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ROGBot
Hi, this is something that has been bugging me for a while...
Late last year I brought an x570-P along with a 3950X late last year, and the machine is great, you can throw loads at it and it doesn't really slow down (I'm a software developer). There's just one issue, and that's the PCH fan, it's pretty damn loud! It can hit 1000-1500rpm at idle and over 3000rpm when gaming. It doesn't help that the fan is blocked by my GPU (an XFX 5700xt thicc2), they're actually touching and it took quite a bit of effort to get the GPU seated enough to lock it into the PCIe slot. The PCH fan/ heatsink seems to be in the worst possible place, next to the only full x16 slot. While it's a small fan, it does get loud with a pitch that cuts through everything (I thought it was coil-whine initially and even switched the PSU). It's very noticeable at 1500rpm when the room is quiet and about 3000rpm, it nuts! I can hear it over having my windows open (I live in the town centre), desk fan, plus the rest of the system (below). Now it's getting warmer, the problem is getting worse and it's only spring [in the UK], I also work from home mainly so the noise is a big issue for me.
I've seen threads asking for fan control to be enabled, but there doesn't seem to be any developments. Plus I don't think that will help a great deal. So what options are there? Is this a common problem or is it a bad GPU+Motherboard combo? (one of those is out of spec) I don't want to move the GPU to another slot as that totally defeats the purpose of going X570 (and less speed than PCIe 3.0 x16). I'm actually tempted to downgrade to a B550, as only having PCIe 4.0 on the top x16 and M.2 slot is a compromise I can live with. I've seen photos online featuring similar Asus motherboards and it has a tiny fin stack is tiny. It makes you wonder why they chose the fan over a larger heatsink. The Samsung 960 is a little toasty as that is also under the GPU, again in the worst possible location...路*♂️
Otherwise, my PC is very quiet. All fans run around 800rpm at idle and ~1400 under load (can go faster if they need to). The CPU cooler, a Noctua D14 goes to around 1600rpm under heavy load, still very quiet. In addition, there's a 140mm fan on the side of the case directly pointing the GPU (4x140mm, plus 1x120mm and a slow 180mm in all) and as you can see below, temps are good. Yes, the CPU is surprisingly cool (air-cooling is underrated), I guess Redout (a Wipeout clone, but better) isn't CPU intensive. I've actually increased the fan speeds and stopped the GPU going passive when idle, solely to aid the chipset cooling. The previous build, a 6700K (same components including GPU) had the case fans around 500rpm when idle (less airflow=less dust) which was enough to move air through the filters. I forget to capture the GPU temps, but the fans only reached a little above 2000rpm so it's not hot.
PS: AI Suite only gives me the motherboard & CPU package temp (no chipset or VRMs temps).
Late last year I brought an x570-P along with a 3950X late last year, and the machine is great, you can throw loads at it and it doesn't really slow down (I'm a software developer). There's just one issue, and that's the PCH fan, it's pretty damn loud! It can hit 1000-1500rpm at idle and over 3000rpm when gaming. It doesn't help that the fan is blocked by my GPU (an XFX 5700xt thicc2), they're actually touching and it took quite a bit of effort to get the GPU seated enough to lock it into the PCIe slot. The PCH fan/ heatsink seems to be in the worst possible place, next to the only full x16 slot. While it's a small fan, it does get loud with a pitch that cuts through everything (I thought it was coil-whine initially and even switched the PSU). It's very noticeable at 1500rpm when the room is quiet and about 3000rpm, it nuts! I can hear it over having my windows open (I live in the town centre), desk fan, plus the rest of the system (below). Now it's getting warmer, the problem is getting worse and it's only spring [in the UK], I also work from home mainly so the noise is a big issue for me.
I've seen threads asking for fan control to be enabled, but there doesn't seem to be any developments. Plus I don't think that will help a great deal. So what options are there? Is this a common problem or is it a bad GPU+Motherboard combo? (one of those is out of spec) I don't want to move the GPU to another slot as that totally defeats the purpose of going X570 (and less speed than PCIe 3.0 x16). I'm actually tempted to downgrade to a B550, as only having PCIe 4.0 on the top x16 and M.2 slot is a compromise I can live with. I've seen photos online featuring similar Asus motherboards and it has a tiny fin stack is tiny. It makes you wonder why they chose the fan over a larger heatsink. The Samsung 960 is a little toasty as that is also under the GPU, again in the worst possible location...路*♂️
Otherwise, my PC is very quiet. All fans run around 800rpm at idle and ~1400 under load (can go faster if they need to). The CPU cooler, a Noctua D14 goes to around 1600rpm under heavy load, still very quiet. In addition, there's a 140mm fan on the side of the case directly pointing the GPU (4x140mm, plus 1x120mm and a slow 180mm in all) and as you can see below, temps are good. Yes, the CPU is surprisingly cool (air-cooling is underrated), I guess Redout (a Wipeout clone, but better) isn't CPU intensive. I've actually increased the fan speeds and stopped the GPU going passive when idle, solely to aid the chipset cooling. The previous build, a 6700K (same components including GPU) had the case fans around 500rpm when idle (less airflow=less dust) which was enough to move air through the filters. I forget to capture the GPU temps, but the fans only reached a little above 2000rpm so it's not hot.
PS: AI Suite only gives me the motherboard & CPU package temp (no chipset or VRMs temps).
Over the weekend I removed the heatsink shroud from my GPU (might as well void the warranty of a £450 part rather than a £150 part) in the hope it would allow more airflow to the PCH. The ATX specification specifies a maximum height of 0.6 inches (15.24mm) in the "card slot area", the area around the PCI/ PCIe slots. The PCH cooler is more than 0.6", what worse is that they have made zero provision for airflow, so mounting a GPU (which adheres) in the only place possible is likely to block the PCH's airflow, and creates an air barrier trapping heat
It didn't offer as much improvement as anticipated and the PCH fan is still hitting 1500rpm at idle (motherboard temp of 32c so it isn't the case cooling!), and again it is by far the loudest component when gaming.
Yes, the eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed the missing retention tab above the on the top x16 slot is missing. It was so tight that it ended up breaking it due to the force needed to remove the GPU (the metal strip is for looks rather than function, weaker than a non-reenforced tab from another motherboard).
The GPU (an XFX 5700XT THICC2) manufacturer has acknowledged a design flaw with their cooler (poor heatsink contact with the memory) and is sending out a free upgrade kit to anyone who contacts them. Is Asus willing to offer similar support with their badly designed PCH coolers? Not having control of the fan makes the problem worse as every 1 degree celsius make the PCH spin 500rpm faster, so when it spins at 1000-1500rpm at idle it doesn't take much to become loud.
PS: I spoke to one of your technical support guys who was maddening as he kept repeating it was the "big case fans".
It didn't offer as much improvement as anticipated and the PCH fan is still hitting 1500rpm at idle (motherboard temp of 32c so it isn't the case cooling!), and again it is by far the loudest component when gaming.
Yes, the eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed the missing retention tab above the on the top x16 slot is missing. It was so tight that it ended up breaking it due to the force needed to remove the GPU (the metal strip is for looks rather than function, weaker than a non-reenforced tab from another motherboard).
The GPU (an XFX 5700XT THICC2) manufacturer has acknowledged a design flaw with their cooler (poor heatsink contact with the memory) and is sending out a free upgrade kit to anyone who contacts them. Is Asus willing to offer similar support with their badly designed PCH coolers? Not having control of the fan makes the problem worse as every 1 degree celsius make the PCH spin 500rpm faster, so when it spins at 1000-1500rpm at idle it doesn't take much to become loud.
PS: I spoke to one of your technical support guys who was maddening as he kept repeating it was the "big case fans".
