NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT's fan spins up in text console mode?

[ant]

Hello!

I noticed most of the times my old NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT video card's fan is quiet in KDE v3.5.10 with Compiz. When I exit out of X to text mode console, my fan will spin up louder. Is this normal? I am using the latest NVIDIA driver binaries, compiled from its .run files, in Debian (Kernel v2.6.32-...). Obviously, I can't read my sensors -f for NVIDIA in text mode since NVIDIA driver isn't in used like in X.

Thank you in advance.

[johnc]

I'm pretty sure this is normal since the driver is what's likely to bring the fan speed down. The default fan speed is probably max.

[ant]

Originally Posted by johnc

I'm pretty sure this is normal since the driver is what's likely to bring the fan speed down. The default fan speed is probably max.

Thanks. Yeah, I noticed X was making the fan spin at about 3K RPM.

[ant]

Originally Posted by johnc

I'm pretty sure this is normal since the driver is what's likely to bring the fan speed down. The default fan speed is probably max.

What about power usage? Does using text console use less power than GUI mode? Do you know? I would assume yes without 3D stuff, accerelation, etc.?

[johnc]

Originally Posted by ant

What about power usage? Does using text console use less power than GUI mode? Do you know? I would assume yes without 3D stuff, accerelation, etc.?

I'm not sure. I guess it depends on what clocks and performance settings the video card defaults to without the X nvidia driver. Of course in text mode the GPUs won't be getting slammed as hard as in a video game or the like, so it would be using less power (watts) in that sense.

[ant]

Originally Posted by johnc

I'm not sure. I guess it depends on what clocks and performance settings the video card defaults to without the X nvidia driver. Of course in text mode the GPUs won't be getting slammed as hard as in a video game or the like, so it would be using less power (watts) in that sense.

Hmm, I wonder if there is a way to make the fan not spin up high in text mode.

[ant]

Originally Posted by johnc

I'm not sure. I guess it depends on what clocks and performance settings the video card defaults to without the X nvidia driver. Of course in text mode the GPUs won't be getting slammed as hard as in a video game or the like, so it would be using less power (watts) in that sense.

I did a comparison with my old APC UPS' readings:

Before "startx" command:
APC : 001,037,0905
DATE : 2011-06-22 20:19:49 -0700
HOSTNAME : MyBox
VERSION : 3.14.8 (16 January 2010) debian
UPSNAME : MyBox
CABLE : USB Cable
MODEL : Back-UPS RS 1500
UPSMODE : Stand Alone
STARTTIME: 2011-06-14 20:44:35 -0700
STATUS : ONLINE
LINEV : 115.0 Volts
LOADPCT : 20.0 Percent Load Capacity
BCHARGE : 100.0 Percent
TIMELEFT : 44.5 Minutes
MBATTCHG : 5 Percent
MINTIMEL : 3 Minutes
MAXTIME : 0 Seconds
SENSE : High
LOTRANS : 097.0 Volts
HITRANS : 138.0 Volts
ALARMDEL : Always
BATTV : 26.8 Volts
LASTXFER : Low line voltage
NUMXFERS : 0
TONBATT : 0 seconds
CUMONBATT: 0 seconds
XOFFBATT : N/A
SELFTEST : NO
STATFLAG : 0x07000008 Status Flag
MANDATE : 2005-03-16
SERIALNO : QB05[deleted]
BATTDATE : 2005-03-16
NOMINV : 120 Volts
NOMBATTV : 24.0 Volts
NOMPOWER : 865 Watts
FIRMWARE : 8.g8 .D USB FW:g8
APCMODEL : Back-UPS RS 1500
END APC : 2011-06-22 20:20:22 -0700

After startx command is run and KDE v3.5.10 desktop with Compiz is up and idling:
APC : 001,037,0905
DATE : 2011-06-22 20:20:49 -0700
HOSTNAME : MyBox
VERSION : 3.14.8 (16 January 2010) debian
UPSNAME : MyBox
CABLE : USB Cable
MODEL : Back-UPS RS 1500
UPSMODE : Stand Alone
STARTTIME: 2011-06-14 20:44:35 -0700
STATUS : ONLINE
LINEV : 115.0 Volts
LOADPCT : 17.0 Percent Load Capacity
BCHARGE : 100.0 Percent
TIMELEFT : 50.6 Minutes
MBATTCHG : 5 Percent
MINTIMEL : 3 Minutes
MAXTIME : 0 Seconds
SENSE : High
LOTRANS : 097.0 Volts
HITRANS : 138.0 Volts
ALARMDEL : Always
BATTV : 26.9 Volts
LASTXFER : Low line voltage
NUMXFERS : 0
TONBATT : 0 seconds
CUMONBATT: 0 seconds
XOFFBATT : N/A
SELFTEST : NO
STATFLAG : 0x07000008 Status Flag
MANDATE : 2005-03-16
SERIALNO : QB0[deleted]
BATTDATE : 2005-03-16
NOMINV : 120 Volts
NOMBATTV : 24.0 Volts
NOMPOWER : 865 Watts
FIRMWARE : 8.g8 .D USB FW:g8
APCMODEL : Back-UPS RS 1500
END APC : 2011-06-22 20:21:49 -0700


Strange that running X makes my UPS show less power used. I guess I shouldn't exit X to save power. :P

[lancelot2]

My card (9600GT) has a very similar behavior to what you describe which I fixed during the night from yesterday to today...
http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=130767
It was a problem for me because the fan is awfully loud when its speed is unregulated.

Reading your post I suspect I might have put a finger on a more general issue that what I suspected, therefore you can help me if you'd kindly make a few tests for me. If your card registers behave in the same way as mine, it would mean that you should be able to control your fanspeed with a similar procedure, although it's always a little bit dangerous for the card.

After you leave X (when your fan speed climbs to 100%), it could be that the proprietary nvidia module is removed from your kernel, or it could be that it remains loaded. You can know this by trying

lsmod|grep nvidia

as root.

If nvidia is not loaded, then please try

modprobe nvidia

and tell me if your fan speed goes down or not.

You can then unload the driver with the following command:

rmmod nvidia

(still as root)

If you have a few more minutes to waste, you can then install the nvclock package through aptitude, and use it to compare the state of your GPU registers in different configurations.

1) X started and nvidia driver loaded
2) X not started and nvidia driver loaded
3) X not started and nvidia driver not loaded

In order to retrieve the values in your GPU registers, you can use the command

nvclock -D

as root, and post the result here for each case 1), 2) and 3).

I read below you are using Stable. If that is the case, you should still be able to launch the the venerable free driver nv. Then, you should also be able to make the same study in two more cases:

4) X started and nv drivers loaded (need to adjust xorg.conf)
5) X not started and nv drivers loaded

[ant]

Originally Posted by lancelot2

My card (9600GT) has a very similar behavior to what you describe which I fixed during the night from yesterday to today...
http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=130767
It was a problem for me because the fan is awfully loud when its speed is unregulated.

Reading your post I suspect I might have put a finger on a more general issue that what I suspected, therefore you can help me if you'd kindly make a few tests for me. If your card registers behave in the same way as mine, it would mean that you should be able to control your fanspeed with a similar procedure, although it's always a little bit dangerous for the card.

After you leave X (when your fan speed climbs to 100%), it could be that the proprietary nvidia module is removed from your kernel, or it could be that it remains loaded. You can know this by trying

lsmod|grep nvidia

as root.

If nvidia is not loaded, then please try

modprobe nvidia

and tell me if your fan speed goes down or not.

You can then unload the driver with the following command:

rmmod nvidia

(still as root)

If you have a few more minutes to waste, you can then install the nvclock package through aptitude, and use it to compare the state of your GPU registers in different configurations.

1) X started and nvidia driver loaded
2) X not started and nvidia driver loaded
3) X not started and nvidia driver not loaded

In order to retrieve the values in your GPU registers, you can use the command

nvclock -D

as root, and post the result here for each case 1), 2) and 3).


I read below you are using Stable. If that is the case, you should still be able to launch the the venerable free driver nv. Then, you should also be able to make the same study in two more cases:

4) X started and nv drivers loaded (need to adjust xorg.conf)
5) X not started and nv drivers loaded

I don't think I can make my video card fan spin up in X. I can only do that outside of X in console mode.

$ lsmod|grep nvidia
nvidia 10493220 0
i2c_core 12751 12 nvidia,adt7473,tuner_simple,tea5767,tuner,cx8800,c x88xx,i2c_algo_bit,tveeprom,v4l2_common,videodev,i 2c_i801
# lsmod|grep nvidia
nvidia 10493220 0
i2c_core 12751 12 nvidia,adt7473,tuner_simple,tea5767,tuner,cx8800,c x88xx,i2c_algo_bit,tveeprom,v4l2_common,videodev,i 2c_i801


Thank you for the tip on nvclock command. I thought it was only for OCing, but it has more features. As per request:

# nvclock -D
--- nVidia Geforce 8800GT GPU registers ---
NV_PMC_BOOT_0 (0x0): 092880a2
NV_PBUS_DEBUG_0 (0x1080): 00000000
NV_PBUS_DEBUG_1 (0x1084): 00041469
NV_PBUS_DEBUG_2 (0x1088): 00000000
NV_PBUS_DEBUG_3 (0x108c): 000000d1
NV_10F0 (0x10f0): 00000000
NV_1540 (0x1540): f30f007f
NV_15B0 (0x15b0): 00000000
NV_15B4 (0x15b4): 00000000
NV_15B8 (0x15b8): 00000000
NV_15F0 (0x15f0): 00000000
NV_15F4 (0x15f4): 00000000
NV_15F8 (0x15f8): 00000000
NV_PBUS_PCI_0 (0x1800): 061110de
NV_PBUS_PCI_0 (0x182c): 053c10de
NV_C010 (0xc010): 00000000
NV_C014 (0xc014): 00000000
NV_C018 (0xc018): 00000000
NV_C01C (0xc01c): 00000000


I went back to X (startx) and reran nvclock -D command to see if there are any differences:
# nvclock -D
--- nVidia Geforce 8800GT GPU registers ---
NV_PMC_BOOT_0 (0x0): 092880a2
NV_PBUS_DEBUG_0 (0x1080): 00000000
NV_PBUS_DEBUG_1 (0x1084): 00041469
NV_PBUS_DEBUG_2 (0x1088): 00000000
NV_PBUS_DEBUG_3 (0x108c): 000000d1
NV_10F0 (0x10f0): 00000000
NV_1540 (0x1540): f30f007f
NV_15B0 (0x15b0): 00000000
NV_15B4 (0x15b4): 00000000
NV_15B8 (0x15b8): 00000000
NV_15F0 (0x15f0): 00000000
NV_15F4 (0x15f4): 00000000
NV_15F8 (0x15f8): 00000000
NV_PBUS_PCI_0 (0x1800): 061110de
NV_PBUS_PCI_0 (0x182c): 053c10de
NV_C010 (0xc010): 00000000
NV_C014 (0xc014): 00000000
NV_C018 (0xc018): 00000000
NV_C01C (0xc01c): 00000000
NV_C020 (0xc020): 00000000
NV_C024 (0xc024): 00000000
NV_C028 (0xc028): 00000000
NV_C02C (0xc02c): 00000000
NV_C040 (0xc040): 2e80dbb3
NV_4000 (0x4000): 00000000
NV_4004 (0x4004): 00000000
NV_4008 (0x4008): 8018e400
NV_400C (0x400c): 00001903
NV_4010 (0x4010): 00000000
NV_4014 (0x4014): 00000000
NV_4018 (0x4018): 00001200
NV_401C (0x401c): 00001c03
NV_4020 (0x4020): 80000000
NV_4024 (0x4024): 00001c02
NV_4028 (0x4028): a0000000
NV_402C (0x402c): 00002707
NV_4030 (0x4030): a0090000
NV_4034 (0x4034): 00001202
NV_4038 (0x4038): 00000000
NV_403C (0x403c): 00000000
NV_4040 (0x4040): 00010000
NV_4044 (0x4044): 00010000
NV_4048 (0x4048): 00000000
NV_404C (0x404c): 00000000
NV_4050 (0x4050): 00010000
NV_4054 (0x4054): 00000000
NV_4058 (0x4058): 00000000
NV_405C (0x405c): 00000000
NV_4060 (0x4060): 00010000
NV_E100 (0xe100): 00001900
NV_E114 (0xe114): 00000001
NV_E118 (0xe118): 00000000
NV_E11C (0xe11c): 00000001
NV_E120 (0xe120): 00000000
NV_E300 (0xe300): 00000100
NV_20008 (0x20008): c0083905
NV_20400 (0x20400): 00000000
NV_PDISPLAY_SOR0_REGS_BRIGHTNESS(c084): 00000000
NV_PFB_CFG0 (0x100200): 01001000
NV_PFB_CFG0 (0x100204): 01449000
NV_PFB_CFG0 (0x100208): 00000000
NV_PFB_CFG0 (0x10020c): 20000000
NV_PFB_218 (0x100218): 01000101
NV_PFB_TIMING0 (0x100220): 0d162f23
NV_PFB_TIMING1 (0x100224): 11010a0b
NV_PFB_TIMING2 (0x100228): 0208080c
NV_PFB_474 (0x100474): 00000000
NV_PEXTDEV_BOOT_0 (0x101000): 9f428486
NV_NVPLL_COEFF_A (0x680500): 00000000
NV_MPLL_COEFF_A (0x680504): 00000000
NV_VPLL_COEFF (0x680508): 00000000
NV_PLL_COEFF_SELECT (0x68050c): 00000000
NV_NVPLL_COEFF_B (0x680570: 00000000
NV_MPLL_COEFF_B (0x680574: 00000000
--- PCI header ---
00: de 10 11 06 07 00 10 00 a2 00 00 03 00 00 00 00
10: 00 00 00 fd 0c 00 00 d0 00 00 00 00 04 00 00 fa
20: 00 00 00 00 01 ec 00 00 00 00 00 00 de 10 3c 05
30: 00 00 00 00 60 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 0a 01 00 00
40: de 10 3c 05 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
50: 01 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 ce d6 23 00 00 00 00 00
60: 01 68 03 00 08 00 00 00 05 78 80 00 00 00 00 00
70: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 10 00 02 00 e0 84 2c 01
80: 10 29 00 00 02 2d 00 00 48 00 02 11 00 00 00 00
90: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 10 00 00 00
a0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
b0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
c0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
d0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
e0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
f0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
NV_C020 (0xc020): 00000000
NV_C024 (0xc024): 00000000
NV_C028 (0xc028): 00000000
NV_C02C (0xc02c): 00000000
NV_C040 (0xc040): 2e80dbb3
NV_4000 (0x4000): 00000000
NV_4004 (0x4004): 00000000
NV_4008 (0x4008): 8018e400
NV_400C (0x400c): 00001903
NV_4010 (0x4010): 00000000
NV_4014 (0x4014): 00000000
NV_4018 (0x4018): 00001200
NV_401C (0x401c): 00001c03
NV_4020 (0x4020): 80000000
NV_4024 (0x4024): 00001c02
NV_4028 (0x4028): a0000000
NV_402C (0x402c): 00002707
NV_4030 (0x4030): a0090000
NV_4034 (0x4034): 00001202
NV_4038 (0x4038): 00000000
NV_403C (0x403c): 00000000
NV_4040 (0x4040): 00010000
NV_4044 (0x4044): 00010000
NV_4048 (0x4048): 00000000
NV_404C (0x404c): 00000000
NV_4050 (0x4050): 00010000
NV_4054 (0x4054): 00000000
NV_4058 (0x4058): 00000000
NV_405C (0x405c): 00000000
NV_4060 (0x4060): 00010000
NV_E100 (0xe100): 00001900
NV_E114 (0xe114): 00000001
NV_E118 (0xe118): 00000000
NV_E11C (0xe11c): 00000001
NV_E120 (0xe120): 00000000
NV_E300 (0xe300): 00000100
NV_20008 (0x20008): c0083935
NV_20400 (0x20400): 00000000
NV_PDISPLAY_SOR0_REGS_BRIGHTNESS(c084): 00000000
NV_PFB_CFG0 (0x100200): 01001000
NV_PFB_CFG0 (0x100204): 01449000
NV_PFB_CFG0 (0x100208): 00000000
NV_PFB_CFG0 (0x10020c): 20000000
NV_PFB_218 (0x100218): 01000101
NV_PFB_TIMING0 (0x100220): 0d162f23
NV_PFB_TIMING1 (0x100224): 11010a0b
NV_PFB_TIMING2 (0x100228): 0208080c
NV_PFB_474 (0x100474): 00000000
NV_PEXTDEV_BOOT_0 (0x101000): 9f428486
NV_NVPLL_COEFF_A (0x680500): 00000000
NV_MPLL_COEFF_A (0x680504): 00000000
NV_VPLL_COEFF (0x680508): 00000000
NV_PLL_COEFF_SELECT (0x68050c): 00000000
NV_NVPLL_COEFF_B (0x680570: 00000000
NV_MPLL_COEFF_B (0x680574: 00000000
--- PCI header ---
00: de 10 11 06 07 00 10 00 a2 00 00 03 00 00 00 00
10: 00 00 00 fd 0c 00 00 d0 00 00 00 00 04 00 00 fa
20: 00 00 00 00 01 ec 00 00 00 00 00 00 de 10 3c 05
30: 00 00 00 00 60 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 0a 01 00 00
40: de 10 3c 05 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
50: 01 00 00 00 01 00 00 00 ce d6 23 00 00 00 00 00
60: 01 68 03 00 08 00 00 00 05 78 80 00 00 00 00 00
70: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 10 00 02 00 e0 84 2c 01
80: 10 29 00 00 02 2d 00 00 48 00 02 11 00 00 00 00
90: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 10 00 00 00
a0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
b0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
c0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
d0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
e0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
f0: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00


$ nvclock -i
-- General info --
Card: nVidia Geforce 8800GT
Architecture: G92 A2
PCI id: 0x611
GPU clock: 601.712 MHz
Bustype: PCI-Express

-- Shader info --
Clock: 1512.000 MHz
Stream units: 112 (01111111b)
ROP units: 16 (1111b)
-- Memory info --
Amount: 512 MB
Type: 256 bit DDR3
Clock: 899.996 MHz

-- PCI-Express info --
Current Rate: 16X
Maximum rate: 16X

-- Sensor info --
Sensor: Analog Devices ADT7473
Board temperature: 61C
GPU temperature: 76C
Fanspeed: 3941 RPM
Fanspeed mode: manual
PWM duty cycle: 65.5%

-- VideoBios information --
Version: 62.92.1f.00.09
Signon message: GeForce 8800 GT VGA BIOS
Performance level 0: gpu 600MHz/shader 1500MHz/memory 900MHz/0.00V/100%
VID mask: 3
Voltage level 0: 0.95V, VID: 0
Voltage level 1: 1.00V, VID: 1
Voltage level 2: 1.05V, VID: 2
Voltage level 3: 1.10V, VID: 3


I don't have time to mess with the non-NVIDIA driver right now, and don't want to break my old box. I just wanted to do quick runs. Hopefully, these will help you on a start?

[lancelot2]

Thanks yes it helps me.

First, if I understand well, your lsmod output shows that nvidia remains loaded in the kernel even after you stop X. This means your fan stops being regulated becuase X is stopped, although the nvidia driver is still loaded. This is also the situation I get natively with my 9600GT.

You have similar registers to mine in situations where the fan is at max speed. The funny thing is that you have them in both outputs that you post. But if you can check your copy-paste, it seems you have mixed it up so that I don't know which is which.

Anyway, it could be also that your fanspeed is automatically regulated under X without the help of the registers.

If you have the time to retry and post the output of nvclock -D, or correct what you posted below, it would be helpful.

Now, if your goal is to reduce the noise of your GPU fan when you don't have X running, I could help you, but the operation might be a little dangerous (not for you, but for your video card, maybe). I of course wouldn't take any responsabilty (I'd only take the glory if it works out fine in the end).

And also not that simple, since it would involve changing the source code of nvclock, compiling a patched version and trying it on your card. All I can tell you it that it worked on my GPU yesterday, and that it's still working today. Mine is a different model, but you seem to have the same fan-related registers, and the code of nvclock suggests that they are to be handled the same way.

We need to change the value stored in these 3 registers:

NV_E100 (0xe100): 00001900
NV_E11C (0xe11c): 00000001
NV_E120 (0xe120): 00000000

(but if it does not work, we may have a chance to make it anyway by playing with e114 and e118 instead of e11c and e120)

If you want to go this route, one important thing that you will have to check is whether your registers are inverted or not. I know nvclock will treat your card just like mine in everything that is fan-related. For my card, nvclock assumes they are inverted, but in fact they're not. This means if I did nvclock -F -f 100, I would stop the fan of my video card...

So (still assuming you'd like to take the rather hackish route I propose), first try the following command:

nvclock -F -f 50

. As long as you have a value of 1 in the register e11c as you have posted, you will be kicked out by the following error message:

Error: Your card doesn't support fanspeed adjustments!

Just for the sake of curiosity, I would try that both under X and without X started.

If it works in one case or the other, you should be able to determine whether you registers are inverted or not by changing the value 50 to 75 and/or 25 and seeing what effect it has (when I do it myself under X with nvidia drivers and an unpatched nvclock, the fan speed is changed for a brief moment before nvidia regulates it back to 35%).

Then, the follow-up would be to patch nvclock like I explain in the other post, compile and try it to reduce your fan speed. If it works, we should be able to find the right configuration file where to put it so that it gets called twice whenever you leave X.

I've posted the patch here:
http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=130767

[ant]

Originally Posted by lancelot2

Thanks yes it helps me.

First, if I understand well, your lsmod output shows that nvidia remains loaded in the kernel even after you stop X. This means your fan stops being regulated becuase X is stopped, although the nvidia driver is still loaded. This is also the situation I get natively with my 9600GT.

You have similar registers to mine in situations where the fan is at max speed. The funny thing is that you have them in both outputs that you post. But if you can check your copy-paste, it seems you have mixed it up so that I don't know which is which.

Anyway, it could be also that your fanspeed is automatically regulated under X without the help of the registers.

If you have the time to retry and post the output of nvclock -D, or correct what you posted below, it would be helpful.

Now, if your goal is to reduce the noise of your GPU fan when you don't have X running, I could help you, but the operation might be a little dangerous (not for you, but for your video card, maybe). I of course wouldn't take any responsabilty (I'd only take the glory if it works out fine in the end).

And also not that simple, since it would involve changing the source code of nvclock, compiling a patched version and trying it on your card. All I can tell you it that it worked on my GPU yesterday, and that it's still working today. Mine is a different model, but you seem to have the same fan-related registers, and the code of nvclock suggests that they are to be handled the same way.

We need to change the value stored in these 3 registers:

NV_E100 (0xe100): 00001900
NV_E11C (0xe11c): 00000001
NV_E120 (0xe120): 00000000

(but if it does not work, we may have a chance to make it anyway by playing with e114 and e118 instead of e11c and e120)

If you want to go this route, one important thing that you will have to check is whether your registers are inverted or not. I know nvclock will treat your card just like mine in everything that is fan-related. For my card, nvclock assumes they are inverted, but in fact they're not. This means if I did nvclock -F -f 100, I would stop the fan of my video card...

So (still assuming you'd like to take the rather hackish route I propose), first try the following command:

nvclock -F -f 50

. As long as you have a value of 1 in the register e11c as you have posted, you will be kicked out by the following error message:

Error: Your card doesn't support fanspeed adjustments!

Just for the sake of curiosity, I would try that both under X and without X started.

If it works in one case or the other, you should be able to determine whether you registers are inverted or not by changing the value 50 to 75 and/or 25 and seeing what effect it has (when I do it myself under X with nvidia drivers and an unpatched nvclock, the fan speed is changed for a brief moment before nvidia regulates it back to 35%).

Then, the follow-up would be to patch nvclock like I explain in the other post, compile and try it to reduce your fan speed. If it works, we should be able to find the right configuration file where to put it so that it gets called twice whenever you leave X.

I've posted the patch here:
http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=130767

Eh, I will pass and not risk it. I already to RMA this EVGA video card (GeForce 7950 GT KO and this model) twice in the past (3 years) and don't want to do it again! I will just stay in X to keep the fan quieter and use less power.

As for "lsmod|grep nvidia" duplicate results. One was in X and other was outside of X. It made no differences on my PC.

[ant]

Since I was upgrading my Kernel package (not a new version), I decided to exit in console and idle for a few minutes and heard the fan spin up. After rebooting and idling in console (don't boot to X) for over half of a day, I heard no fan spin up. After I loaded up X with startx command and then exit X back to console, then I heard the fan spin up. Weird!