Question Removing shroud from RTX 3080 Vulcan ?

Jan 31, 2023
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The fans on my current gpu are very audible at the lowest possible setting (30%, ~1000rpm), when under use it is the only component making noise at load. Most reviews stated it was as around the same noise range as the RTX 3080 Asus Tuf normal bios which is ~35dba. Since I got this card second hand, I believe a fan change would fix it. How would I go with removing the shroud and parts to get to the fans as I cannot find anything about this specific card online (closest was asus tuf but it is a different model). I don't really see any screws and I am trying to avoid removing the entire card from starting from the backplate.
 
The fans on my current gpu are very audible at the lowest possible setting (30%, ~1000rpm),

What are you using to control the fan speed and are you 100% certain that it's actually running at that speed when you are hearing the noise because a lot of users are not aware that ALL GPU tweak utilities MUST be kept running, as in, do NOT click the X in the corner, instead you must ONLY reduce it to the system tray, in order for the fan profile settings you have configured to remain in effect. Otherwise, the second you close your tweak utility it is reverting back to the default onboard hardware profile and is no longer running at whatever you configured the fan curve to be.

Aside from that FYI, just in case you weren't aware of that fact, when it comes to replacing the fans themselves it's very unlikely you are going to find any other fans that will fit your specific cooler other than the same model they came with without replacing the entire cooler or moving to a liquid cooled option.

Even more so since that model does not seem to be available much of anywhere right now, regardless of region from what I can see. It's pretty doubtful that you are going to find better fans that can directly replace the stock fans on that Colorful Vulcan card. I'm not saying it's completely impossible, but it's definitely not going to be as simple as you think it is.

As far as removing the cooler:

A quick side note, to those who wonder where the teardown is, we had an incredibly hard time removing the cooler, it was very stuck to the PCB, so much so that the POCB started bending and I did not want to risk damaging the card. Better luck next time.

https://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/colorful-geforce-rtx-3080-igame-vulcan,32.html
 
Jan 31, 2023
4
0
10
What are you using to control the fan speed and are you 100% certain that it's actually running at that speed when you are hearing the noise because a lot of users are not aware that ALL GPU tweak utilities MUST be kept running, as in, do NOT click the X in the corner, instead you must ONLY reduce it to the system tray, in order for the fan profile settings you have configured to remain in effect. Otherwise, the second you close your tweak utility it is reverting back to the default onboard hardware profile and is no longer running at whatever you configured the fan curve to be.

Aside from that FYI, just in case you weren't aware of that fact, when it comes to replacing the fans themselves it's very unlikely you are going to find any other fans that will fit your specific cooler other than the same model they came with without replacing the entire cooler or moving to a liquid cooled option.

Even more so since that model does not seem to be available much of anywhere right now, regardless of region from what I can see. It's pretty doubtful that you are going to find better fans that can directly replace the stock fans on that Colorful Vulcan card. I'm not saying it's completely impossible, but it's definitely not going to be as simple as you think it is.

As far as removing the cooler:



https://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/colorful-geforce-rtx-3080-igame-vulcan,32.html

Thanks for the reply. I am using Fan Control to change the speed. I know it is being applied via Fan Control as if I manually control it and slide the fan percentage, there is a noticable change in the rpm sensor and noise. Manually forcing it to run at 30% (lowest it can go, 1032 rpm, only 1 fan since I can control the middle or sides) is still audible. I tried cleaning it for dust and when I spin it by hand just to test it, there is a slight noise on all of the fans, the same when it spins normally just lower. If the fans make that noise slightly when spun by hand which is significantly lower than the minimum 1000rpm then I'm pretty sure it is an issue with the current fans..

I've found the same stock fans on ebay, but I think it will improve noise as I don't think any normal gpu fan makes noise when spun so slowly. This card was apparently used in a gaming pub for 2 years so it might have ran 24/7 for that time.
 
Jan 31, 2023
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So, if it's a "problem" with the existing fans, then sure, replacing them SHOULD help. I was under the impression you were looking to CHANGE fans, since you didn't mention anything related to the idea that there was an actual problem with the existing fans just that they were noisy.