Viewing page 6 of 8 pages.
Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next
FAN CONTROL
For 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.
|
SpeedFan & PC Probe readings.
|
SpeedFan allows for a high degree of functionality with the M3A78-T.
After some experimenting we found that it more or less matches Asus' PC Probe
readings, except for the +12V rail. In addition, the sensor that correlated
to CPU temperature was 6°C higher than in PC Probe. The sensor labelled
"MB" seemed to be tied to the southbridge temperature — when
we placed a fan over the southbridge this reading dropped by a few degrees,
then increased to its original value when the fan was removed.
Fan control can be enabled for 3 of the 4 fan headers on the board — fans
connected to the header labelled PWR_FAN will run at full speed.. Setting PWM
modes 1-3 in the Advanced menu from "SmartGuardian" to "Software
Controlled" enables three different sets of controls. Speed01 controls
the CPU fan header using PWM (its range was 200 to 2500 RPM when a Scythe 92mm
PWM fan was connected to it), Speed02 controls the CPU fan header using voltage,
and Speed03 controls both the CHA_FAN1 and CHA_FAN2 3-pin headers in unison
using voltage. Voltage control is complete, from allowing users to bring fans
to a complete stop if desired.
Q-Fan
We tested the board's Q-Fan feature by connecting 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.
|
Q-Fan Behavior
|
|
Critera
|
Silent
|
Optimal
|
Perf.
|
|
Trigger Temp.
|
43°C
|
33°C
|
28°C
|
|
Range of Increase
|
6°C
|
6°C
|
3°C
|
|
Min Fan Speed
|
~60%
|
~60%
|
~90%
|
|
Max Fan Speed
|
~100%
|
~100%
|
~100%
|
The "Silent" and "Optimal" settings are pretty much identical
except for the trigger temperature which is seperated by 10°C. Both fans
run at about 60% speed until the trigger temperature is reached. The fan speeds
then increase over the next 6°C until they max out. The "Performance"
setting is even more aggressive, with a very high minimum fan speed, low range
of increase and low trigger temperature. With the minimum fan speed already
at 90%, the "Performance" setting is almost the same as having Q-Fan
disabled.
OVERCLOCKING
With effective third party heatsinks and low power
CPUs , overclocking, to an extent, can improve performance without
compromising the noise level of a silent PC. A simple overclocking investigation
was conducted with the CPU multiplier set to 5x and RAM at 533Mhz/2.10V. The
CPU frequency was increased in increments of 5Mhz/10Mhz until the system
failed a 5 minute run of Prime95 with ATITool 3DView running simultaneously
or failed to boot or showed other signs of instability.
|
The maximum FSB overclock with our X2 4850e.
|
We found that the board could take a maximum CPU frequency of only 220Mhz and
could thus theoretically overclock a capable CPU up to 10% above stock. At 225Mhz
and above artifacts appeared in ATITool, and at 250Mhz and above, graphical
distortions presented throughout the boot-up process. The nature of the instabilities
indicate that the IGP is tolerant of only mild increases in CPU frequency. We
should note that further overclocking may be possible by applying greater voltage
to the northbridge or southbridge. Overclocking is not one of our main testing
criteria; we perform a only cursory out-of-the-box overclocking examination.
| Help support this site, buy the Asus M3A78-T ATX Motherboard from one of our affiliate retailers! |
|
