The default fan speed in BIOS is 40%. I want to make that 85%, for the times that EVGA precision hasn't booted, or crashes w/ reboot.
I've caught it too late a few times, where it stopped working and my card was at very hot temperatures.

I see a few different methods from googling, but I'm not sure what the best software is to use. This is my first time editing a GPU's BIOS.
My warrant is probably expired by now so there is nothing to void.

So... ?
 
I can post all kinds of info and screenshots... but it sure would be helpful to know which video card you own first.

First of all, DO AT YOUR OWN RISK!  This is a guide which is "for reference only".  Flashing a modified BIOS to your card voids its warranty and may have permanent negative affects if done improperly or unsuccessfully.
 
This is for 500 series cards or older.  600 series cards and newer WILL NOT work using this method! (NiBiTor should be used with 500 series and older)
 
You will need to download GPU-Z, NiBiTor, and NvFlash.  There are certain versions of NiBiTor and NvFlash which I will recommend.  If you choose the wrong version, it may not work.  ;)
GPU-Z: https://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/SysInfo/GPU-Z/
NiBiTor version 6.06: http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/nvidia_bios_editor_(nibitor).html
"NvFlash For Windows" version 5.142: https://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/2258/nvflash-5-142-for-windows/mirrors
 
 
EDIT: EVGA's forum is butchering my attachments.  I will include links below each image to another host in case the attachment doesn't work for you.
 
1) Save your video card's BIOS to a file using GPU-Z.

http://img.techpowerup.org/150815/1saveBIOS.jpg

http://img.techpowerup.org/150815/2saveBIOS.jpg
 
2) Very important!!!!:  Save a copy of the un-modified BIOS for-ev-er.  Email it to yourself or keep it on a flash drive or CD which you will not delete or lose.  Chances are that some day you will want a copy of the original BIOS.
 
3) Open the BIOS with NiBiTor.

http://img.techpowerup.org/150815/3openBIOS.jpg
 
4) Modify the BIOS.  You wanted to increase the minimum fan speed, right?  Go to the temperatures tab and change the Min value.

http://img.techpowerup.org/150815/4modifyBIOS.jpg
Note!  See that green circle after "Integrity:"?  That should stay green after you make changes.  If it doesn't stay green, be careful.  If it changes to a different color, it means that a checksum calculation/conversion failed for some reason.  If it changes to something other than green, stop and ask for advice before proceeding.
 
5) Save the modified BIOS.  I highly recommend saving the modified BIOS file into the NvFlash folder so that the Command Prompt commands you type later are much easier.

http://img.techpowerup.org/150815/5saveBIOS.jpg
 
6) Run Command Prompt as Admin.

http://img.techpowerup.org/150815/6runasADMIN.jpg
 
7) Navigate to the NvFlash folder.  Then type 'nvflash -- list'.  Make sure that your card is listed.  Then, flash to the correct card using the 'nvflash --index=X xxxx.rom' command (substitute X for the proper number in the index and substitute xxxx for the proper file name of the file you saved).  (see image below)
If you don't know what 'cd ..\..' etcetera means, I highly suggest that you educate yourself regarding DOS/Command Prompt commands.  I don't have the time to do that for you.

http://img.techpowerup.org/150815/7executeNVFLASH.jpg
If you have more than one of the same model of video card, flash to each video card (as appropriate) one after the other while specifying their respective index number each time.
A lot of guides tell you to use -4 -5 -6 and all that sort of stuff in your NvFlash command.... but you won't need to do any of that since this is a direct replacement of the same BIOS version to the same make and model of graphics card.
 
8) Press Y to confirm.

http://img.techpowerup.org/150815/8confirm.jpg
 
 
 
 
 

Thank you for the very detailed walk-through.
I have the GTX 580.

EDIT: I had this software but wasn't sure how trustworthy it was with EVGA products.
I went ahead and set my minimum to 60 and maximum to 100. (previously 40/85).
This should keep a decent amount of air flow when EVGA precision fails.
Since I was only modifying the fan speeds, there wasn't much risk so its probably no surprise it went well. :P

I had to RMA this card when I had my warranty, and I'm confident that if the default fan speed wasn't so low, it wouldn't have needed replacing.
EVGA should really consider a higher default fan speed when Precision is not running. Many games and applications, and even Windows itself, will crash precision or even the display driver.
Everytime this happens, the fan speed drops to 40%, but if the intense graphics applications are still cycling, this will cause components to burn up.
I'm pretty sure what blew-up in my previous 580 was a capacitor. It got so hot it melted the plastic casing that was over it.
--

How do I modify BIOS with 600 series and higher?
I'm considering getting a 980 TI in the future. If it is under warranty than I will likely refrain from doing the BIOS modification, but when that warranty is also expired, I will want to make sure it stays cool as possible.

Thank you again for taking time out of your day to help me, I am hugely grateful for it.

I hate to resurrect an old thread, but this is what bothers me:

If EVGA Precision is going to randomly not boot up when I turn on the computer, is there really no way to enable an "emergency" fan speed when Precision does not start up? WITHOUT touching the bios?

It seems ridiculous to me that in order to keep my graphics card safe, I have to modify the bios...

Well the problem is if I accidentally don't see the "precision" symbol down on my task bar and I start up an intensive game. I find out after my game gets stuttery that precision didn't boot up. I open it to find my temperatures at around 65-70 C. This is technically okay temperatures, but I would rather have a default "emergency" set up.

Well... Unless somebody from EVGA comes in here to say otherwise it looks like this problem won't be fixed for the foreseeable future. That is:
As long as temperatures are at 65-70C nobody cares if Precision sometimes does not start up. It seems to me that fan profiles should be set up in bios somehow by default.


Btw, you can't honestly tell me that a graphics card running at 65-70C 24/7 will last longer than a card running at 30-40C 24/7

LOL, but those ARE the temperatures I get while gaming :P So air cooling is doing just fine.

Yes, precision is a problem, but I give up. Hopefully EVGA fixes this.