Since the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 was revealed, third-party manufacturers have already been announcing their own versions, with Gigabyte announcing a whopping 33 models – including a dual-fan version.
The dual-fan model, the GeForce RTX 4060 WindForce OC 8GB, is the most impressive one, as dual–fan cooling systems were pretty limited beforehand. This setup means that, according to PCGamesN, it draws far less power than the average RTX 3060, though this most likely isn’t universal across the board due to the 3060 having dual-fan setups with reduced power as well.
As stated on Gigabyte’s official website, the WindForce’s fans work through alternately spinning blade fans that reduce turbulence and increase airflow pressure. There’s also a 3D Active Fan feature, which semi-passively cools, and the triangular fan edge splits airflow. The extended heatsink length lets air pass through which makes for “high-efficiency heat dissipation” and the copper heat pipe makes direct contact with the GPU to better facilitate heat transfer.
Whether this all works as smoothly and efficiently as Gigabyte states remains to be tested, but it’s still impressive technology all the same.
Dual-fan cards are the way to go
As graphics cards increase in performance and specs, creating better and more efficient cooling methods will become even more important. The usual way to do so would normally be to outfit your PC with more fans or liquid cooling, but that has its limits since there’s only so much you can expand a ventilation system before you run out of space and air circulation is compromised.
However, by going back to the drawing board and overhauling the cooling system from the ground up, you can increase efficiency without taking up more space. And as in the case of the WindForce, actually take up even less space by incorporating certain features.
Hopefully, if this works as well as Gigabyte outlines, other manufacturers will take notice and develop graphics cards with this build in mind. Not only will it address the current overheating problems that the 4000-series GPUs and especially 13th Gen Intel CPUs have been experiencing, but could also future-proof future chip generations with more powerful specs.
