ray
40 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
40 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
# NVIDIA Fan Curves (GTX 1050 Ti Reference)
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The user's GTX 1050 Ti runs a passive/quiet fan curve baked into the GPU BIOS.
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## Typical Stock Fan Curve
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| Temp Range | Fan Speed | Behavior |
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|-------------|------------|----------------------------------------------|
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| < 50°C | 20-31% | Idle floor — stays at minimum for silence |
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| 50-55°C | 30-40% | Start of ramp |
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| 55-65°C | 40-60% | Moderate load |
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| 65-75°C | 60-80% | Sustained load (gaming, rendering) |
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| 75-80°C | 80-90% | Heavy load |
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| 80°C+ | 90-100% | Thermal protection |
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## Key Observations
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- **31% at 44°C is normal**: The card was in P0 (active perf state) with 7% util, but 44°C is well below the 50°C ramp threshold. The fan stays at its idle floor.
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- **Perf state matters**: P8 (idle) → P0 (active) transition happens when the card has work. Temp can climb to ~50°C before the fan responds meaningfully.
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- **Fan at 0% or `[N/A]`**: Means the card relies on passive cooling or the fan hasn't spun up yet. Some Pascal cards have a zero-RPM mode below 50°C.
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- **No user-side fan curve tool**: Custom fan curves require `nvidia-settings` (X11) or third-party tools — not available in headless/server setups.
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## Power Draw Reporting
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The GTX 1050 Ti (and other budget Pascal GPUs) **cannot report power draw** via `nvidia-smi`:
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- `nvidia-smi --query-gpu=power.draw` returns `[N/A]`
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- The card has a 75W TDP, runs off PCIe slot power only (no 6/8-pin connector), and lacks the power monitoring hardware/BIOS support
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- This is not a driver issue or misconfiguration — the sensor simply doesn't exist on this hardware
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- Cards that do report power: GTX 1060+, RTX series, and higher-end models with dedicated power sensors
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- **What to tell the user**: "The GTX 1050 Ti doesn't have a power sensor. It's normal — the card literally can't tell us. Nothing to fix."
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## What to Tell the User
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If asked "why is the fan at X% when temp is Y°C":
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1. Check perf state (P0 = active, P8/P12 = idle)
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2. Compare temp against the curve above
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3. Under 50°C at 20-31% = perfectly normal, BIOS prioritizes quiet
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4. If temp exceeds 55°C and fan stays below 40%, something may be wrong (check for dust, thermal paste, or fan failure via `nvidia-smi -q -d TEMPERATURE`)
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