Speedfan and GA-P35-DS3R Motherboard

[Jason W]

Hi all,

I could really use your help here. I am a NOOB at Speedfan, and the help section, while surprisingly good, just isn't getting it done for me. I've tried reading through it, and I understand how it works for the most part, but all this monitoring, overclocking, stability testing, etc. kind of stuff is strange language for me.

I just got my new PC put together, and I have Windows up and running. Now I want to stress test, overclock, and stress test some more.

Here's the gear list:
P182 Case with 3 Nexus fans running at full juice
Corsair HX520 power supply (no buzzing by the way - whoop!)
GA-P35-DS3R motherboard
E6750 CPU with a lapped and fanless Ninja Rev. B (push-pin mounted)
2 x 1 GB G.Skill DDR2 800 RAM (2GBHZ model)
Fanless Gigabyte GeForce 7600GS video card
3 hard drives in lower chamber (WD YS and ABYS models)
Samsung Sata DVD burner (SH-S203B)
Mitsumi combo floppy / USB 2.0 flash card reader)

Before I delve into overclocking and stress testing for the very first time, I figure proper monitoring software is an essential key. I was hoping Speedfan would be the answer, but alas I am not convinced.

First of all, cmthomson warned me that Speedfan wouldn't be able to control the fans with this motherboard... and he's right. But Speedfan also can't report that there are three fans attached to the motherboard (only shows 2) or display their RPMs correctly (shows 675000 RPM or something like that).

While fan speed monitoring and controlling would have been nice, I think I can just use my eyes and ears to make sure the fans are spinning at full bore.

The next piece of the puzzle, then, is to accurately report voltages and temperatures for things like the CPU cores, RAM, hard drives, motherboard chipsets, and video cards. Here is what Speedfan is reporting in the Configure section, Temperatures tab:

Label = Core 0
Chip = INTEL CORE
Sensor = Core 0
Sample = 23C
BUS = ISA
Address = $0

Label = Core 1
Chip = INTEL CORE
Sensor = Core 1
Sample =27C
BUS = ISA
Address = $0

Label = Temp1
Chip = IT8712F
Sensor = Temp1
Sample = 38C
BUS = ISA
Address = $290

Label = Temp2
Chip = IT7812F
Sensor = Temp2
Sample = 25C
BUS = ISA
Address = $290

Label = Temp3
Chip = IT8712F
Sensor = Temp3
Sample = -2C
BUS = ISA
Address = $290

Label = HD0
Chip = HD0(164.7GB)
Sensor = HD0
Sample = 32C
BUS = SMART
Address = $0

Label = HD1
Chip = HD1(164.7GB)
Sensor = HD1
Sample = 31C
BUS = SMART
Address = $1

Label = HD2
Chip = HD2(500.1GB)
Sensor = HD2
Sample = 35C
BUS = SMART
Address = $2

Now I am assuming that the Core information is for the CPU cores. But I am not sure if it's reporting accurate values, as they seem low. For case fans, I have the rear exhaust fan (Nexus at 1,000 RPM according to BIOS), the lower chamber fan (Nexus at 1,000 RPM according to BIOS), and a fan on the back of the upper hard drive cage blowing on the video card (another Nexus at 1,000 RPM according to BIOS). I have the top case fan opening covered, and my cable management is very good (most cables either routed behind the mobo tray or tucked away around floppy drive).

Do these CPU core temps seem right at idle? I have no idea what my ambient temp is... all I know is I set my home's thermostat at 75 degrees Farenheit, and let the AC work it's magic. It runs a lot here in Houston!

I also can see that Speedfan is picking up on my hard drive temperatures, which is nice. Again, I'm curious to know of you all think these temperatures are accurate or not.

Where I need the most help interpreting is with the Temp1, Temp2, and Temp3 figures. I am assuming these are various motherboard temps, but how do I deduce what they are exactly?

As for my voltages, here is what Speedfan is reporting:

Label = Vcore1
Chip = IT8712F
Sensor = Vcore1
Sample = 1.26V
BUS = ISA
Address = $290

Label = Vcore2
Chip = IT8712F
Sensor = Vcore2
Sample = 2.02V
BUS = ISA
Address = $290

Label = Vbat
Chip = IT8712F
Sensor = Vbat
Sample = 3.14V
BUS = ISA
Address = $290

Label = +3.3V
Chip = IT8712F
Sensor = +3.3V
Sample = 3.33V
BUS = ISA
Address = $290

Label = +5V
Chip = IT8712F
Sensor = +5V
Sample = 4.89V
BUS = ISA
Address = $290

Label = +12V
Chip = IT8712F
Sensor = +12V
Sample = 0.64V
BUS = ISA
Address = $290

Label = -12V
Chip = IT8712F
Sensor = -12V
Sample = -16.97V
BUS = ISA
Address = $290

Label = -5V
Chip = IT8712F
Sensor = -5V
Sample = -8.63V
BUS = ISA
Address = $290

Label = +5V
Chip = IT8712F
Sensor = +5V
Sample = 5.13V
BUS = ISA
Address = $290

Does anything look out of the ordinary here?

As an alternative to Speedfan, I am thinking about downlading the trial version of Everest Ultimate Edition 4.00. Would this be a better solution to Speedfan for my equipment set?

Thanks in advance for all your help. I appreciate you taking the time to post on my trials and tribulations!

Jason

[vg30et]

Hi Jason - I am able to use Speedfan to control 2 fans on my P35-DS3R motherboard. Gigabyte's built in bios fan speed control appears to work ine as well.

Did you try going into speedfan > Advanced and changing the fan speed control to "software controlled?". It may be set to Smart Guardian, if so, changing it to "software controlled" should allow you to manipulate fan speeds on that motherboard. I have the F4 bios but I don't think you'd have to update your bios to enable this functionality.

I do notice that fan speeds aren't being reported correctly, mine shows 675000 rpms as well and the dividers simply don't go low enough.

[Jason W]

My P35-DS3R came with the F4 BIOS already on it, so I shouldnLt need to upgrade to the beta of the new BIOS, right?

I will have to have another look at Speedfan and figure out what you're saying.

Which 2 fan headers does the BIOS and Speedfan control? The two with 4-pin fan headers, I assume? What fans are you running and where do you have them plugged in? I am running 3 Nexus fans, plugged into the PWR and two SYS fan headers.

Regards.

[vg30et]

My P35-DS3R came with the F4 BIOS already on it, so I shouldnLt need to upgrade to the beta of the new BIOS, right?

I will have to have another look at Speedfan and figure out what you're saying.

Which 2 fan headers does the BIOS and Speedfan control? The two with 4-pin fan headers, I assume? What fans are you running and where do you have them plugged in? I am running 3 Nexus fans, plugged into the PWR and two SYS fan headers.

Regards.

Mine works fine with the F4 so I didn't feel the need to upgrade. I believe they are plugged into the CPU fan header (4 pin) and another 3 pin header, possibly the SYS header. I'll have to check after work today and let you know. These are 120mm Yate Loon fans.

Edit: Verified that I am using the CPU fan header to the top right of the CPU and the other 4 pin header to the middle right side of the motherboard, close to the drive bays.