ASUS GPU Tweak III

ASUS GPU Tweak III is a great tool for fine-tuning every aspect of your graphics card, including the sophisticated option of GPU undervolting for more effective, cool operation, even if you aren’t overclocking your GPU. All of GPU Tweak III’s functions are detailed here, however the focus of this tutorial is cooling.

How to adjust GPU fan speed

GPU Tweak III offers all the tools you need to finish the job, whether you desire a quieter or cooler card. Just keep in mind that higher noise levels correspond with higher fan speeds and higher temperatures. It’s unlikely that changing the fans will permanently harm your graphics card because it will throttle itself if it becomes too hot. How ever, make sure the fans remain within your GPU’s safe range to avoid experiencing diminished performance.

GPU fan speed

Open GPU Tweak III and locate the Fan Speed sliders on the right-hand side to change the speed of your GPU’s fan. Two sliders are included on NVIDIA GeForce cards from ROG and TUF Gaming. The side fans have one slider, while the centre fan has another, which rotates in the opposite direction to reduce turbulence and increase air dispersion through the heatsink. For other graphics cards many of which are not made by ASUS you will see a single slider here intended for all card enthusiasts.

By default, the fans will automatically increase and decrease in response to the GPU’s temperature. But if you want to set the fan to run at a constant speed of your choosing, you can move the Fan Speed slider up or down and then hit Apply.

Although most people won’t find this perfect for daily usage, experimenting with the slider can help you determine what speeds provide the best acoustic balance. For instance, after adjusting the slider up and down a little, discovered that my card’s fan noise doesn’t get too annoying until it approaches 60 or 70%. This information will enable me to adjust the curve to my liking. Anytime you want to go back to the standard fan behaviour, just press the Auto button.

GPU fan curve

How to alter the fan curves on your GPU

The true trick is this: you can totally customise your experience by modifying the fan’s automated behaviour using the fan curve editor. To modify how the fans react to varying loads, click the pencil icon beneath the fan speed slider to open the Fan Settings box. Under a specific temperature, 55° C in the case of my TUF Gaming,GeForce RTX 4090, ROG and TUF Gaming cards by default turn off the fans for silent operation. From there, they quickly ramp up.

If you want to change the curve such that it ramps up more slowly because you prefer to run a very quiet PC. Simply click anywhere on the graph to add a new point, then drag it to the correct spot to reposition the curve.

It’s a common question to hear: which GPU fan curve is “best” to use? However, GPU Fan provide customisation because there isn’t a single “optimal” curve for all users, which is why this tool exists! We’ve already fine-tuned a curve that we believe will work best for the majority of users, but you’ll need to play around with it to find the right mix of acoustics and cooling for your build, your space, and your tastes if you have other ideas.

Alter the rate at which the fans increase in speed

Additionally, the Fan Speed Update Period can be modified at the top of this window. Higher numbers indicate that the fan will take longer to adjust to changing temperatures, whereas lower values indicate that it will adapt faster. Although having an extremely responsive fan may seem like a good thing, it has drawbacks. If you set this value low and your temperature surges for a little period of time, the fans will ramp up and down, which may be rather annoying.

The most effective setting you can probably change to reduce the bothersome nature of your fans is to adjust the fan speed update period. Even a high fan RPM can disappear into the background and never catch your eye with a gentle ramp.

Similarly, the Temperature Hysteresis value establishes the number of degrees that the temperature must fluctuate before the new fan speed settings take effect. Once more, you may adjust this to make the fans more or less responsive. However, if you set it too low, you may notice more variations in noise levels.

GPU fan control

Extra options to improve the cooling of your GPU

Lastly, for the best GPU cooling, you might want to check at a few more settings. You can connect up to two standard case fans to the Fan Connect II headers of a ROG Strix graphics card and modify their speed in accordance with the temperature of your GPU. These fans will show up alongside the Centre and Sides fans in GPU Tweak III when they are plugged in, and you can modify their curves in the same way.

Try decreasing the Power Target slider, modifying the GPU Temp Target slider, or selecting the Silent Mode option at the top of the GPU Tweak III window to see if you can find the perfect balance between temperature and acoustics. These may result in a tiny drop in clock rates, but they will also improve the card’s efficiency, offering you greater value in terms of noise and temperature control. Try adjusting the settings until you get the best setup!