10 ways to lower GPU temps without changing your thermal paste

If you've checked your in-game metrics recently and noticed that your graphics card is constantly running hot, potentially even causing games or drivers to crash, it can be quite disconcerting. Many guides online will suggest that simply repasting the GPU could lower the temps, but what if you don't want to risk damaging your precious graphics card, have nowhere to take it, or don't want to overpay for the service?

You might be surprised by how many ways there are to cool down your graphics card without taking it apart. In this guide, I'll walk you through practical and straightforward alternatives to keep your GPU frosty.

Cool down your room

You've likely noticed that the room where your PC is located is often the hottest. This is because a PC generates a lot of heat , as almost all the electricity it draws eventually turns into heat. With even mid-range PCs now drawing 500W or more under load, it's almost like having a mini portable heater in your room.

One of the easiest ways to keep your graphics card, your PC, and yourself cool is to lower the room temperature. Cooler air allows your intake fans to work more effectively, which helps reduce your graphics card's temperature. It's also worth noting that the case itself can dissipate heat more efficiently through passive cooling.

If you don't have air conditioning in your room, try opening doors and windows or running a ceiling fan. Anything that moves heat away from the area around your PC will help keep your graphics card cooler .

Improve case airflow

Another easy, indirect way to lower GPU temps is to keep your whole PC cool. Think of your case temperature as your computer's ambient temperature—the lower it is, the cooler the graphics card will run. In fact, graphics cards are more dependent on low case temps than the CPU if it's water-cooled, as most modern graphics cards draw air in directly from the case and blow it out of the back, with some of the air recirculating within the case. If the air that the graphics card's fans draw in is already warm, the card will have a hard time staying cool.

To keep your case as cool as possible, take some time to clean up your PC's cables for unobstructed airflow and install a few high-quality case fans, being mindful not to fall for some of the common airflow myths . If your case allows for bottom-mounted fans, absolutely use them to provide your card with cool air. Also, make sure you have a decent rear exhaust fan like a Noctua NF-S12B redux to eliminate the heat build-up in that particular area.

Clean your PC

Dust is your PC's worst enemy when it comes to cooling. Even a thin layer of dust on your fans and graphics card can significantly reduce cooling performance. Dust bunnies trapped inside your card's heatsink are particularly problematic. It acts as an insulator, trapping heat, and can also weigh down fan blades, further reducing cooling efficiency.

If it has been a few months since you last cleaned your PC , it may be time to take it outside and give it a thorough dusting with a can of compressed air. This is far easier than repasting your graphics card. Just be sure to hold down the fan blades while cleaning, as spinning fans can act as generators and potentially cause a short circuit.

Minimize non-gaming GPU load

Closing unnecessary background tasks and programs is one of the easiest ways to remove load from your system . While this mostly impacts your CPU and RAM, some apps can draw a few percentages of your graphics card as well due to hardware acceleration. If you have several apps open, it adds up quickly.

Similarly, having a secondary screen and using it to display something like Spotify or Discord can make your graphics card work harder, resulting in more heat output. Consider unplugging or disabling it when running demanding games.

While both of these factors have only a small impact on your graphics card's load and temperature, they are still an easy way to redirect GPU resources to your games, potentially lowering temperatures when combined with some of the other tricks in this article.

Tweak your graphics card's fan curve

One of the first things I do when I build a new graphics card or update my drivers is adjust its fan curve . Whether it's an AMD, NVIDIA, or Intel graphics card, all manufacturers tend to optimize fan curves for noise rather than performance. In fact, many cards will severely throttle performance rather than allow the fans to spin up to even 50%, let alone 100%.

That said, you don't have to run your graphics card's fans at 100% to get the most out of it. A gentle curve that steadily ramps up to 100% is more than enough to significantly improve cooling performance. AMD graphics card owners can use AMD Software to tweak the fan curve, whereas NVIDIA users will need to use MSI Afterburner or another third-party graphics card application.

Undervolt your GPU

Undervolting your graphics card is one of the most effective ways to lower its temperature without significantly affecting performance. In a nutshell, it means reducing the voltage supplied to your graphics card, which causes it to draw less power, produce less heat, and potentially run quieter while maintaining performance. Just be careful not to go too low, as excessive undervolting can cause stability issues and crashes.

Much like with the fan curve, AMD users can use AMD Software to reduce their graphics card's voltage, whereas NVIDIA users can achieve similar results with MSI Afterburner.

Lower the graphics card's power limit

Another driver-level tweak that's somewhat similar to undervolting is reducing your graphics card's power limit. How much you can reduce it depends on your make and model. For example, I can lower the power limit of my RX 6800 XT by 6% using AMD Software. NVIDIA users will again need to use MSI Afterburner, although there is a limited "Power Management Mode" option in the NVIDIA Control Panel.

This setting simply limits how much power your graphics card can draw, which in turn reduces its heat output. However, unlike undervolting, lowering your card's power limit has trade-offs, as less power also means reduced performance.

Underclock Your GPU

If a custom fan curve, undervolting, and even reducing the power limit haven't lowered your graphics card's temps to your liking, there's another, somewhat extreme driver-level tweak you can try: lowering your GPU clock speed on purpose. This is particularly helpful with "OC" models that are overclocked from the factory, as the OEM may have overestimated the GPU's capabilities relative to the cooling solution.

You can use AMD Software on AMD cards or MSI Afterburner on any card to adjust the clock speed. Try reducing the clock in small increments, such as -25 MHz or -50 MHz, to minimize performance loss. This also means that you can get away with a more aggressive undervolt, so combine the two for the best results. If you've been experiencing severe thermal throttling , a mild underclock may not result in much additional performance loss.

Cap your FPS (or use AMD Radeon Chill)

In general, lowering your graphics card's workload means it will draw less power and generate less heat. That's why limiting its performance to a level that still allows you to play your games is a healthy compromise. For example, if you have a high-end graphics card capable of delivering 120 FPS in a demanding game like God of War Ragnarök , you could try limiting the FPS to 90 or even 60.

This reduces the work the card needs to do. You could even combine this trick with frame generation to maintain high FPS (though not identical) while keeping the card cool.

It's worth pointing out that AMD offers an interesting feature called AMD Chill (which you can enable on a per-game basis). It adjusts the GPU workload dynamically based on what's happening on the screen. For instance, if you're simply exploring, the FPS could be limited to 60, but once you enter a fight, it could jump to 90 or 120 for smoother animations and more enjoyable combat.

Tweak in-game settings

Another way to lower your graphics card's workload, and in turn its temperature, is to reduce graphics settings.

This can have a particularly noticeable effect in demanding games with a wide range of options, and it works best when combined with an FPS cap. Some of the most demanding settings to tweak include ray tracing, volumetric effects, shadows, anti-aliasing, texture quality, and various post-processing effects.

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Most of these tweaks will have a small but noticeable impact on your graphics card's temperatures, so combining a few of them is likely to solve your GPU woes. You should probably start with a good dusting, followed by a custom fan curve and some undervolting, as these can actually improve performance while keeping your card cooler.

That said, I'm still a proponent of replacing thermal paste and pads on graphics cards , since aftermarket compounds are almost always better, especially if the card is a few years old and the original paste has dried out. If you aren't comfortable doing it yourself, definitely consider having a professional handle it.