AMD stupid fan feature update

[whiteknights]

recently i had problem with my sapphire 7870 xt second fan, the fan isn't spinning unless i set fan speed manually at 80%. not sure when exactly this problem occurred, but looks like its a common problem with lots of AMD users especially after the new updates "Crimson" and rolling back to previous drivers isn't fixing it.

now a lot of people told me to replace the fan, but if its AMD problem that won't be right. its unacceptable mistake from AMD. and i want to know will they fix it in the next update? or shall flashing GPU bios fix this problem? because most likely its a software issue.

 

[basroil]

Are you sure it's not just that the fan is broken? Try (with case open) getting the fan to start up and then slowly reduce fan % until it stops.

 

[whiteknights]

Are you sure it's not just that the fan is broken? Try (with case open) getting the fan to start up and then slowly reduce fan % until it stops.

i've tried that, once i set fan speed to anything less than 80% it stops slowly till it become dead again. i had my doubts that it could be a broken fan, but after i saw many complains from people having a similar problem especially after updating to Crimson driver, i started to think that problem coming from the new driver.

 

[Rogue Leader]

Are you having any temperature problems? If not then this feature is working as intended to reduce noise when you don't need the fan.

 

[whiteknights]

Are you having any temperature problems? If not then this feature is working as intended to reduce noise when you don't need the fan.

before this problem happens my GPU temps used to be 68-70c max at full load. but now it reaches to 76c at full load, i know it still not too high but when summer comes it will reach to 80-85c, maybe more. because of this feature
i think its a fail feature because some people already having temps issues.

 

[Karadjgne]

Revert to the older, non-crimson drivers, see if the problem remains. Those older cards weren't designed for fanless usage, so it could be a coding flaw setting the fan at fanless usage below @65° or it could be simply that the fan is failing due to age or needs lubrication and by the time the Crimson drivers were introduced, the cards were already well used.

 

[whiteknights]

Revert to the older, non-crimson drivers, see if the problem remains. Those older cards weren't designed for fanless usage, so it could be a coding flaw setting the fan at fanless usage below @65° or it could be simply that the fan is failing due to age or needs lubrication and by the time the Crimson drivers were introduced, the cards were already well used.

i don't think it needs lubrication because when i spin the fans with my hands they both spun freely and smoothly. i've tried older drivers until 14.4, I'm not sure if i tried a driver older than 14.4 that will fix the problem, but i can't find a driver older than that anyway.

also all people having my same problem has said that rolling back to older drivers doesn't fix the problem.

 

[Kari]

Do both fans have their own fan headers on the card or are they using the same header with a splitter cable or something? If they are both hooked into a single 4pin header then it would mean the fan really is toast. If they are using their own headers I suppose you could just get a short splitter cable and connect them both to the header thats running the other (working) fan.

Even if the fan is spinning smoothly it doesn't mean that the electronics are fine...

 

[whiteknights]

Do both fans have their own fan headers on the card or are they using the same header with a splitter cable or something? If they are both hooked into a single 4pin header then it would mean the fan really is toast. If they are using their own headers I suppose you could just get a short splitter cable and connect them both to the header thats running the other (working) fan.

Even if the fan is spinning smoothly it doesn't mean that the electronics are fine...

i think they are using the same header with a splitter.. but I'm still thinking that most likely its not a fan or a hardware issue, its just because of AMD latest faulty drivers, you can look by yourselves you'll find a tons of people having a similar problem after updating to Crimson.

 

[Rogue Leader]

Based on the fact you downgraded the drivers and it STILL is having the same problem, the problem isn't the drivers.

Signs of an electric motor failing are bad bearings, bad bearings can make it harder for a motor to turn (or they make noise or any number of symptoms) , so you need to push it to 80% to get it to turn because lower power just won't do it. This can also be caused by a fan that has dirt or dust in it.

I'm wondering how many folks knew for sure both their fans were running before. Or maybe its coincidental.

 

[Kari]

i think they are using the same header with a splitter..

Then tell me how do they make just one of the fans to run normally when both fans are getting the same voltage (pwm signal). That would be physically impossible...
One of them is toast.

 

[whiteknights]

Based on the fact you downgraded the drivers and it STILL is having the same problem, the problem isn't the drivers.

Signs of an electric motor failing are bad bearings, bad bearings can make it harder for a motor to turn (or they make noise or any number of symptoms) , so you need to push it to 80% to get it to turn because lower power just won't do it. This can also be caused by a fan that has dirt or dust in it.

I'm wondering how many folks knew for sure both their fans were running before. Or maybe its coincidental.

i've read that someone had a similar issue, he sent back the card to the store, and the store contacted sapphire.. they sent the store a new bios version of the card which made the problem solved, and told them that they'll fix all fan issues in the next update.

but then again its just a story which I'm not sure that will apply on me and all others users having same problem.
anyway i cleaned the fans and heatsink very well with Air duster can, and the fans have no loud noises.
so it could be a dead motor or Driver, maybe the new driver made the fan doesn't spin even if i rolled back to previous ones.

 

[Rogue Leader]

Based on the fact you downgraded the drivers and it STILL is having the same problem, the problem isn't the drivers.

Signs of an electric motor failing are bad bearings, bad bearings can make it harder for a motor to turn (or they make noise or any number of symptoms) , so you need to push it to 80% to get it to turn because lower power just won't do it. This can also be caused by a fan that has dirt or dust in it.

I'm wondering how many folks knew for sure both their fans were running before. Or maybe its coincidental.

i've read that someone had a similar issue, he sent back the card to the store, and the store contacted sapphire.. they sent the store a new bios version of the card which made the problem solved, and told them that they'll fix all fan issues in the next update.

but then again its just a story which I'm not sure that will apply on me and all others users having same problem.
anyway i cleaned the fans and heatsink very well with Air duster can, and the fans have no loud noises.
so it could be a dead motor or Driver, maybe the new driver made the fan doesn't spin even if i rolled back to previous ones.

A driver is not going to cause a permanent error or change to the fan operation. Its not changing the BIOS or anything else.

If the fans are plugged into the same header you have a dying fan, and the story you read the guy is wrong or full of it.

 

[Karadjgne]

Some cards, especially aftermarket, use dual headers, 1 for each fan, because some fans are different. Asus is good for this, the fans look similar but aren't and don't spin at exactly the same speed. Your card has identical fans, from a single header. So both fans receive the same 12v and the same pwm signal. Pwm works at full 12v,the signal tells the fan to on-off at a particular rate. So at anything less than 100%,the fan is in a state of constantly trying to start. So at 90% it's on for 90% of the time, off for 10%, and at 20% it's only on for 20% of the time and off for 80% in any given on/off time period. This is electronic, so is usually good. However, the motor is analog, mechanical. Corrosion will create resistance between the winding plates and the rotors, requiring greater voltage to punch through and actually get the motor moving. Even with good bearings, its still difficult to move the fan from the inside, even if it rotates freely and easily. For you, it's requiring 80% on time to provide enough punch to work before being shutoff.

It's not the drivers. The only thing a driver does is set the parameters, in other words it tells the pwm signal to on/off. Since 1 fan spins and the other doesn't at less than 80%,the signal is good, the fan isn't

 

[whiteknights]

Some cards, especially aftermarket, use dual headers, 1 for each fan, because some fans are different. Asus is good for this, the fans look similar but aren't and don't spin at exactly the same speed. Your card has identical fans, from a single header. So both fans receive the same 12v and the same pwm signal. Pwm works at full 12v,the signal tells the fan to on-off at a particular rate. So at anything less than 100%,the fan is in a state of constantly trying to start. So at 90% it's on for 90% of the time, off for 10%, and at 20% it's only on for 20% of the time and off for 80% in any given on/off time period. This is electronic, so is usually good. However, the motor is analog, mechanical. Corrosion will create resistance between the winding plates and the rotors, requiring greater voltage to punch through and actually get the motor moving. Even with good bearings, its still difficult to move the fan from the inside, even if it rotates freely and easily. For you, it's requiring 80% on time to provide enough punch to work before being shutoff.

It's not the drivers. The only thing a driver does is set the parameters, in other words it tells the pwm signal to on/off. Since 1 fan spins and the other doesn't at less than 80%,the signal is good, the fan isn't

thank you for your helpful information.. so is there anything you recommend doing before replacing the fan? (because probably i'll upgrade to a new GPU after a year or less so it doesn't really worth a fan replacement).

i was thinking of trying to re-plug both fans wires, also i haven't lubricate my dead fan yet. so if you think these two steps might help and worth a shot, i would go for it and try.

although seeing a lot of people having the same problem after updating to the new Drivers still making me suspicious.