Fan curve settings in Afterburner

If your graphics card is louder than a jet taking off, or conversely, gets excessively hot when you're gaming, the solution most likely lies in... Configure the fan curve properly using MSI AfterburnerYou don't need to be an overclocking expert to adjust this parameter: with a few basic concepts you can achieve a very interesting balance between temperature, noise and performance.

Throughout this article we will see in detail What exactly is the fan curve in Afterburner, what is it used for, how to configure it step by step, and what Tricks advanced features you can take advantage ofsuch as temperature hysteresis or software control of multiple fans. The idea is that by the time you finish reading this, you'll be able to keep your GPU cool, stable, and without unnecessary background noise.

What is the fan curve in MSI Afterburner and what does it actually control?

MSI Afterburner is a free graphics card management tool It has become almost a standard for monitoring, overclocking, and adjusting parameters such as fan speeds. One of its most useful features is precisely the ability to customize how and when the GPU fans activate based on temperature.

When we talk about ventilation curve We are referring to a graph where the horizontal axis (X-axis) represents the GPU temperature and the vertical axis (Y-axis) shows the percentage of fan speed. Depending on how we draw that curve, The graphics card will decide at what revolutions each fan should spin for a specific temperature..

This curve is not fixed: You can add, move, or delete points. This allows you to specify, for example, that at 40°C the fans should spin at 25%, at 60°C at 50%, and at 75°C at 80%. This gives you fine-tuned control over the graphics card's thermal and acoustic behavior, which is very useful whether you want silence at your desktop or maximum cooling while gaming.

It's important to know that Not all graphics cards support the software-based fan controlIf your model does not expose this function to the system, Afterburner will not be able to manage the fans and the custom curve will have no effect, no matter how well you configure it.

One of the common problems with factory-installed automatic cornering is that The fans speed up too quickly or make abrupt changes. The temperature only varies by a few degrees. This results in annoying noise spikes that come and go, even when the GPU isn't actually experiencing thermal problems.

By defining your own curve, you can smooth out those changes.You can decide at what temperature you want the fans to start spinning and set a reasonable maximum noise limit. Alternatively, you can do the opposite: prioritize very low temperatures by forcing faster fans, at the cost of tolerating more noise.

In addition to all this, Afterburner integrates with RivaTuner Statistics Server to Display key data on screen such as FPS, GPU temperature, CPU load, and fan speedThis allows you to check in real time how your curve responds while you play or stress the card.

Advantages of creating a custom fan curve

Configuring a curve to your liking has several clear advantages: improved temperature control, less noise, and greater performance stabilityEach user may prioritize one point or another, but with a well-thought-out curve you can get very close to the ideal balance.

If you're looking for Lower GPU temperatures to gain overclocking headroom or avoid any risk of thermal throttlingYou'll want the fans to start working earlier and at a slightly higher percentage than the factory profile. This will keep the graphics card cooler under load, although the noise will increase.

At the opposite extreme, if you play with headphones or have your PC very close and any buzzing bothers you, you can opt for a softer curve than prioritize the quietest possible operationThe price to pay will be a slightly higher temperature and, in very hot cards, a slight reduction in sustained performance if they end up throttling frequencies due to heat.

Afterburner is also useful if your GPU has semi-passive fans that turn off below a certain temperature thresholdIn these models, it is especially important to carefully manage the fan curve to avoid constant on/off cycles, which, besides being annoying, can reduce the fan's lifespan. There.

You can combine all of this with other techniques such as undervolting or a slight downclock, so that You reduce consumption, temperature and noise simultaneously.A well-tuned GPU not only makes less noise, it is also usually more stable during long gaming sessions.

How to customize the fan curve in MSI Afterburner step by step

First of all, make sure that You have MSI Afterburner installed along with RivaTuner Statistics Server.During installation, you are offered the option to include RTSS; it is recommended to select it, as it will allow you to see an overlay in games with temperatures, FPS, and fan speed.

Once installed, launch Afterburner and, if this is your first time using it, It is advisable to save the factory profile in one of the numeric slots. (for example, 1). To do this, unlock the padlock icon, tap "Save" and then the corresponding number; this way you can return to the original settings whenever you want.

The next step is to enter the settings. According to the skin or theme that you have active in AfterburnerYou'll see a gear button, the text "Settings," or a similar icon. Click there to open the program's properties window.

Within the properties, go to the tab called "Fan"This section groups all the options related to controlling the speed of the graphics card fans, including the famous custom curve that we want to modify.

Now activate the box that enables the user-defined automatic fan control (or equivalent text depending on the language you use). At that point, the graph at the bottom will display the default curve that you can work with, and the predefined curve dropdown will allow you to choose the "Custom" option.

You will see a series of white dots on a grid: Each dot indicates a combination of temperature (on the bottom axis) and percentage of fan speed (on the side).You can click and drag any of these points to adjust their behavior as desired. Clicking on an empty space on the line will create a new point.

If you need to delete a period, simply select it and press the Delete key on the keyboard. This way you can clean up the curve of unnecessary nodes and leave only those that actually make a difference in behavior.

When you think the curve makes sense, click on Click “Apply” and then “Accept” For the changes to take effect, the graphics card will use your new curve instead of the factory profile whenever software control is enabled.

Back to the main Afterburner window, don't forget Save your new settings to a different profile. (for example, on 2). Click on “Save” and then on the number you want; this way you can alternate, for example, between a silent profile and a high-performance profile with just a couple of clicks.

Types of curves: smooth transitions or abrupt steps

By default, Afterburner uses a ascending curve with smooth transitions between pointsThis means that if at 30°C you set the fan speed to 20% and at 40°C to 40%, the program will automatically calculate intermediate values ​​(for example, 30% at 35°C) so that the change is not abrupt.

This behavior is usually ideal for most users because avoids sudden RPM jumps and maintains a more stable noise level. However, there are cases where it's desirable to force more aggressive changes, especially if you want the fan to remain completely off for a certain point and then suddenly ramp up.

To achieve that effect you can Change the curve interpolation mode by double-clicking on the black area of ​​the graph.You'll see the line change from a gentle incline to horizontal and vertical sections, like steps. In this mode, the speed remains constant between two temperatures and only jumps sharply when it reaches the next point.

For example, you might want that The fan should stay at 20% between 50 and 60 ºC and that it jumps to 30% right when it reaches 60°C, without intermediate increments. This "staircase" configuration is useful if you don't want constant changes in sound while the card is operating within a relatively narrow temperature range.

If at any point you want to discard all your experiments, you can go to the curves dropdown menu and select the option “Default” or “By default”This will restore the original behavior defined by the manufacturer. Another option is to simply click "Cancel" within the fan tab to avoid saving the latest changes.

Temperature hysteresis: essential to avoid on/off loops

One of the most underrated features of MSI Afterburner is the Temperature hysteresisThis option prevents the fans from being starting and stopping continuously when the temperature fluctuates by just a few degrees up and down around the same point.

Imagine you configure your GPU so that The fans should remain off until the temperature reaches 50°C, and from then on, they should turn on at 20%.If the load is light, the temperature may rise to 50°C, the fans will activate, it will drop to 48°C and turn off again… only to rise again to 50°C a few seconds later and repeat the cycle.

This cycle of stops and starts, besides being very annoying due to the constant change in noise, can affect the durability of the fansTemperature hysteresis allows you to tell Afterburner how many degrees should pass from when the fan turns on until it is allowed to turn off again.

For example, if you set a hysteresis of 10°C, the GPU The fans will start when the temperature exceeds 50°C.However, these will not turn off until the temperature drops below 40°C. This prevents small fluctuations that would only cause constant changes of state without any real benefit.

It is recommended to try with values ​​between 5 and 10 °C hysteresisThis depends on how quickly your card heats up and cools down. The higher the hysteresis, the fewer changes you'll see in the fans' state, at the cost of them being slightly less aggressive when shutting down once the temperature has dropped.

Visual indicators and additional fan control options

When your custom curve is active, you'll see that the bar Fan Speed ​​appears surrounded by an outline the color of the skin that you have selected. That border is a quick visual clue that the card is being governed by your profile and not by the factory automatic mode.

If at any point you want the GPU to behave as it did before, you can Deactivate the curve by clicking on the gear icon next to Fan SpeedBy doing so, the outline will disappear and the card will resume standard management controlled by its BIOS.

Within the advanced options of the fan tab you will also find a parameter for adjust the speed update periodwhich is measured in CPU cycles. Reducing this period causes Afterburner to check the temperature more frequently and adjust the RPM sooner, although with a slight increase in CPU usage.

In practice, an update that is too slow can cause The fan response lags behind temperature peaksWhile an excessively fast update could generate small RPM changes that don't add much, it's best to use an intermediate value or the one recommended by the program itself.

Many users have found that, with a well-designed curve, it is possible lower the resting temperature by 8 to 10°C with hardly any increase in noiseAnd, under load, a more logical curve than the factory setting can keep the GPU somewhat cooler or, conversely, somewhat quieter at the same temperature, depending on your priorities.

Independent control of multiple fans and other alternative programs

Some modern graphics cards have more than one fan and allow control them independently or synchronouslyIn Afterburner, if your GPU supports it, you'll see a chain icon next to the Fan Speed ​​percentage. Clicking this icon allows you to link or unlink the fans to manage them together or separately.

This can be useful, for example, if you want to The fan closest to the hottest area should spin a little faster. While the other operates at a lower RPM to minimize noise. Not all GPUs will offer this feature, but if your model is relatively recent, it's worth checking.

Although MSI Afterburner is the most popular tool for these types of adjustments, it's not the only one. If you have an AMD graphics card, the Radeon software (WattMan) includes its own panel to configure fan curves, overclocking, and undervolting directly from the official driver, without the need for third-party programs.

The concepts are the same: Relate temperature and fan percentage using points on a graph and save different profiles for different uses (gaming, productivity, silent desktop, etc.). However, in both WattMan and Afterburner, it's advisable to be cautious if you're also going to adjust voltages and frequencies.

On the other hand, many assemblers such as MSI, ASUS, Gigabyte, or EVGA offer their own exclusive utilities for each GPU modelThese applications usually simplify things by using predefined modes such as "Silent", "Balanced", or "Performance", which adjust both the fan curve and the card's power consumption with a single click.