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FAN CONTROL
When it comes to customizable control, SpeedFan is our application of choice.
If properly supported, it can be configured to raise/lower multiple fan speeds
to designated limits when any specified temperature threshold is breached.
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SpeedFan vs. PC Probe.
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The screenshot above shows the correlation between SpeedFan's readings and
the temperature and fan speed sensors. Most of the readings in SpeedFan were
corroborated by Asus' PC Probe utility. We found that SpeedFan could be configured
to control both the CPU and Chassis fan headers. Setting PWM modes 1 and 2 in
the Advanced menu from "SmartGuardian" to "Software Controlled"
enabled the speed controls. CPU and Chassis fan headers have separate controls
if a PWM fan is connected to the CPU header. If two 3-pin fans are used, they
are both controlled using Speed02.
To test the range of the controls we connected two fans to the system: a Scythe
92mm PWM and a Scythe 80mm fan. The PWM fan speed varied from 260 to 2500 RPM,
and the 3-pin fan could be fully controlled from off to 1560 RPM. Incidentally
the fans run at 2600 RPM and 1560 RPM repectively at 12V.
To test how well Q-FAN's profiles worked, we connected the fan on the CPU cooler
to a variable DC fan controller set to a relatively low 5V and proceeded to
stress the processor using CPUBurn. The CPU and Chassis fan speeds were monitored
and graphed using SpeedFan.
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CPU fan speed behavior.
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The CPU fan spun at the maximum speed in "Performance" mode, regardless
of CPU temperature. In "Silent" mode, the CPU fan kick-started but
then immediately turned itself off when the POST screen appeared, resulting
in a CPU fan error prompt. It would not spin up again until the CPU temperature
reached about 60°C. . The stock AMD fan did not have this problem, however.
In "Optimal" mode, again the CPU fan did not spin up, this time waiting
until 42°C to kick in, though we did observe it beginning to twich at 40°C.
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CPU fan speed behavior.
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In "Performance" mode, the chassis fan always ran at full speed (1550
RPM). In "Silent" and "Optimal" mode, the fan remained at
approximately 900 RPM and then jumped quickly once temperature thresholds of
42°C and 58°C respectively prompted them to spin up.
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