MSI Afterburner author says triple-fan RTX 5080 GPUs will have three independent fan controllers — and Async speed control support for all three fans will arrive in an upcoming release

MSI Afterburner Builder Alexey Nikolaychuk Dubbed “Unwinder” in a software development forum, the company has confirmed that the software will see a new update closer to the retail launch of Nvidia’s RTX 5080. For context, the most recent stable release dates back to April 2023, roughly two years ago. The new update promises independent fan monitoring on triple-fan GPUs. Alexy also hints that MSI’s upcoming lineup of RTX 5080 offerings may integrate individual controllers for each fan for more precise control.

Controlling the speed of each fan individually requires some basic changes to the GPU’s PCB. Even across premium three-fan GPUs, many AIBs choose to connect all fans to one or two headers. So, while it is possible to adjust the speed of the first two fans independently, the third fan is fixed in relation to them.

The forum comment notes that the RTX 5080 GPUs (likely from MSI) offer three independent fan controllers which is a step forward from previous generations. Now that the hardware part is fully sorted, the software-level implementation will arrive in the form of the upcoming MSI Afterburner update near the release of the RTX 5080. This suggests that the RTX 5080 will be the first Blackwell GPU to hit shelves, confirming previous rumors about a January 21 release date. Keep in mind that not all RTX 5080 GPUs may have this feature.

Alexey says there will be a new Afterburner button for asynchronous speed control of the third fan. With independent control of all fans, you can set custom speeds and curves for each individual fan. The actual meaning of the second last line may be lost in translation, however, the update will likely be compatible with GPUs from other vendors as well; Provided their GPUs have three fan controllers.