Solved Control over the fans of a desktop PC with strong graphical capabilities

R

Relictrix

Hi,

Reading some threads it seems that it is difficult to control the fans of a desktop. More specific I mean a desktop with a strong graphical card and a lot of extra fans to cool the CPU and the complete desktop. If the manufacturet of the desktop did not built software for FreeBSD, it seems to be difficult to control the fans. That's a bit the impression I get when reading some threads in the forum. Some people try to find a way via special kernel parameters but then often it still fails or the fans don't go strong enough.

What I was wondering is , if what I describe above is the case, what is at the end then controlling the fans and what defines how strong they will run (without special software of the manufacturer)? The Bios?

Thanks in advance for your help.
 
some boards have a superio(4) controller on the lpc (former isa) bus which control the fans but there are tons of versions
some of these may have an automated mode (they self regulate the speed based on some initial setup) some dont (you have to have the kernel or a daemon read the temp and alter the speed of the fans)
i played a bit with a winbond/nuvoton but in the end gave up (fans had only 3 wires, the pwm control was missing)
my problem was to much noise, fans always at full speed
 
Hi covacat,

Thanks for your reply.

Suppose worse case, the control of the fans is not enough, I guess there could be a risk for the desktop itself? Or is the automate mode you mention sufficient to protect the devices and hardware also on the long term.

I have no experience in these domains, so thanks already for your answers.
 
i can't say i have very much experience either. i got the info from some winbond datasheet and thats it. if your fans go up and down according to temp they are probably in some auto mode
 
1. There is no control in OS (nor there should be). 2. Modern motherboards typically have fan curve settings for the case and CPU fans. 3. Don't buy a prebuilt PC expecting anything other than vacuum cleaner noise levels.
 
cracauer@ said:
You generally want IPMI if you need fan control at run time.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your answer, I never heard of IPMI. Learned something here. Not that it matters so much, searching for IPMI it is more for server-grade hardware not desktops. Good point, I was not aware it existed.
 
shkhln said:
1. There is no control in OS (nor there should be). 2. Modern motherboards typically have fan curve settings for the case and CPU fans. 3. Don't buy a prebuilt PC expecting anything other than vacuum cleaner noise levels.
Click to expand...
Especially point 3 I think you are right, when you know how to compose things from scratch, even with some mistakes because you have to learn it, at the end you will be the winner. What you can do yourself is mostly better for cheaper price.
 
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