GPU fan gets very loud when playing Skyrim

[Dubnoman]

My GPU fan (I'm guessing it is that) gets very loud when I play Skyrim. After playing for just a little bit, it works harder and gets pretty loud. It didn't used to be like this when I first started Skyrim back in December. This started less than two weeks ago (although before then, I hadn't played Skyrim for over a month). I hadn't noticed the loud fan until a few days after picking up Skyrim again (could just mean I wasn't paying attention well enough). I assume this will happen with any PC game (I've only been playing Skyrim). This concerns me. Should it concern me? I don't know. Is this indicative of a problem? If it is, is there a solution to it? And I think it is the GPU fan. That makes sense to me, as it only gets loud when playing a PC game that is graphics intensive.

 

Also, my house is not too hot (don't live in a hot region without A/C). The temp is around 70 degrees Fahrenheit at all times.

 

Edit: Someone on another forum says it could be that the fan is working harder because it is having a harder time cooling the GPU due to dust, and I am overdue for cleaning the inside of my PC. Would it be bad to play the game with the loud fan, or can I play it for the next few or several days, (and just make sure to clean the inside of my PC by next weekend)? Any tips on safely cleaning around the GPU fan?

 

Edit 2: I found this thread: http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/106/index/1691267/1#2220262 In the thread, the OP discusses a nVidia driver that was causing overheating issues. I have an ATI card, but I was wondering, has anyone heard of the latest ATI drivers causing overheating issues? I installed the latest ATI drivers less than 2 weeks ago.

Edited May 14, 2012 by Dubnoman

[JimboUK]

I would clean it as soon as possible, if it's struggling because of dust then also it might not be running fast enough, that won't do your GPU any good at all. As for drivers, I have the latest ATI drivers and I've not noticed any increased noise.

[uberness23]

Clean it out. Typically using a can of Compressed air (found in the tech section in most stores) is enough. You will likely need an I.D. to purchase some though. Just open your case and spray the fan with the compressed air. Check the rest of your fans too, good air flow throughout the case is essential to keeping a rig cooled, and thus quiet. Fans pushing air out should be near the top.

 

I haven't heard anyone in Guru3d's forums complaining of drivers causing a loud fan problem, but you could always be one of the lucky few. Try monitoring the card in game via MSI afterburner or an equivalent. See what it does. Setting the fan to a manual setting may help, although if it's having to work so hard that may not be the best solution.

 

Finally? You could try an aftermarket cooler though I'd resort to that last. You will most definitely void your GPU's warranty by installing one and it may not fix the problem if your card is working too hard.

[Erik005]

What type of card is it?

.

The drivers or skyrim might have set to a different graphics quality setting which the card just can't handle. there is a quality slider in ccc somewhere

 

What brand is the card? some manufacturers bundle software to manage the fan curve maybe something changed there.

 

Also if you smoke near the computer regularly that just kills fan-motors.

Edited May 14, 2012 by Erik005

[FMod]

Clean it, but not just with an air duster. That isn't very effective if done as described.

 

Take a vacuum cleaner, remove any attachments and keep it on full power as you open your computer case. It's probably full of dust. Remove what dust balls you can reach.

Then remove the video card (you'll need to undo one screw and push on a plastic PCE-E slot lever), wipe it and try to suck air out of every hole in it with the hoover.

Only then blow with an air duster into the fan and into the exhaust vents on the card. Keep the vacuum on to pick up the dust clouds. Clean out the rest of your PC's interior.

 

Then, depending on what card you have, you may be able to undervolt your GPU, greatly reducing its heat production and therefore noise.

[uberness23]

Never tried a vacuum cleaner. Seems a bit excessive, but I might have to try that and certainly sounds the more thorough option.

 

To clarify, your temps are at 70F, including under load? Guessing so, but it may be your fan is just on its last legs.

[Illiad86]

He means the temp of his region is around 70F. 70F would be nice on idle or load for a GPU. 70F is like 21C...I'd die if my GPU was that cool :P

 

Vacuums aren't really smart for cleaning a computer. You could accidentally suck out a jumper on the motherboard.

 

I just purchased this and it's the best thing I've invested in for cleaning out my computer:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Metro-Vacuum-ED500-500-Watt-Electric/dp/B001J4ZOAW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1337014273&sr=8-2

 

Never have to buy canned air again ;) It's loud as snot and gets pretty warm after about 5 minutes...but that's all the time you need to blow out your entire case.

[uberness23]

Yeah I misread his post. You have a point, I'm so used to seeing GPU temps in Celsius I didn't even think of that. Mine idles about 35 and gets to 50C or so. Pretty satisfied.

 

And that is the coolest little Vac I've seen. I know what I'm getting next :biggrin:

[bben46]

An article I wrote some time back on how to clean a computer

http://s1.zetaboards.com/bbenlibrary/topic/3396114/1/#new

[Illiad86]

Yeah I misread his post. You have a point, I'm so used to seeing GPU temps in Celsius I didn't even think of that. Mine idles about 35 and gets to 50C or so. Pretty satisfied.

 

And that is the coolest little Vac I've seen. I know what I'm getting next :biggrin:

 

 

Yeah, it's quite the little beast :D Best $50 I've spent, no more $4 a piece for canned air. Plus when you smoke and have a cat, one can of air won't even clean it out the sticky dust I get. This thing destroys the dust :P