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Fan Control
To test the board's fan control, we connected the CPU fan to a manual fan speed
controller so we could slow it down to induce higher CPU temperatures during
load. A 92mm Scythe Kama PWM (2500 RPM) fan was connected to the CPU fan header
and a 80mm Scythe Kama Flow (1500 RPM) fan was connected to the System fan header.
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Fan Control
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Asus M4A785TD-V EVO
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Criterion
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CPU Fan
(2500 RPM)
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System Fan
(1500 RPM)
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Min. Fan Speed
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1220 RPM
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720 RPM
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Trigger Temp.
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30°C
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N/A (constant)
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Max. Fan Speed Temp.
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51°C
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N/A (constant)
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BIOS settings: 4.0V starting voltage, 30°C trigger
temp., 51°C full speed temp.
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MSI 785GM-E65
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Criterion
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CPU Fan
(2500 RPM)
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System Fan
(1500 RPM)
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Min. Fan Speed
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200 RPM
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630 RPM
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Trigger Temp.
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42°C
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N/A (constant)
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Max. Fan Speed Temp.
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48°C
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N/A (constant)
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BIOS settings: 45°C trigger temp, 12.5% CPU min.
fan speed, 50% SYS fan speed.
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The Asus M4A785TD-V's fan control followed precisely the settings we entered
in the BIOS. The fan ramp up was gradual, starting at 1220 RPM at 30°C core
temperature and topping out at just over 2500 RPM at 51°C. By tweaking these
settings you can make the fan control as aggressive or as passive as you like.
On the downside, the CPU fan's minimum speed is a bit too high, and the secondary
fan spun 50% speed throughout, not reacting to changes in temperature.
The MSI board had a much lower minimum CPU fan speed — it spun at only 200
RPM until the core temperature reached 42°C (3°C lower than the value
entered in the BIOS), and ramped up very quickly, reaching its maximum speed
a mere 6°C later. You can select when the CPU fan cranks up, but you can't
dictate the speed at which it does so. The secondary fan spun at 630 RPM when
set to 50% in the BIOS (75% and 100% are the other options). Like the Asus board,
it does not respond to increased heat.
SpeedFan Support
For Windows users, SpeedFan is our application of choice for fan control. It
can be configured to raise or lower multiple fan speeds to designated limits
when any specified temperature threshold is breached.
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SpeedFan correlations: Asus M4A785TD-V EVO.
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SpeedFan reported fan speeds from all three headers as well as the "CPU"
and "MB" temperatures indicated in Asus' PC Probe utility. SpeedFan
can control the CPU_FAN header (only if a PWM fan is connected) and the CHA_FAN
header. To enable fan control, select the "IT8712F-J" chip in the
Advanced tab of the Configuration menu and set all the PWM modes to "Software
Controlled."
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SpeedFan main screen: MSI 785GM-E65.
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Unfortunately SpeedFan does not yet support the sensors on the MSI 785GM-E65
— it could only report the hard drive and CPU core temperatures. SpeedFan
also does not support fan speed readings or fan control of any kind. To make
matters worse, the system monitoring and tweaking utilities offered on the support
CD would not install.
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