GTX 970 MSI Fan Issues

Fredrik

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Nov 22, 2013
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Just bought myself a gtx 970 from MSI, i put it in and started my computer when i realized that both the fans where running for around 15 seconds then they just stop. Anyone know if this is a common problem?
 
Solution
Does this happen on idle or under load? The 970 has a low TDP so when its cold enough on idle the fans don't need to run. (this is actually a feature)

Fredrik

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Nov 22, 2013
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really?? thats a feature?? cuz i'm scared as hell xD. after pressing the start button the fanns keep working but when i enter windows they stop. i will try playing a game and see if they go back on.
 
They supposed to do that...... fan curve is designed to shut off for silent running when not needed

http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/msi-geforce-gtx-970-gaming-review,3.html

The card is based on a nice thin dual-slot dual fan cooling solution, revision V of TwinFrozr. The TwinFrozr V’s Fans actually stop spinning below 60°C to reduce noise and increase fan life time. Zero/Hybrid Frozr is a throwback to 2008 when MSI was the first to market high-end, so that is zero noise graphics cards thanks to the fan stopping in low-temperature situations.
 

dovah-chan

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Huh I was about to cite that exact article. Although I was going to mention that the Asus STRIX one does so as well. :)
 
There is an issue on some of the early cards where the fans don't spin back up after shutting down because they are not needed. Two reported causes:

1. Some report that removing the sticker solved the problem ..... not sure if it was actual not having the sticker any more or that the act of tugging on the fans may have acted to break in the bearing a bit.

2. Many report that using Afterburner to run the fans at 100% for 24 hours sufficiently breaks in the fan bearings. MSI introduced the fan cut out when not needed feature in 2008; Asus added it this year. This year MSI also added independent control of the two fans..... one responds to GPU temps and the other responds to various sensors on the PCB. It would seem the new feature has some "birthing issues" in that when tested in the lab, the cards used had gone thru hours of testing already. Anyone who has ever speed adjusted case fans knows that while a fan might spin at a certain voltage, you need a bit more than that to overcome inertia and get it started.

I presume when they got around to setting the start up voltage in the BIOS, they must have determined what voltage was necessary to "kick start" the stopped fan. But with production cards, the new bearings would be a bit stiff with no breaking in period and it seems some fans are not kicking up without a little assist from ya finger. The fans bearings will loosen up for a bit and reduce what voltage is needed to get started and I expect why these users are reporting problem solved after a the as little as 1 hour at 100% speed. Others just changed the temp at which fan kicks in .... left it for a day and then put back and all was fine. Many peeps also mistakenly thought something was wrong because they didn't realize that the fans work independently and thought that if one spins the other should spin. That is an incorrect assumption, that is by design.

I should also note that in the link trust provided, it was reported (Reply # 228) that the same issue is occurring on the Asus 970 as reported on the Asus Forums..... Reply #256 said a new VBIOS worked for him and #279 outlines that if anyone is unhappy MSI will replace the card. At this point, no affected cards have as yet been returned to R & D and it would appear most have solved it themselves, so the available alternatives are:

a) Put the fans thru a break in period
b) BIOS update
c) If that fails, get a replacement
 

Qwikswitch

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Nov 25, 2014
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I have the same card and the fans are suppose to not stay on until your PC is under load, and it starts to heat up. It's a save energy feature the card has, and it also increases your life of your card because the fans are not spinning all the time.
 

GVZ

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Oct 9, 2014
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Lol. I didn't know that. I was panicking all day until i read this xD


Thank you.
 

King_Rare

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Aug 8, 2015
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Go and download the MSI Afterburner, it allows you to actually customize the fans and they will actually work. YOUR WELCOME :D I HAD THE SAME PROBLEM
 

Thala_1

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Aug 22, 2015
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Yes, but my MSI 970 stays at 58C idle and 77C load. Are this temps normal ? I use Asus GPU Tweak and I set fans speed to 20% and I have 37C idle but in load I got even 85C with GPU tweak on.

 

tAKticool

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Apr 10, 2013
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I have a pretty new MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G myself- what I noticed was this-

While building my system, I had to redo everything and wound up having my (full-tower, large) case on its side with the door panel removed, while I did lots of the work and testing etc. I wound up getting it up and running, then installing Windows , and testing/using it for about 3+ days while it was on its side with the door panel off. I was amazed that in addition to seemingly lucking the F out with my i7-4790K (I am using a Cooler Master Seidon 240M and I am actually reducing the fans to 50% each time I bootup because I am getting extremely favorable temps so far) the GPU stayed at 35 degrees- always- never higher. I could watch Streamup, Youtube, hi def vids, and load up Chrome and play another news video while the main video was playing, 35C. ----- However.... eventually the computer "was ready" and I was basically done, time to put the panel on and turn it upright and use it normally. Literally, immediately after turning it on having closed it/turned it upright, the GPU temps went to 50 degrees, and generally go to about 58-59 while I'm watching videos etc. Almost never hits 60, the only time I hit 60 is if I pull up a Youtube video of like 1080p60fps video game animations and watch... then as soon as it hits 60 the fans come on and it drops back down. Stays almost always at 58 or 59, and as I said, I don't believe it has ever pushed past 60C.

At the beginning of this message, before I typed anything, I loaded up Afterburner and set the fans to 100%. It took a minute or two of dropping temps but eventually (with Stargate SG-1 streaming in another window so I can watch/listen while i type etc) the temp has hit 38C and has not moved since.... I am pretty happy so far, I think I lucked out as far as buying 25 pieces of hardware for a new build and looks like i got a couple of winners. I don't really game so I am not pushing them that hard but I am considering trying a couple of easy or basic games out for some fun. As far as the actual GPU and temps... I have read that 58-60+ on an MSI GTX 970 (and I have the Gaming 4G version) is absolutely fine, so unless someone tells me otherwise, I am assuming that those temps (and the fans not kicking on until 60) is fine and desirable.

Hope that info helps someone.
 


http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-970/specifications

Thermal and Power Specs:
98 C = Maximum GPU Tempurature (in C)
145 W = Graphics Card Power (W)
500 W = Minimum System Power Requirement (W)
2x 6-pins = Supplementary Power Connectors

So while, the GPU can handle 98C according to nVidia, it begins throttling at 80C. As such I have not seen any installations hit 81C. At stock settings I have been unable to break 65C but on overclocked SLI builds, have seen the top card just break 80C for intervals of a second or two .... fixed by adding a 120mm fan on back of HD cage (Phanteks F140-MP ) blowing air between the cards.

Couple of things to note about the MSI 970.....

1. Throttling temps

The 980 Ti has a max temp of 92C and a throttling temp of 85C ... a reasonable 7C "cushion".
The 970 has a max temp of 98C and a throttling temp of 80C ... an overly conservative 18C "cushion".

The only reason for the discrepancy that I can fathom is that nVidia purposely introduced throttling on te 970 at a much lower temp so as to keep the 970 overclocked from getting performance too close to the 980 and 980 Ti

2. If you look at the reviews on the MSI 970, they pretty much all state that it's core speed is 1140 MHz; I guess this was true in the for a short period after initial release, but it was very quickly dropped o 1114 MHz. While some reviewers have gone back and edited their articles, most remain as originally written. Every retailer that I have found is advertising the card at 1140 NHz but shopping 1114 MHz versions.

The web site states:

1140MHz Core (Boost Clock:1279MHz) (OC Mode)
1114MHz Core (Boost Clock:1253MHz) (Gaming Mode)
1051MHz Core (Boost Clock:1178MHz) (Silent Mode)

You'll need the MSI Gaming app to switch between modes tho nothing "in the box" advises you of this unless I missed it.

2.
 

niczak

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Sep 5, 2015
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Did they end up coming on while you were gaming?
 
■ Yes, they do.... it's on a thermostat so to speak. Just like your heat or AC doesn't "go on" until reaching the thermostat setting. The 1st fan turns on when GPU gets hot enough to reach the "thermostat setting"; the 2nd one turns on based upon reading several settings on PCB as well as GPU.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2014/09/19/nvidia-geforce-gtx-970-review/4

Like the ASUS card, the GTX 970 Gaming 4G features a semi-passive mode, which it calls Zero Frozr. It's something MSI first brought to the market in 2008 (it's keen to clarify that it hasn't copied the ASUS Strix cards here). The temperature cut-off points are similar to the ASUS card – between 60 and 65°C, the fans will spin up; once the GPU drops to about 50°C, they're no longer needed. This carries benefits for noise production, efficiency and fan lifespan.

Another feature is called Hybrid Frozr, and this refers to the ability to control both fans independently. Enabling this functionality is a six-pin fan header on the PCB. In automatic mode, one fan is controlled by the GPU temperature while the other is controlled by temeprature measurement ICs dotted around the PCB. MSI claims it can result in a 1.9dB(A) noise reduction, and also offers users the ability to control the two fans independently using its Gaming App.

 

tAKticool

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Apr 10, 2013
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I decided to be a little proactive about it and I made a profile in the MSI Afterburner App. Afterburner is their program designed for overclocking the GPU and lets you , among a myriad of things, adjust clock speeds, voltages, etc. In addition, you can set a fan profile based on temperature/fan speed percentage on a curve scale. What I mean by that is, you can set it to spin at whatever percentages when it hits whatever temp, and various points as they respectively increase. You can save up to 5 profiles (which include overclocking / voltage settings and the fan settings or whatever you want). --- I just couldn't stand the fans coming on for 1 minute at 58 and a half or so C, 59C, 60C, spin for 1 min, 1.5 mins, maybe 2 mins, cool down to 58... then the thing heats back up in 20 seconds, they spin again. Because I am idling around 58-60 constantly so it's like constant on off.

Now I have the thing come on when I need it and spin or not spin according to temp/use. Much better.
 
If you don't mind the extra noise, (many folks wear headphones so don't hear it) that is the route some peeps take. Different manufacturers set their default fan curves based upon their priorities which is by no means universal. With the 7xx series, MSI bragged about their lower noise, Gigabyte bragged about their low temps. Both have made adjustments after initial releases on some cards.

I shoot for lowest noise..... with the throttling temps (80C) 18C below the 98C max temp of the 970 GPU, have no concerns about the GPU, just performance from throttling. If I was hitting 80C, I'd increase fan speeds so there'd be no throttling .... if I was hitting 77C, I'd lower them to reduce noise. If I could figure away to raise that throttling temp, I'd do it. The 980 Ti produces way more heat and throttles at 85C... only 7C below it's max temp of 92C. At a throttling temp of 85C or even 90C, we'd still have a greater cushion than the 980 Ti has and cards could be overclocked more.