This heatsink fan connector connects the fan to the heatsink, allowing airflow to cool it effectively.
This heatsink fan connector connects the fan to the heatsink, allowing airflow to cool it effectively.
I'm working on swapping the passive heatsink of an Nvidia Tesla M40 with a dual fan MSI 1080Ti. My goal is to maintain a comfortable GPU temperature without making my workstation excessively noisy. The original heatsink came with three connectors, two of which are mini-4 pin Molex GPU fans that I plan to connect to a fan hub using an adapter.
I'm curious about the red two-pin connector—does it actually power the fans? Do I need to connect it for them to function correctly? Additionally, I discovered that the GPU itself has a two-pin socket that matches this connector, but it's placed in a way that the cable won't reach it after installation. If I need to use an extension, can I still connect it in that manner? Thanks for any advice!
It seems likely it connects to a small LED on the plastic, creating a glowing logo effect.
Probably intended for Logo and/or decorative lighting effects.
I'm not confident the heatsink will provide enough cooling for the power stages on that board. Each area with a thermal pad requires extra attention. Do you have funds to upgrade the card? I understand Tesla M40s are affordable, but they're reasonably priced for their performance. A 12 GB 3060 would outperform them significantly.
Thank you for your feedback! This appears to be the most probable setup. Appreciate your input! Your attention to detail is great. I'm keeping the metal backplate with all its thermal pads on the GPU. Adding M.2 low-profile heatsinks and pads on the front, right under the GPU heatsink (clearance confirmed). Regarding the GPU, I'm using it on my Proxmox workstation via passthrough to host multiple gaming VMs for friends and family. Since my environment needs Nvidia's vGPU drivers, which are only available on enterprise-grade cards, I'm planning to upgrade to a higher-tier GPU in the future.
I’d chosen a founders edition cooler, especially the one from the 980ti. Same GPU, just reduced size, same PCB. My Inno3D GTX 1070 works with essentially the same setup you’re using—just a cooler built by them attached. When the fan that handles most air over the memory failed, I noticed issues and the card became unresponsive. Rearranging the fans on the heatsink also caused problems, so I wouldn’t suggest that approach.