GPU idle temps are inconsistent

[vstap]

I have a MSI Ventus 3X rtx 3060 ti (recently bought it second hand) and the temps while idling with literally no task can either be +-45°C stable even without the fans spinning or in other sessions it will gradually ramp up to 60°C until the fans start spinning and go back down to 45°C and the fans turn back off, and the cycle continues. I mean i can just adjust the fan curves so that it always runs and maintain the gpu at 45°C while idling, BUT i know that the GPU can run without its fans at 45°C while idling as proven by the times that it did. I checked for background processes and gpu usage but i found no difference when the gpu is stable at 45°C or when it gradually ramps up to 60°C, room temps are also the same for both situation.

 

Anybody had a similar experience?

[DoctorNick]

1 hour ago, vstap said:

I have a MSI Ventus 3X rtx 3060 ti (recently bought it second hand) and the temps while idling with literally no task can either be +-45°C stable even without the fans spinning or in other sessions it will gradually ramp up to 60°C until the fans start spinning and go back down to 45°C and the fans turn back off, and the cycle continues. I mean i can just adjust the fan curves so that it always runs and maintain the gpu at 45°C while idling, BUT i know that the GPU can run without its fans at 45°C while idling as proven by the times that it did. I checked for background processes and gpu usage but i found no difference when the gpu is stable at 45°C or when it gradually ramps up to 60°C, room temps are also the same for both situation.

 

Anybody had a similar experience?

Sounds normal, depending on ambient temperature. 60 is a good load temp. Did you test it in real idle? Let the PC sit for 15-30 min with only one monitor connected. Check temperature using hwinfo64 for example.

[DreamCat04]

2 hours ago, vstap said:

I have a MSI Ventus 3X rtx 3060 ti (recently bought it second hand) and the temps while idling with literally no task can either be +-45°C stable even without the fans spinning or in other sessions it will gradually ramp up to 60°C until the fans start spinning and go back down to 45°C and the fans turn back off, and the cycle continues. I mean i can just adjust the fan curves so that it always runs and maintain the gpu at 45°C while idling, BUT i know that the GPU can run without its fans at 45°C while idling as proven by the times that it did. I checked for background processes and gpu usage but i found no difference when the gpu is stable at 45°C or when it gradually ramps up to 60°C, room temps are also the same for both situation.

 

Anybody had a similar experience?

I would look at the power draw too. The 0RPM mode should keep it below 60°C if it's truly idle, though if it goes above and the fans kick in, they should usually not spin for too long. For my GPU I set my own custom fan curve where the fans stay at 0% until 59°C and at 60°C they go to 45%. Though at idle it usually sits in the high 40s thanks to its massive cooler

[podkall]

How idle is "idle"? No programs, window animations/movement, YouTube videos, etc. happening that could give the GPU the least amount of "work"?

 

1 hour ago, DreamCat04 said:

I would look at the power draw too. The 0RPM mode should keep it below 60°C if it's truly idle, though if it goes above and the fans kick in, they should usually not spin for too long. For my GPU I set my own custom fan curve where the fans stay at 0% until 59°C and at 60°C they go to 45%. Though at idle it usually sits in the high 40s thanks to its massive cooler

That's a good detail, some cards have 0RPM mode, which literally makes them heat up until certain temps, and then fans start spinning. And the heating up won't stop unless the passive cooling ability of the heatsink on the GPU+airflow in case is enough to cool it.

[DreamCat04]

1 hour ago, podkall said:

How idle is "idle"? No programs, window animations/movement, YouTube videos, etc. happening that could give the GPU the least amount of "work"?

 

That's a good detail, some cards have 0RPM mode, which literally makes them heat up until certain temps, and then fans start spinning. And the heating up won't stop unless the passive cooling ability of the heatsink on the GPU+airflow in case is enough to cool it.

My 4070Ti can even have a fan failure and I probably wouldn't notice unless I looked at the temps. This card can handle just under 100W passively with enough chassis airflow, so if my fans ever failed, I could easily finish whatever I'm currently doing in-game and then quit the game.

I do find it a little strange that OP mentioned that their fans keep spinning until their card reaches 45°C, my card doesn't do that. As soon as it goes under the threshold for 0 RPM, the fans stop. If the card is truly idle, it should draw something between 8-15W. My 4070Ti does around 12-15W at idle, so their 3060Ti will probably be at around 8-10W

[podkall]

13 minutes ago, DreamCat04 said:

My 4070Ti can even have a fan failure and I probably wouldn't notice unless I looked at the temps. This card can handle just under 100W passively with enough chassis airflow, so if my fans ever failed, I could easily finish whatever I'm currently doing in-game and then quit the game.

That's the 40-series efficiency

 

14 minutes ago, DreamCat04 said:

I do find it a little strange that OP mentioned that their fans keep spinning until their card reaches 45°C, my card doesn't do that. As soon as it goes under the threshold for 0 RPM, the fans stop. If the card is truly idle, it should draw something between 8-15W. My 4070Ti does around 12-15W at idle, so their 3060Ti will probably be at around 8-10W

They mentioned that the fans spin up after 60C, but that the card sometimes stays 45C without the fans spinning, which is before 60C. And that running the fans helps with 45C, but are wondering why the temps climb sometimes and sometimes they don't.

 

My most accurate guess would be that the GPU's cooler takes time to saturate with heat before it no longer efficiently draws the heat away fanless. Once enough heat transfers into heatsink the GPU can no longer stay 45C without fans spinning, because the heatsink is no longer as cold as it used to be.

[vstap]

3 hours ago, podkall said:

That's the 40-series efficiency

 

They mentioned that the fans spin up after 60C, but that the card sometimes stays 45C without the fans spinning, which is before 60C. And that running the fans helps with 45C, but are wondering why the temps climb sometimes and sometimes they don't.

 

My most accurate guess would be that the GPU's cooler takes time to saturate with heat before it no longer efficiently draws the heat away fanless. Once enough heat transfers into heatsink the GPU can no longer stay 45C without fans spinning, because the heatsink is no longer as cold as it used to be.

this makes the most sense actually, maybe the dream of having a 45C idling GPU temp without the GPU fans spinning is too much for a second hand card with thermal paste from 2022 haha, thanks for the insight 

[KidKid]

13 hours ago, vstap said:

I have a MSI Ventus 3X rtx 3060 ti (recently bought it second hand) and the temps while idling with literally no task can either be +-45°C stable even without the fans spinning or in other sessions it will gradually ramp up to 60°C until the fans start spinning and go back down to 45°C and the fans turn back off, and the cycle continues. I mean i can just adjust the fan curves so that it always runs and maintain the gpu at 45°C while idling, BUT i know that the GPU can run without its fans at 45°C while idling as proven by the times that it did. I checked for background processes and gpu usage but i found no difference when the gpu is stable at 45°C or when it gradually ramps up to 60°C, room temps are also the same for both situation.

 

Anybody had a similar experience?

Check the GPU usage while idle and see what it's doing to be +-45c while idle.