Build Advice Potential air flow issues inside my case. Upgraded to RTX 3080 and temps are a bit high.

[valmanway]

Hi guys, I've recently upgraded my graphics card to the RTX 3080 and as soon as I ran a game (House of ashes) the fans started spinning like crazy, reaching up to 3100 rpm (about 80% speed) the reading temp was 82-83 degrees Celsius on NZXT's CAM. On my previous card, a GTX 1080 I remember reaching those temps, even 84 degrees and I've using it for about 6 years now without having any issue, also the fans were much quieter but of course, the GTX pulls les power than the RTX.

I removed the side panel of my case and the temps drop between 6 to 9 degrees when using furmark during some tests, the noise coming from the fans was a bit more tolerable. At 2500 RPM I have no problems with the noise they produce but I'm often reaching 82 degrees on some games, on some scenes and then the fans and noise go crazy. This issue does not always happen and I also been gaming with the card running at around 68 to 74 degrees but it is kind of annoying that suddenly the cards gets noisy, then quieter and the noisy again.

Currently I'm using the In-Win 805 case which is not know for its thermal performance, I have 7 fans installed. 2 at the bottom as intake, 1 at the back as exhaust and 4 on the radiator in a push/pull configuration. I'm adding pictures of the case and fans installed. On idle, the card seats comfortably at 37-41 degrees, fan at about 1000 RPM with the glass side panel installed. I've been thinking on replacing the case but I'm not sure how much of a difference it will make. I'm thinking on the O11 Dynamic Air Mini and the Regular O11 Dynamic (not evo).

Not sure if I should just adjust the fan curve via software to an acceptable noise level, is it normal for these new cards so be so loud and I'm exaggerating? Replacing the case for one of the O11 dynamics would make a big difference? I'm attaching a link with pictures of the stock fan curve and my case opened:

https://imgur.com/a/eQvLx8E

View: https://imgur.com/a/eQvLx8E


Thanks in advance.

 

[Cyberat_88]

You don't want RPM specifically in fans as far as pushing power, you want CFM, the higher the better, they rank up with RPM but not always (bad designs).
Don't like noise ? Prepare to cook your system at 75C+ degrees. I manage to keep my video card at 65-70C or below on peak use.
Don't buy quiet fans, I repeat, don't buy quiet fans, they are good for nothing at 100% usage (high rpm thus higher noise).
Last but not least measure your temps in the NVIDIA control panel, nowhere else is guaranteed to have a good reading.
I bought a replacement fan on one of my GPUs, died out, has higher CFM, no noise difference and stays cooler at default settings.
Last but not least, set your fans to go 100% at lower temps like 55-60C. GPUs are not vehicle engines, if water boils at 100C, capacitors will melt at 80C+.

 

[Phaaze88]

Tell us what the previous 1080 model is, yes?

So if the FE's fans have a higher max rpm than the other gpu, it's only natural that it'll be louder when both hit their default limit. Fans will only be so quiet/noisy at a given rpm.
On the plus side, it's design doesn't dump as much waste heat inside the PC as the aftermarket models do.

Just a suggestion: always set your own fan curve. BUT if it continues to revv up and down, it means the custom curve is too passive.
Nvidia's modern cards have default thermal limits of 83-84C on the core(that's not the actual thermal max though), and that's when the cards will ramp up to 80%-ish. [Or another component's thermal limit is being reached.]

Might want to consider removing the PCIe slot guards below the card. It's rear fan gets air from that way - removing them would make it easier.

 

[Nine Layer Nige]

"and 4 on the radiator in a push/pull configuration "
So, is that drawing cool air into the case or pushing hot air out of the case ?
In other words, which direction is the air flow through the rad ?

 

[valmanway]

Tell us what the previous 1080 model is, yes?

It's the GTX 1080 FE too. It also reached high temps of 84 degrees when gaming but the fan were not as loud. I've been using it for around 6 years now but I don't play games on a daily basis.

"and 4 on the radiator in a push/pull configuration "
So, is that drawing cool air into the case or pushing hot air out of the case ?
In other words, which direction is the air flow through the rad ?

The radiator is configured like in the picture below. So I have also 2 fans behind the "in win" logo as intake.

 

[Phaaze88]

It's the GTX 1080 FE too... the fan were not as loud.

The fans between these 2 models are completely different, so I'm not sure this is a fair comparison.
The radial fan blower/turbo coolers weren't know for their cooling performance, but for how effective they were in tight spaces and with gpu stacks. They were typically inferior to open air axial fan(s) coolers in performance.
They were also less efficient; for optimal cooling, aggressive fan curves were needed, or the air would kind of drag through the heatsink on its way out the back of the card.
Here, on the 3080 FE, there's a split between air going right out the back and air exiting out the top of the card and then out the rear. That design makes it more efficient than most aftermarket models.


In order to stop the revving, I think you need a combo of an custom aggressive fan curve(auto curve sucks), and better air flow(the 805 is lacking).

 

[cryoburner]

There's a big power draw difference between a 1080 and a 3080, and in turn a big difference in the amount of heat the cards put out. The 1080 FE is only a 180 watt card, whereas the 3080 FE is a 320 watt card. Plus, the 1080 FE exhausted most of its heat out the back of the case, while a 3080 FE will dump much of it inside. So, you are going to have a lot more heat to deal with.

Before replacing the case or having to deal with fans operating at high RPMs, it might be worth experimenting with reworking the fan layout. It looks like in your current setup, you have the radiator fans plus the bottom fans all pumping air into the case, but only a single fan for exhaust, acting as a choke point and limiting airflow. (Though I suppose the power supply would also help in its current orientation.) I agree with the prior suggestion to try opening up some or all of the unused PCIe covers as that could allow for a lot of addition airflow. I believe the 805 doesn't have metal dividers between its slots though, so you would have a big opening below the card. You could probably install another exhaust fan in that open space, though of course you would have to find an alternative way to mount it. Even without a fan though, the front and bottom fans should still create pressure to move air out through that opening.

I'm not sure whether you have your AIO fans spinning faster or slower than your bottom intake fans either, but you might also try increasing the speed of whichever ones are currently operating quieter. If the AIO fans are linked to your CPU temperature, then you might try increasing their minimum speed to cover situations where the graphics card is under heavy load, but the CPU is not. Or use a utility that gives you more advanced control over fan speeds based on multiple components. FanControl likely provides some of the most detailed options for that, allowing fan curves to take into account any combination of temperature sensors in your system...
https://github.com/Rem0o/FanControl.Releases

 

[valmanway]

Thank you all guys for replying. Just as an update, I did change my case from the Inwin 805 to the Lian Li O11 Air Mini and my temperatures went down by a good margin, at about 9 to 12 degrees lower and I haven't set up a proper curve for all my case fans so I expect it to be even lower when properly set up. I'm sitting now at 74 degrees max at about 2600 RPM which is way more tolerable. It's a shame for my In-Win 805 which has served me well for about 7 years now but it does have some airflow and thermal issues.

 

[Phaaze88]

Thanks for the feedback!