Sapphire Pulse RX 5700 XT 100% fan speed issue

[edmarcelino]

PastryChef's OpenCore 0.6.7 EFI / Build
Big Sur - 11.2.3

I've been searching for weeks and no luck on finding any information to help me with my issue.
A couple months after I installed the card, only one fan is starts spinning at 100% and it would spin for hours and not stop, sometimes, it would stop spinning but start again. Everything works fine, no freezing, no crashing, nothing. Just the fan spinning like it's under load but it's completely cool to the touch. Restarting the PC does not do anything as the fan just spins through it, turning the PC off for a couple hours helps as the fan would no spin for an hour or to then would spin up again..

Any suggestions?

 

[Edhawk]

Could be a defective fan/temp sensor on the GPU.

The Sapphire Pulse RX 5700-XT uses an 'Intelligent Fan Control', which may not work as well as it should in macOS, compared to how it works under Windows. See this page for the full list of attributes for the dGPU - https://www.sapphiretech.com/en/consumer/pulse-radeon-rx-5700-xt-8g-gddr6

Do you have a dual boot system, can you see if the same fan issue arises in Windows 10? If it does, it is likely to be a Hardware issue. If it doesn't then it is likely to be a software/driver/kext issue.

 

[edmarcelino]

Do you have a dual boot system, can you see if the same fan issue arises in Windows 10? If it does, it is likely to be a Hardware issue. If it doesn't then it is likely to be a software/driver/kext issue.

I just installed my GPU on my Window's system. The fan speed its reading 0RPM even though I literally hear and see it spinning. Even adjusting the curves don't do anything. Definitely looks to be a hardware issue.

EDIT: just kidding, i did another reinstall and the fan is now doing what it should be doing and it is displaying properly. so it definitely is a driver/kext issue on my macOS pc. I just don't know how to figure that out.

 

[Edhawk]

Did this fan issue appear in Big Sur 11.2.3 or was it present when you were running any earlier versions of macOS?

A similar fan issue with the Vega series of cards was eventually solved by a driver update by AMD, you may have to wait For AMD to do the same for your RX 5700 XT. That is assuming they have it logged as a bug in their drivers for macOS.

Not sure you can figure this out, if it is a software/driver issue. I've not seen any other similar calls for help with this issue on this or any other forums I frequent.

 

[edmarcelino]

Did this fan issue appear in Big Sur

I want to say yes? I believe that's when it started happening.. but I won't know for sure until I can try and get another ssd to install Catalina on.

I'm starting to believe it's a bug with macOS. Yesterday, the fan was silent/not spinning ALL DAY and this morning around 10am pst I turned on the machine and within 20mins the fan kicked on and hasn't stopped spinning since.

I've not seen any other similar calls for help with this issue on this or any other forums I frequent.

Same, I've been googling everything and nobody else is having this problem. The only "fix" that seems to temporarily stop the problem is to install the GPU into my windows pc let it load the drivers and then switch it back to the hack, but that's a hassle until I can get another ssd

 

[Edhawk]

You can install more than one version of macOS on an SSD.

1. Just create a new APFS 'Volume' within the existing APFS container, name it Catalina so it is easy to find. This can be accomplished using Disk Utility in Big Sur.
2. Create the Catalina boot disk, you don't need to add a Clover or OpenCore EFI to the boot disk as it will use the one on the existing SSD.
3. When you boot the system with the USB installer plugged in, select the option to install macOS Catalina.
4. When you get to the Installation wizard asking where to install macOS select the new APFS 'Volume' you created and named previously on the SSD.
5. Then just complete the macOS installation as normal.

When you boot without the USB plugged in you will have the option to select the boot icon for either Big Sur or Catalina.

 

[edmarcelino]

Upon further investigation, I read that this GPU has quick connect fans. I Swapped the fan positions and that seems to have fixed the problem (for now, too soon to tell).
Might have been that there was dust or the connection was faulty. We'll see what happens in week and if this isn't just a placebo.

 

[edmarcelino]

I woke my computer from sleep and after about 30mins-1hr the fan closest to the I/O (the original problem side) started to spin 100% again. So it's definitely not a faulty fan. I restarted my hack and loaded up Windows and after a couple of minutes and toggling off/on the ZeroRPM mode, the fan has calmed down and started to act like normal. I'm able to control the fans through the AMD Software amd they both show up on the TriXX software. I don't know if it's an Apple driver problem/sleep/wake issue yet..

 

[Edhawk]

There isn't a comparable Fan control driver or AMD software for macOS. So being able to reset the fan in windows is not really going to be a long term solution. Without the fan control for the GPU being added to the AMD driver it might just keep reverting to the 100% fan spin.

There was a similar power and fan issue with the Vega series of AMD GPU's a few years ago. This was fixed at first by some clever soul who created the Vega-Tab kext/app. It was eventually completely resolved by a driver update for macOS. But it took a longtime for the driver to be added to macOS.

 

[edmarcelino]

Yeah, it's definitely an Apple sleep/wake issue. I put my hack to sleep last night and woke up it and after about 30mins the fan starts to spin again. I just don't know how to target what is making it happen. It's feels like a driver/kext isn't being loaded or the GPU forgets it's settings after wake on Apple's side.