Potentiometer to control the fan speed, the normal fan speed controllers are pulse width modulated, It would be good if you find a way to induce electrical noise in your system. Radio Shack Potentiometer which is to be built works on pure resistance and will only suppress noise. It won’t provide control over low speeds of the fan but can be really helpful to control the fan on medium and high speed. You can also try overclocking your fan for better performance.

[Omanand]

The cooling fans usually don’t achieve the full speed in default condition. It is usually 20% to 30% less than what is suggested in the manual. This is done to maintain life and stability of the fan. You can overclock it to fully utilize its speed.

[Amy_i3]

See in the BIOS settings of your graphic card if you can control the clocks and voltage of your graphic card. If these options are unlocked then you can easily control the speed of fan that cools the graphic card. Even after overclocking the fan, it will not achieve its full speed. It will be around 85% to 90% of the total speed. I suggest that you don’t overclock he fan, instead you add another fan for cooling purpose of the graphic card. It will prove much helpful than working on default fan of graphic card.

[HafizaAhmed]

800C is a very high temperature for a graphic card. If you continue make graphic card work on such a high temperature than life of graphic card will be reduced extremely. I think that you need to change the position of graphic card so that you can provide good ventilation to it.