▷ Graphics card: reference heatsink (blower) vs custom heatsink

Choosing a graphics card can be time consuming, some versions of them can have more than 30 different models, so choosing the right one can be quite difficult. One of the big doubts is usually whether to opt for a graphics card model with a blower-type heatsink or one with axial fans. It is important to note that before buying something, you must determine which type of heatsink best suits your case in terms of air flow.

Index of contents

What is the difference between a blower type heatsink and one with axial fans?

Mainly, there are two types of coolers on graphics cards, we have models with a turbine or blower type fan, and models with conventional axial fans. There are also other types of cards such as water-cooled ones, but these are a minority. It's important to know the benefits and drawbacks of these types of coolers to understand which one would fit your platform best.

We recommend reading our post on How to clean the graphics card of your PC step by step

Turbine or blower type fans are the coolers used in most reference graphics cards. When AMD or Nvidia launch a new GPU, the official reference card will often be chilled with a blower. This design is quite simple, as it sucks air through the fan at the front of the card and expels it through the back. Removing hot air from the back of the graphics card helps with computers with little internal air flow, as it does not "blow" the hot air inside the computer.

On the other hand, the volume of that moved air is usually so small that the small fan must spin very fast to cool the GPU properly, meaning that most blower-type cards are susceptible to higher temperatures and noise levels. than the competition. Blower type fans are generally most useful in cases of mini-ITX equipment and / or multi-GPU configurations, where there is not enough airflow available inside the equipment to expel all the heat.

The second type of graphics cards are those that mount multiple axial fans on their heatsink. This is undoubtedly the most common type of cooling found in the graphics cards that the market offers us. Companies like EVGA, Gigabyte, Sapphire, MSI, XFX and many more produce graphics cards using chips made by AMD and Nvidia. Although these companies also make blower-type cards, they mostly bet on axial fans.

The logic behind this cooling system is simple: A heat sink with a single, double, or triple fan draws cold air from the outside and pushes it into a radiator to cool the GPU directly or indirectly. The radiator usually consists of aluminum fins that have multiple copper heatpipes running through them. Blower type cards use smaller heat sinks, which is one of the reasons why their cooling capacity is much less.

The cold air absorbed by the axial fan cards heats up and spreads in all directions, mainly inside the computer. This means that the PC chassis must somehow eliminate heat buildup, otherwise it will start circulating inside the chassis and heat all other components. A suitable air flow system is important in all cases, but especially in the smallest if there is such a refrigerator inside. At least one fresh air intake and one hot air outlet are a good general rule for all systems, although if we are going to mount a very powerful graphics card we will have to improve the ventilation system more. Constant airflow through the chassis will help supply fresh air to the graphics card and CPU cooler, resulting in cooler graphics card temperatures due to the more aggressive cooler design and appropriately cooled parts around it.

GPU Reference vs Custom temperatures

The following table summarizes the working temperature of a GeForce GTX 780 Ti with a blower type heatsink vs. one with three axial fans:

Nvidia GeForce GTX 780 Ti
	Repose	Load
Blower	35ºC	86ºC
Fan	35ºC	75ºC

Which is better for my new graphics card

It is important to know that all the heatsinks mentioned above will allow the graphics card to do its job, because only depending on the internal air flow of the PC it will work with a slightly higher or a little lower temperature. For most users, axial fan-cooled graphics cards offer the best combination of thermal, noise, performance, and value. These cards can work up to 10ºC cooler. That is why the vast majority of cards sold do so with this design.

Blower type cards can be beneficial when the air flow inside the equipment is restricted, or for SLI or CrossFire configurations in which an enormous amount of heat is generated that is very difficult to eliminate if everything is “blown” inside the equipment.. Therefore, in these cases it is more advisable to opt for a blower-type graphics card.

What is your preferred type of graphics card heatsink? You can leave a comment with your opinion and your experiences to help the rest of the users who may need it.

We summarize the best hardware guides that should interest you:

• Best processors on the market Best motherboards on the market Best RAM memory on the market Best graphics cards on the market

This ends our article on graphics cards with blower fans or axial fans. Remember that you can leave a comment if you have any questions or want to add something.