The GPU fan is not functioning properly.
The GPU fan is not functioning properly.
I recently acquired a brand new 3070 (ZOTAC RTX 3070 TWIN EDGE) at its MSRP last week. I observed that one of the fans, the GPU Fan 2, occasionally spikes to extremely high RPMs—sometimes reaching millions! My system is still running smoothly, so it’s clear the fan isn’t spinning excessively. I’ve checked HWINFO and MSI Afterburner, both indicating the same issue, suggesting it’s not related to software problems. The screenshots capture what’s happening: What’s going on here?
That's a HWInfo bug, on my side I have CPU temp report sometimes to 132C, always this same figure
Review the fan curve in MSI Afterburner by navigating to Settings > Fan. It’s possible you have a default curve from your Gigabyte card where it stays off until temperatures reach 50°C, then spins up to 90% RPM at 51°C—causing frequent on/off behavior during idle. You may need to reconfigure the fancurve completely. In your situation, it could be a sensor issue.
It seems there may be a defective sensor or a loose connection, though the chances of it being serious are low. No need to rush for an RMA; you could simply notify them and confirm receipt. CW: technical issues The speed reading relies on the mainboard receiving a voltage, while the firmware expects perfect calibration of resistors and components. Here, likely there’s a resistance point in the circuit that raises voltage unexpectedly (volts = current × resistance), leading the firmware to produce incorrect results through its calculations.
HWInfo64 and Afterburner share compatible system hooks and can be set up to function together, which explains why they display comparable data. Many have noted this is likely a faulty sensor, making an RMA unnecessary unless you're particularly worried. If you need more certainty, test the fan individually—does it halt with others? Does it spin at similar rates along the curve? If yes, it should be fine. Using a small mirror and some colorful/glow tape can also make a difference.
I checked the fan curve and noticed a trend where reaching 1 million RPM only occurs near shutdown. It looks like the sensor is responsible for this behavior, even though the fan works fine otherwise. Thanks for the clarification! Returning would be complicated, but I’m hoping for a replacement from the original seller to avoid confusion.
I successfully swapped out my GPU at the store, but it still shows the same problem. My friend, who got the same model, is experiencing the same issue, which makes me think all Zotac Twin Edge cards might have this problem.