Fan controller

[nster]

Hey guys,

I'm looking for a way to control my fans better. PWM fans through true PWM (not voltage regulation), ideally down to 30%, and 3-pin fans down to 5V. I'll be using 5 fans (2* SilentWings 3 135mm PWM, 1* F140HP, 2* F140SP)

My AsRock X79 Fatal1ty Pro isn't doing this for me (http://images.anandtech.com/doci/6697/A ... %20Fan.png).

Thanks!

editted for clarity

[Fire-Flare]

Have you tried SpeedFan?


I don't know if it supports that chipset, and it has a steep learning curve, but it's free and has a good reputation.

[nster]

I'm not a fan of SpeedFan. I don't mind spent a bit for this, and I don't want it to be a headache for me.

It's hard to find people who use them, most nowadays can rely on motherboard with maybe a PWM hub

[quest_for_silence]

It's hard to find people who use them

Not here.

[Wild Penguin]

If you want your fan speeds to be controled according to CPU temperature, and if your MB had anough fan headers, then I don't see any point in using an additional fan controller? I may be missing something, since I haven't investigated these external fan controllers that are available on the market (other that I know they exist). For example the Grid+ V2, seems to have a microUSB connector, and custom propreatary fan controlling software, and 6 fan connectors (but, for example, no additional temperature sensors which means it is dependent on a runnig OS in any case). I've always thought that the main reason to use wan would be either to 1) being able to flick with a switch to different fan profiles independent of the OS (in case software control is not availabe / desireable) or to use one in the case 2) the MB doesn't have enough headers for fans to be controlled.

To me, an external fan controller seems like one more thing that can fail. As a Linux user, there's another reason to shun the fan controllers - their software is (probably) only for Windows. So a proprietary mostly useless cludge that can fail - no thanks - but maybe I'm indeed missing something?.

So, my suggestion would be to use SpeedFan or equivalent, too, in your situation. Most MB fan headers can be controlled with any os (well, I've been told OS X is worse in this regard for those Hackintoshing) and any fan controlling software.

EDIT: Tried to be more concise, typos

[nster]

Thanks for the reply

The AsRock BIOS/software is just not as elegant as I would like, unlike ASUS' Fan Xpert 2 implementation for example. I was hoping there would be alternatives to relying on the motherboard for fan control, which would take away the need to worry about fan control when purchasing a motherboard, but I don't see any real alternative so far. I'll try SpeedFan as soon as I reassemble my PC, any other software worth trying as well? One concern I have is how low can my motherboard handle, ideally 30% and 5V are my targets, I guess I'll see with SpeedFan.

[Wild Penguin]

You are talking about "alternatives to relying on the motherboard for fan control". I think herein lies a part of the confusion: the BIOS firmware (and/or accompanying fan controller firmware on the MB) is separate thing to the hardware (controlling the fan headers). All of the limitations described for MB BIOS fan controlling (for the min fan duty cycle or otherwise dumb / limited controlling schemes) apply only if the fans are to be controlled by the BIOS alone, and is imposed by the BIOS firmware only (but can and will be bypassed by fan controlling software!). Of course there are proprietary fan controlling software than can vary in features according to manufacturer, but these are still essentially software solutions. These BIOS limitations are still important, as there are a lot of users who will not want to run any software for controlling their fans, but still want to vary their fan speeds automatically according to temperature (but: an external fan controller does not fix this issue).

As for your second question: AFAIK, if software controlled, all(?) MB fan headers can go all the way to stop the FANs if voltage controlled (i.e. 0-12V in more or less even steps/smoothly) or to 0-max if PWM controlled (rpm at "0" pwm depending on the fan). So with software controlled fan speed, practically the only limiting factor is the fan characteristics (and number and type of MB fan headers). This is true for any MB I've ever owned that has had any kind of fan controlling capability - even in the early 2000s / late 90s, which is when I recall ever tinkering with fan speeds for the first time in Windows. But there could be exceptions - I've just always assumed this is a given fact, and have yet to encounter an MB where this is not the case (there certainly are MBs with fan/sensor chips that do not have drivers in Linux, and perhaps even not for SpeedFan / Windows - I don't know about the latter).

So: In my eyes, an external fan controller does not give any additional value, unless your MB has too few headers, of the wrong type (voltage vs. PWM), or you want to control the fans without any software (i.e. with buttons / switches / dials, additional sensors connected directly to the controller etc.).

Hope this helps!

P.s. Another thing that came into my mind would be limited access; in a completely built PC, the MB fan headers may be difficult and sometimes impossible to reach. Not a problem if they only need to be plugged in only once, but if plugging / unplugging and different schemes for controlling and some tinkering is planned, then a fan controller might be worthwhile.

P.s.s.: At least some MB fan controlling chips have firmware features for controlling the fans that are not accessible / configurable trough BIOS, which can be set trough software (but don't rely on the software being running after setting up after bootup). I believe some of these may be available trough the proprietary software of the MB manufacturer only (but not trough "general" fan controlling software) - and may indeed depend on the MB, too. I have no experince with the proprietary software either as a Linux user, but I have noticed some chips have such controlling chemes available even in Linux trough some sensor chips drivers.

[xan_user]

P.s. Another thing that came into my mind would be limited access; in a completely built PC, the MB fan headers may be difficult and sometimes impossible to reach. Not a problem if they only need to be plugged in only once, but if plugging / unplugging and different schemes for controlling and some tinkering is planned, then a fan controller might be worthwhile.

http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-FAN4 ... R9VRS5KJD3