My Gigabyte RTX 3070 Eagle OC has recently been running very hot and its fans have become extremely loud during games. I cleaned the entire PC and graphics card with an electric air duster, then used MSI Afterburner to try an undervolt and set a custom fan curve based on a tutorial. The card usually sits around 85% utilization, reaches roughly 85°C, and sometimes climbs to 90°C. These temperatures are similar to before I cleaned it, but the fan noise is noticeably worse now.
My frame rate is capped at my monitor's 165Hz refresh rate, and the computer sits on a stand with about 2.5 inches of clearance from the floor. I reset the fan curve, but I'd still like to figure out what is causing the heat and noise. I'd prefer to keep using this card for a future build rather than replace it immediately. What should I check or change?
4 Answers
If the temperatures are acceptable but one fan is making an unusual grinding or rattling noise, the fan itself may be worn out. Replacement fans for this model are available, and swapping a failing fan can be cheaper than replacing the whole card.
After several years of use, the thermal paste and pads may have degraded. Check both the regular GPU temperature and the hotspot temperature with HWiNFO or a similar monitoring tool. If the hotspot is far higher than the core temperature or is nearing its limit, the card may be throttling and ramping up the fans to compensate. Replacing the paste and, if necessary, the pads could help.
An RTX 3070 is an older, fairly power-hungry card, so 85–90°C under sustained gaming load is warm but not automatically abnormal. GPU utilization by itself does not show the complete workload, especially when features such as ray tracing are enabled. Lowering ray-tracing settings, using a more aggressive DLSS mode, or reducing the frame-rate limit can lower power use and fan noise. It is also worth checking that the case has adequate intake and exhaust airflow, since only a small gap beneath the case will not help much if the case ventilation is restricted.
Even a properly applied repaste may not solve everything if the case airflow is poor or a fan is failing, so it makes sense to check those basics first.
Try setting a smoother fan curve that starts the fans earlier instead of letting them suddenly ramp up once the card passes 60°C. A curve in the roughly 43–59% range for the lower temperature points may keep the noise more consistent. Combining that with a reasonable undervolt and a power limit in Afterburner can reduce heat without a major performance loss. Also confirm that the fans are spinning normally after cleaning.
I haven’t replaced the thermal paste or pads yet; I only cleaned the card and changed the software settings. I’ll check the core-to-hotspot temperature difference and inspect the fans before deciding whether to repaste it.