My RTX 3050's fan speed is always reported as 0 RPM. I tried adjusting the fan settings because the GPU was reaching about 91°C, but I may have changed something too aggressively. The fans now ramp up briefly and then return to 0 RPM. The computer is around four or five years old, and this problem started a few months ago despite regular cleaning. The GPU also sometimes spikes to 100% usage. What should I check, and could the fan controller or sensor be failing?
3 Answers
Check the actual fan percentage in MSI Afterburner or the manufacturer’s control software rather than relying only on the RPM reading. Many cards use zero-RPM mode and keep the fans stopped below a temperature threshold, but they should normally start once the GPU gets hot. Also reset any custom overclock or fan curve to the default settings. An overclock usually provides limited gains on an RTX 3050 and can increase heat and instability.
A reading such as 130,000 RPM would not be realistic for a graphics-card fan; typical maximum speeds are only a few thousand RPM. Treat that as a bad sensor reading or software reporting problem. Verify the behavior with another monitoring utility, remove all fan-control and overclocking profiles, and observe the card while running a GPU stress test. Don’t keep using it at 91°C if the fans never reliably start, because the card may be throttling or experiencing a hardware fault.
An RTX 3050 normally runs its fans at a low speed or starts them once the temperature reaches roughly 50°C. If the card reaches 91°C while the fans remain stopped, test it with a clean driver installation and default settings. If the fans still only spin briefly and stop under load, the fan sensor, PWM controller, fan cable, or the fans themselves may be defective. At that point, repair or replacement is more appropriate than continuing to tune the curve.
The system is a few years old, and this only began a few months ago. I clean it carefully, so I’m wondering whether the GPU itself is starting to fail. It also sometimes jumps to 100% usage even when I’m not doing anything demanding.