Fan Cooled vs Passively Cooled GPUs?

[Virgorising]

Hi.

I discovered my modest GPU (does the job just fine for me as a non gamer), comes in both passively cooled version and fan cooled like mine.

Are there advantages to one over the other?

Thanks!!!!

 

[Raendan]

A passively cooled gpu will be completely silent but will run hot and may throttle or shut down if it gets too hot. A fan cooled gpu will make some noise, run cooler, and have some room for overclocking if you're into that.

 

[Morbus]

There were, a while ago, aftermarket passive coolers capable of cooling 130-150W cards while performing better than stock active coolers. But it was a long while ago...

 

[Virgorising]

A passively cooled gpu will be completely silent but will run hot and may throttle or shut down if it gets too hot. A fan cooled gpu will make some noise, run cooler, and have some room for overclocking if you're into that.

Brilliant response, thanks so much.:thumbsup: I just decided I am keeping the GPU I have....plus the fan is entirely silent.:biggrin:

 

[Virgorising]

There were, a while ago, aftermarket passive coolers capable of cooling 130-150W cards while performing better than stock active coolers. But it was a long while ago...

Wow! Those.....sound AMAZING! I had no clue! Bet they cost way too much to make, right?

 

[BFG10K]

Passively cooled GPUs are viable, you just need a case with good airflow and plenty of exhaust vents.

The card will dump all heat inside the case so the ideal situation is a front/bottom/side intake blowing directly at the GPU with minimal obstruction, while having the top ventilated as well.

Much like this Fractal case I have right now. :awe:

 

[Wall Street]

Wow! Those.....sound AMAZING! I had no clue! Bet they cost way too much to make, right?

Yes. The top passively cooled cards cost a premium to their passive versions.

 

[Virgorising]

Passively cooled GPUs are viable, you just need a case with good airflow and plenty of exhaust vents.

The card will dump all heat inside the case so the ideal situation is a front/bottom/side intake blowing directly at the GPU with minimal obstruction, while having the top ventilated as well.

Much like this Fractal case I have right now. :awe:

Wow. The more I learn about these here, the more they make me wince, and the happier I am my card is fan cooled. One of infinite reasons I cherish the big Optiplexes is their thermal engineering is always amazing; the newer the Opti the more amazing the thermal engineering.

Would I consider drilling lots of holes in the top of the tower to mitigate the heat of a passively cooled card? ? Not so much. :thumbsdown::'(

 

[ShintaiDK]

Passively cooled is a bit of a misleading for most products. Since the wast majority need secondary airflow to actually operate. Either case or CPU airflow.

 

[JDG1980]

A passively cooled gpu will be completely silent but will run hot and may throttle or shut down if it gets too hot. A fan cooled gpu will make some noise, run cooler, and have some room for overclocking if you're into that.

It depends on the GPU and the quality of the cooler. My Sapphire HD 7750 Ultimate fanless card never had a core temp above the mid-60s, and never throttled. Of course, in a case with less airflow, it might not have worked as well. (I am using a Fractal Design R4 with the two stock fans on the front intakes, and a Corsair AF140 fan on the back exhaust.)

There were, a while ago, aftermarket passive coolers capable of cooling 130-150W cards while performing better than stock active coolers. But it was a long while ago...

The Arctic Accelero S1 Plus fanless aftermarket cooler officially supports cards up to and including the HD 7870/270X. However, cards over 100W are supposed to use the "turbo module", an add-on fan. I suspect, however, that in a good direct-airflow case this requirement could be dispensed with. The fins run parallel to the long side of the card, so they should get enough airflow from the front intakes. Once I upgrade my case, I'm going to try this out on a 7870 and see how it works.

 

[Virgorising]

Yes. The top passively cooled cards cost a premium to their passive versions.

Despite I will never know first hand, I can now imagine the reality!!!

Boy, the data I learn here are just breathtaking.:wub:

 

[Virgorising]

The Arctic Accelero S1 Plus fanless aftermarket cooler officially supports cards up to and including the HD 7870/270X. However, cards over 100W are supposed to use the "turbo module", an add-on fan. I suspect, however, that in a good direct-airflow case this requirement could be dispensed with. The fins run parallel to the long side of the card, so they should get enough airflow from the front intakes. Once I upgrade my case, I'm going to try this out on a 7870 and see how it works.

O! I can see this in my head! The heatsink fins running parallel to the long side of the card, NO RESISTANCE!!!!! That...makes so much SENSE!!!

Now, I don't get why they all aren't that way.

K wait....would they protrude too high and be unwieldy and not secure in the slot?? Get in the way of other, installed PCI cards? Or just way more expensive to make so not enuff profit? Also, maybe even harder to box and ship.

 

[Virgorising]

Passively cooled is a bit of a misleading for most products. Since the wast majority need secondary airflow to actually operate. Either case or CPU airflow.

That, tho, was a given immediately....that all of them are inherently dependent on existing cooling in a given system in this way.

For a brief time, the absence of moving parts (a fan), and, perhaps greater energy efficiency appealed to me, and I considered getting one.

But now that I have ALL THE INFO....I have new respect for what i have and plan to keep it!

The heady privilege is always chasing data to earn the joy of making better differential decisions!:biggrin: that privilege is ongoing! the only worthy teachers are they who are also students ongoing.

But I am now, intrigued by those high end, unaffordable, passively cooled cards wherein the heatsink fins are not at 90 degree angle with the card.

 

[brandonb]

I've only had 1 passively cooled video card, and it died after a year or two. Started to artifact after about a year.

I will never buy one again.

 

[Virgorising]

I've only had 1 passively cooled video card, and it died after a year or two. Started to artifact after about a year.

I will never buy one again.

First hand pain!!! Not theoretical!:| Sorry you went thru this, but sharing it also helps a lot.

A very clear picture has emerged herein, and I now appreciate my modest little fan cooled card more than once. Esp now that I have the app to its speed and it runs cooler.

Thanks!

PS: I would ask if the artifacting was at least interesting.....but I won't().

 

[Blue_Max]

The ONLY reason to go fanless is if you need SILENCE. Of course, that's wasted if you have other system components making noise too.... when it comes to silence, you have to do the whole rig at once or not bother.

I'm glad my system's fans are quiet enough to not irritate me, but that was thanks to a fan controller.

 

[IEC]

I previously had 2x Radeon 7790s in crossfire with Arctic Cooling Accelero S1+ passive coolers. I had 2x140mm intake @ 700 rpm, 1x140mm exhaust @ 700 rpm in a Nanoxia DS1 case (stock configuration).

It was a near silent system, but bulky and hardly worth the expense. Might be a reasonable choice if you NEED near silence, though.

 

[philipma1957]

Having owned a hd7750 and currently owning a hi-end hd7970 with a high-end aftermarket cooler. this setup is better

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202069

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835242011

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835242030


1) costs a lot of money
2) you need a huge case
3) pretty much the best you can do with a single card.
4) very quiet

 

[Draygonn]

If I needed complete silence for an HTPC I would go with a passively cooled bench setup. That way all the fins are exposed to the air and no fans would be needed.

 

[KevinH]

It depends on the GPU and the quality of the cooler. My Sapphire HD 7750 Ultimate fanless card never had a core temp above the mid-60s, and never throttled. Of course, in a case with less airflow, it might not have worked as well. (I am using a Fractal Design R4 with the two stock fans on the front intakes, and a Corsair AF140 fan on the back exhaust.)



The Arctic Accelero S1 Plus fanless aftermarket cooler officially supports cards up to and including the HD 7870/270X. However, cards over 100W are supposed to use the "turbo module", an add-on fan. I suspect, however, that in a good direct-airflow case this requirement could be dispensed with. The fins run parallel to the long side of the card, so they should get enough airflow from the front intakes. Once I upgrade my case, I'm going to try this out on a 7870 and see how it works.

I have an Accelero S1 plus on my 8800GT that I had hoped to use on my 7870. According to the website, I need the additional fan unit in order to use it on my 7870 system and to be honest, it defeats the purpose. The thing already is HUGE. It becomes stupid big with the extra fans.

 

[Virgorising]

The ONLY reason to go fanless is if you need SILENCE. Of course, that's wasted if you have other system components making noise too.... when it comes to silence, you have to do the whole rig at once or not bother.

I'm glad my system's fans are quiet enough to not irritate me, but that was thanks to a fan controller.

Interesting. All my Optiplexes have been dead silent. They are known for that, after all. But this newest one defines silence. Now, including my new WD Black, and I worried before it arrived, cause I read some noise related complaints about it on Newegg and Amazon. Perhaps I just got lucky with this individual drive.

Just as my love and respect for this system grew when I finally learned accurate specifics from Dell re its beep codes (atypical they are).......again, I now appreciate and respect the card I have more than ever.

Thanks!

 

[Cerb]

1) costs a lot of money
2) you need a huge case
3) pretty much the best you can do with a single card.
4) very quiet

#2 is not true. There are mITX and small MicroATX cases that can fit them just fine. You need a sufficiently wide case, but not huge by any means.

 

[Virgorising]

#2 is not true. There are mITX and small MicroATX cases that can fit them just fine. You need a sufficiently wide case, but not huge by any means.

While I am sure the above are accurate, all my Optis are full sized ATX cases, and with amazing thermal engineering, and, in this one, my GPU is the only PCI card installed---after harvesting the data presented and discussed in this thread....I, for one, am not going there.()

 

[Cerb]

We've been cheap, and getting the minitower ones . I'm not sure if an MK-26 would fit in a current Optiplex or not. It would be close, if it doesn't, but I would carefully measure, before I tried. There are similar coolers that are smaller, though, so even if not, you'd have options. Deepcool's Dracula is fairly short, FI, and it performs very well.

 

[tamm]

My personal experience with passively cooled vs active cooled is consistent. If the heat transfer is terrible, regardless of whether its passively cooled or actively, the cards useful life gets shortened. I have had dust ruin active cooled GPUs alot. Usually to guesstimate which is the better option is based on load and average ambient temps.

If my machine is designed for gaming or heavy GPU usage, I skip passive completely. However if the machine is designed to run basic duties pumping out video to my old SDTV, I went passive. Its not that bad actually. Temps are quite stable, power usage is low, however sometimes encoding makes the temps get high, but then again it runs underclock.

Boils down to intended purpose and use.