Just installed Manjaro. Didn’t have an issue with the fan under another linux distro. When I tried Manjaro on a thumbdrive, I first noticed the revving up, but thought it was because of using it on a thumbdrive. After installation, it is still revving up, turning on and off, every 3 seconds or so.
My GPU is Nvidia GeForce 750.
I searched on Perplexity, and it came up with this:
The fan on your NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 spinning up and down every few seconds in Manjaro is most likely due to the GPU’s “zero fan mode” combined with how your current system and driver control the fan curve and thermal thresholds. Here’s what’s happening:
** Zero Fan Mode: Many modern GPUs, including the GTX 750, turn their fans off completely when temperatures are low (typically under 50–55°C). When idle or under light load, if the temperature crosses this threshold by even a degree or two, the fan spins up to cool it, then quickly turns back off as temps drop. This causes the fans to cycle on and off repeatedly if the temperature is hovering around that threshold, which is especially common in cases with good airflow or cooler ambient temperatures.*
** Manjaro Driver Behavior: Different Linux distributions and NVIDIA driver versions handle fan curves and zero fan mode slightly differently. It’s possible that Manjaro’s driver is more aggressive, or the fan curve/thermal threshold is set right at your idle temperature, causing frequent fan toggling, while the other distro either did not engage this feature or had a slightly different threshold or fan control.*
** Custom Fan Curve: You can solve this with a custom fan curve, disabling zero fan mode, or setting the minimum fan speed to a low constant value so the fans don’t cycle on and off – this way, they hum quietly all the time instead of ramping up and down.*## What You Can Do
** Set a Fan Curve: Use NVIDIA X Server Settings, “Coolbits”, or tools like GreenWithEnvy to set a custom fan profile, starting the fan at a low RPM even at idle.*
** Disable Zero RPM: Set fans to always run at a low speed (e.g. 10–20%), which prevents the start-stop behavior.*** Monitor Temps: Ensure your case is clean and airflow is good; if temps are unusually high, check for dust or poor thermal paste.*
** Driver/Kernel Choice: Sometimes newer or different NVIDIA drivers in Manjaro respond differently to hardware – if your problem arose after a driver update, consider trying an older driver.*
This issue isn’t a sign of hardware failure but rather of how your OS and driver are handling the fan profile. Adjusting your fan control settings should resolve it.
I tried using Nvidia X Server Settings by adding Coolbits, and GreenWithEnvy to make a custom fan profile, but it didn’t seem to help, just varied the timing of the surge a little. In Nvidia Settings, under Thermal Settings, I tried clicking on Enable GPU Fan Settings to maybe set a constant fan speed, but the error came up: Failed to enable GPU Fan Settings.
I’m not sure I have the Coolbits running correctly or at all. Found this:
Enable Fan Control with Coolbits
You must enable NVIDIA’s “Coolbits” in your Xorg configuration:
- Edit (or create)
/etc/X11/mhwd.d/nvidia.confor/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/20-nvidia.conf, under theSection "Device"block.- Add:
text
Option "Coolbits" "12"(or
"8"for only fan control;"12"enables both overclocking and fan control).Example:
- text
Section "Device" Identifier "Device0" Driver "nvidia" Option "Coolbits" "12" EndSection
- Save and reboot to enable Coolbits.
I’ve also tried using 8, for fan only, and 4, which I read elsewhere. Nothing worked.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!
