Zotac 1050 Ti low profile - noise and cooling question

chromov113

Trash Compacter
Original poster
Jan 14, 2020
34
14
Hi everyone,

I'm building my very first PC, and it is an SFF build in an Aerocool Playa Slim case. Recently I've bought a used low-profile Zotac 1050ti.
Now before the purchase I did inform myself that this is not the quietest videocard out there. Main reason for this was the price, and I like its heatsink, but not least because it has a modified BIOS available: link
This BIOS fixes the lower limit of the fan speed, allowing it to be much quieter. But this is not all!



Please take a look at the photos. My case has an 80x15mm fan right beneath the GPU. One of my ideas is to remove the Zotac original fan shroud and connect this 80mm fan to the GPU's fan header. The original Zotac fans together draw up to about 600 mA, so it is capable of powering an 80mm fan. With this configuration I could also connect the tacho wire of this fan to the motherboard and see its speed directly.

So what should I prefer:
1) leave the cooling as is, flash the modified BIOS, adjust the fan curve;
2) remove the shroud, connect the 80mm fan to the GPU;
3) or should I do both?

I also have this 80mm fan shroud from an old PC, which I could cut to make it fit my build. In case 2 or 3, would it bring any advantage?
 

smitty2k1

King of Cable Management
Dec 3, 2016
967
492
I ran a 1050ti with 80x15 fans for a while. It was a Gigabyte model, like the Zotac, which did not have an adjustable fan curve (40% minimum).

I had no success running the 80x15 fans off the GPU fan headers. I ran them off the motherboard instead.

Definitely remove the shroud and stock fan on the zotac. If it is anything like other cards I worked with, it should be easy.

Good luck report back!
 

chromov113

Trash Compacter
Original poster
Jan 14, 2020
34
14
I had no success running the 80x15 fans off the GPU fan headers. I ran them off the motherboard instead.
Hi, nice to read your reply again.
I remember it, you weren't able to control the fan speed in relation to the GPU temperature, right?

Definitely remove the shroud and stock fan on the zotac. If it is anything like other cards I worked with, it should be easy.
Oh yes, I did it already to clean dust.
I think it is capable of driving a single fan, I shall make some tests before I decide to finally remove the shroud. But hey, the stock fans are not bad. They tend to be noisy, but the temperature didn't exceed 63 degrees Celcius under load, and only 37 at idle. So I tend to the modified BIOS now.
 

chromov113

Trash Compacter
Original poster
Jan 14, 2020
34
14
Well, I decided to start with flashing the modified VBIOS, to see, what to do next. And now I'm starting to think, that the original lowest setting of 40% fan speed was there for a reason: at 30% fans don't make aerodynamic noise, but make knocking noise! I'll try to put a fresh grease into them eventually, but most likely I'll have to replace them. I probably buy a pair of standard 50mm fans and make an original shroud for them.

UPDATE: At 30% power the fans don't spin, they just make this weird knocking noise. This actually makes me think of the reasons for such a high idling speed...
 
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