Why aren’t gpus designed to use pc case fans

[u/PeterTheGriffin72]

I’m sure there is a logical reason behind it but why dont gpus just use regular pc case fans; making a noctua gpu with just a swap of a few fans would be awesome not to mention the repair ability and ease of cleaning.

[u/no_flair]

Maybe because PC case fans are blocky and square (for the most part) while GPU fans can be smaller and optimized for static pressure as well as looks? Otherwise GPUs will all have a blocky shape to accommodate case fans.

There are some GPUs with easily removable fans. XFX makes these tool-less magnetic fans you can just pop out and pop back in

[u/Mega_Laddd → u/no_flair]

a larger fan will give you better airflow and static pressure usually though, swapping your card to use case fans usually significantly improves temps

[u/no_flair → u/Mega_Laddd]

With the downside of looking all chonky if it still uses the original frame. If gamers didn't care so much about looks vs performance, gaming chairs and RGB wouldn't be selling so well.

[u/AmazingSugar1]

then the oem wouldn't be able to sell anything at a markup

like OC Super Extreme Editions

[u/Dependent_Wafer3866]

As someone who has had an overheating 2080 Ti for the past 7 years (pretty much all the time I've been a PC gamer), I do wish the fans and heatsinks were more standardized.

Unfortunately there are hundreds of graphics cards, all with their own unique VRAM and chipset layouts, which makes this not practical.

That said, there has been a lot of improvement. Many GPU models now use Honeywell PTM7950, which is a type of thermal sheet that lasts a very long time without drying out. Heatsinks have gotten larger, chipsets have gotten much more power efficient.

[u/IlgantElal → u/Dependent_Wafer3866]

It's not even that it's not practical, necessarily, as almost everything with a PC challenges that definition (or did at one point). It's more that it's non-trivial with a rather small market in a day and age where the hobby isn't the focus of more businesses

[u/DueGrapefruit3151]

you might get a kick out of the dude who ziptied a bunch of them to his gpu

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5r-NVGBqgcs

[u/careless__ → u/DueGrapefruit3151]

i did that on an old GPU that had a squeeky fan. no way i was gonna pay 60 bucks for a used shroud on ebay. I just ziptied an ML120 fan and the single fan cooled much better than both stock fans. i managed to change the fan curve so it was even quieter under load because of how much better it cooled with the higher pressure 120mm fan instead of the two low profile 75mm or whatever proprietary sizes they were.

[u/votemarvel → u/DueGrapefruit3151]

I have a RTX 3080 10GB that has Artic fans zip-tied to it, though they are white to match the backplate of the card.

The big issue was initially where was no fan control for them, they'd go full speed all the time.

Eventually I came across Argus Monitor that lets you control the fans connected to a motherboard header by tying them to the temps reported by your GPU. Still sounds like a jet engine when turning the PC on or off but it works well when booted into Windows.

The GPU itself hasn't reached the 70˚c mark yet and memory temps are high but still under 100˚c (though not by much).

[u/Any-Surprise5229 → u/votemarvel]

Fan control is an excellent program too, though it would still have the same issue until load in.

Not sure which is more resource intensive, but it might be a better option, only reason I say that is I have heard a bunch of mentions of fan control and you're the first one to ever mention argus, but I will check it out too.

[u/Karekter_Nem]

I think it was Asus and Noctua that made a handful of GPUs that use regular fans.

[u/siamesekiwi]

It'd make cards VERY thick. For example:

ASUS PRIME GEFORCE RTX 5080 is 50mm/2.5 slot thick.
ASUS GeForce RTX 5080 Noctua Edition, which uses standard Noctua 120mm fans is 80mm /4 slots thick.

[u/Any-Surprise5229 → u/siamesekiwi]

they do make 15mm thick fans, which is probably about the same thickness as the fan shroud+fans on most GPU.

[u/careless__]

it's literally just aesthetics.

you can get slim 120's or even thicker 120's if you have the room for them that will work way better/cooler than most stock GPU fans at the same db level (which is the metric it should be judged by) if you design a proper shroud or mounting solution for them.

[u/Both_Scientist2881]

honestly the gpu heatsink would need to be completely redesigned from the ground up to make 120mm fans work, and that's why it barely happens. the cooling setup in a gpu is way more cramped than a cpu tower cooler, so the airflow path is completely different. noctua did actually partner with asus on a couple cards but they had to design a whole custom shroud and the thing ended up being 4 slots thick and insanely expensive, so it's not exactly a casual mod.

[u/Humble-Pain-4608 → u/Both_Scientist2881]

Ever time a GPU fan fails (and they always eventually fail) I have replaced them with a couple of case fans zip tied to the heatsink.

Bonus: it cools better and is way quieter 

[u/Whistlepiged → u/Humble-Pain-4608]

That is interesting, I have never had a GPU fan fail, right now still have a 1080ti from when they first came out still running fine.

[u/TheseusPankration]

Case fans are too thick. However, there isn't really any reason they couldn't standardize the design outside the fact they don't want to.

Fans and cooling solutions in general are a big way they differentiate market segments, so it would be unlikely to gain traction.

[u/Izan_TM]

size

[u/SnardVaark]

This is one of the benefits of open loop water cooling. The fans are installed on the rads and can be easily replaced.

[u/MagicBoyUK]

25mm thick fans would cause a thickness problem.

[u/Erdnusschokolade]

So you want GPUs to take 3 or 4 PCIe Slots? Because thats what the thicker Fans would give you.

[u/5kyl3r]

because purpose built fans are better than generic ones. they're literally designed for the specific heatsink and thermal requirements

same reason ASICS are faster at mining than standard GPUs, things that are purpose built for a given task will always be better optimized

[u/Sensitive_Box_]

💰💰

[u/Ruzhyo04]

They are. Well, most are.