SpeedFan is a utility that will describe in detail the state of your PC or laptop. In particular, the application can give you information in real time. Statistical information is displayed on all parameters vital for a computer: power supply mode, processor and video card temperature, cooler rotation speed, workload random access memory and many other data).
In addition to all the above parameters, the SpeedFan program will detect if there are errors in your system, which it will try to fix if possible (for example, it will increase the speed of the cooler to lower the processor temperature).
Well, the main feature of the SpeedFan utility, as you may have guessed, is the ability to both reduce and increase the speed of the cooler on a laptop or PC, which will undoubtedly please those users who believe that their fans do not cool the system very well - in this case, it’s better increase their speed.
When you start the program, the first thing that will open is the "indicators" tab. It will collect and display all the basic information about your system. In the arsenal of the Speedfan program there is a warning algorithm that signals if the equipment is operating outside the normal temperature range of the processor, overheating has been detected, or, on the contrary, a sharp cooling has been noticed.
Such events are marked on the monitor screen with a special label, in the form of a spark, which should draw the user's attention if the equipment operates in non-standard temperature conditions.
But you should not be wary of such alerts, since the equipment tends to heat up, and the SpeedFun program will emphasize the changes that have occurred even with a deviation from the norm of one degree.
In such cases, look into the passport of your device and find what temperature is considered normal for the processor in order to be completely calm and not worry when the normal temperature of the processor changes.
If you want to analyze the state of the hard drive, then for this purpose SpeedFan has a diagnostic function using the S.M.A.R.T technology. This type of test has 2 operating modes - extended and short. Upon completion of the hard drive diagnostic process, a corresponding column with errors (if any) will appear, which are displayed in the form of icons: green, orange and the “STOP” icon with white bricks.
What each label means is clear on an intuitive level - the first is all good, the second is working at the limit and the third label indicates the presence of malfunctions.
The SpeedFan program (SpeedFan) can be downloaded in Russian for free, the only thing you have to do is switch the language from English, it is Russian, if English is set by default.
The main purpose of the free program SpeedFan is that the utility monitors the cooling of the system in detail, and this program is used in cases where there are serious suspicions about overheating of the chips. In any case, if it detects overheating problems, it will try to increase the speed of the cooler on a laptop or PC.
The speed of a modern computer is achieved at a fairly high price - the power supply, processor, video card often need intensive cooling. Specialized cooling systems are expensive, so a home computer usually has several case fans and coolers (radiators with fans attached to them).
The result is an efficient and inexpensive, but often noisy cooling system. To reduce the noise level (while maintaining efficiency), a fan speed control system is needed. Various kinds of exotic cooling systems will not be considered. It is necessary to consider the most common air cooling systems.
In order to reduce the noise during operation of the fans without reducing the cooling efficiency, it is advisable to adhere to the following principles:
- Large diameter fans work more efficiently than small ones.
- The maximum cooling efficiency is observed in coolers with heat pipes.
- Four-pin fans are preferred over three-pin ones.
There can be only two main reasons for excessive fan noise:
- Poor bearing lubrication. Eliminated by cleaning and new grease.
- The motor is spinning too fast. If it is possible to reduce this speed while maintaining an acceptable level of cooling intensity, then this should be done. The most accessible and cheap ways to control the speed of rotation are discussed below.
Fan Speed Control Methods
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The first way: switching in the BIOS the function that regulates the operation of the fans
The Q-Fan control, Smart fan control, etc. functions supported by some motherboards increase the fan speed when the load increases and decrease it when it falls. It is necessary to pay attention to the method of such fan speed control using the Q-Fan control as an example. It is necessary to perform a sequence of actions:
- Enter BIOS. Most often, this is done by pressing the "Delete" key before booting the computer. If you are prompted to press another key at the bottom of the screen instead of "Press Del to enter Setup" before booting, do so.
- Open the "Power" section.
- Go to the line "Hardware Monitor".
- Change to "Enabled" the value of the CPU Q-Fan control and Chassis Q-Fan Control functions on the right side of the screen.
- In the CPU and Chassis Fan Profile lines that appear, select one of three performance levels: enhanced (Perfomans), quiet (Silent) and optimal (Optimal).
- By pressing the F10 key, save the selected setting.
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The second way: fan speed control by switching method
Figure 1. Distribution of voltages on the contacts.
For most fans, the nominal voltage is 12 V. When this voltage decreases, the number of revolutions per unit time decreases - the fan rotates more slowly and makes less noise. You can take advantage of this circumstance by switching the fan to several voltage ratings using an ordinary Molex connector.
The distribution of voltages on the contacts of this connector is shown in fig. 1a. It turns out that you can take three different meanings voltages: 5 V, 7 V and 12 V.
To ensure this method of changing the fan speed, you need:
- After opening the case of a de-energized computer, remove the fan connector from its socket. The wires leading to the power supply fan are easier to unsolder from the board or just have a snack.
- Using a needle or an awl, release the corresponding legs (most often the red wire is a plus, and the black wire is a minus) from the connector.
- Connect the fan wires to the contacts of the Molex connector for the required voltage (see Fig. 1b).
An engine with a rated rotation speed of 2000 rpm at a voltage of 7 V will give 1300 revolutions per minute, at a voltage of 5 V - 900 revolutions. An engine with a nominal value of 3500 rpm - 2200 and 1600 rpm, respectively.
Figure 2. Scheme of serial connection of two identical fans.
A special case of this method is the serial connection of two identical fans with three-pin connectors. Each of them has half the operating voltage, and both rotate more slowly and make less noise.
The scheme of such connection is shown in fig. 2. The left fan connector is connected to the motherboard as usual.
A jumper is installed on the right connector, which is fixed with electrical tape or tape.
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The third way: adjusting the fan speed by changing the value of the supply current
To limit the fan speed, you can connect fixed or variable resistors in series to its power circuit. The latter also allow you to smoothly change the speed of rotation. Choosing such a design, one should not forget about its disadvantages:
- Resistors heat up, wasting electricity uselessly and contributing to the process of heating the entire structure.
- The characteristics of the electric motor in different modes can be very different, each of them requires resistors with different parameters.
- The power dissipation of the resistors must be large enough.
Figure 3. Electronic speed control circuit.
It is more rational to apply electronic circuit speed control. Its simple version is shown in Fig. 3. This circuit is a stabilizer with the ability to adjust the output voltage. A voltage of 12 V is applied to the input of the DA1 microcircuit (KR142EN5A). A signal from its output is supplied to the 8-amplified output by the transistor VT1. The level of this signal can be adjusted by a variable resistor R2. As R1, it is better to use a tuning resistor.
If the load current is not more than 0.2 A (one fan), the KR142EN5A chip can be used without a heat sink. If it is present, the output current can reach a value of 3 A. At the input of the circuit, it is desirable to include a small ceramic capacitor.
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The fourth way: adjusting the fan speed using reobas
Reobas is an electronic device that allows you to smoothly change the voltage supplied to the fans.
As a result, the speed of their rotation smoothly changes. The easiest way is to buy a ready-made reobas. It usually fits into a 5.25" bay. There is only one drawback: the device is expensive.
The devices described in the previous section are actually reobasses that allow only manual control. In addition, if a resistor is used as a regulator, the motor may not start, since the current is limited at the time of starting. Ideally, a full-fledged reobas should provide:
- Uninterrupted engine start.
- Rotor speed control not only in manual, but also in automatic mode. As the temperature of the cooled device increases, the rotation speed should increase and vice versa.
A relatively simple circuit that meets these conditions is shown in Fig. 4. Having the appropriate skills, it is possible to make it yourself.
Changing the supply voltage of the fans is carried out in a pulsed mode. Switching is carried out using powerful field-effect transistors, the channel resistance of which in the open state is close to zero. Therefore, the engine starts without difficulty. The highest speed will also not be limited.
The proposed scheme works like this: at the initial moment, the cooler that cools the processor runs at the minimum speed, and when heated to a certain maximum allowable temperature, it switches to the maximum cooling mode. When the processor temperature drops, the reobas switches the cooler back to the minimum speed. The rest of the fans support the manually set mode.
Figure 4. Scheme of adjustment using reobas.
The basis of the node that controls the operation of computer fans is the integrated timer DA3 and the field effect transistor VT3. Based on the timer, a pulse generator with a pulse repetition rate of 10-15 Hz was assembled. The duty cycle of these pulses can be changed using the trimmer resistor R5, which is part of the timing RC circuit R5-C2. Thanks to this, it is possible to smoothly change the speed of rotation of the fans while maintaining the required amount of current at the time of start-up.
Capacitor C6 performs pulse smoothing, due to which the rotors of the motors rotate softer, without making clicks. These fans are connected to the XP2 output.
The basis of a similar processor cooler control unit is the DA2 chip and the VT2 field effect transistor. The only difference is that when a voltage appears at the output of the operational amplifier DA1, it, thanks to the diodes VD5 and VD6, is superimposed on the output voltage of the DA2 timer. As a result, VT2 opens completely and the cooler fan starts to rotate as fast as possible.
Instruction
Before you start increasing the speed of the cooler, you should make sure that your motherboard supports this option. This information must be in the manual for it. Almost all modern motherboards from various manufacturers have the function of adjusting the speed of the cooler.
Turn on your computer. Right after that, you need to press the Del key. In most cases, it is with this button that you can open the BIOS menu. If nothing happens after pressing this key, refer to the motherboard manual. There should be a button that is responsible for opening the BIOS menu.
After opening the BIOS, go to the POWER section. In this section, select HW Monitor configuration. There should be an option to control the speed of the coolers. Depending on the model of the motherboard, this option may be called differently, for example, CPU Q-Fan function or simply Fan control. You should focus on the word Fan. Select this option and press the Enter key. From the proposed options, select Enable, after which - the Profile line.
Several fan speed settings will appear. Select Performance mode. In it, the speed of the coolers will be maximum. But on some motherboards, Turbo mode may be available. If maximum cooling of computer components is extremely important to you, then if Turbo mode is available, it is best to choose it.
After selecting the desired mode, exit the BIOS. Be sure to save the changed settings beforehand. The computer will restart. The next time you run it, the speed of the coolers will increase.
Special fans are installed in modern stationary and mobile computers. Their main task is to provide high-quality cooling of all important PC elements. For the coolers to work properly, they need to be configured.
You will need
- Speed Fan program.
Instruction
First, try optimizing your coolers with standard motherboard features. Open the BIOS menu after restarting the computer. Find the menu responsible for fan settings. Activate the Always Fan option. This is especially true when working with mobile computers, because. often coolers are simply turned off to save battery power.
Set the speed rotation required coolers. Usually you need to enter a number that defines percentage rated speed to its maximum value. Save the fan settings and restart your computer.
Quite often, the cooler settings function is not available in the BIOS menu. In such situations, it is necessary to use utilities that work with Windows operating systems. Install the program SpeedFan. Open this utility and go to the Clock tab. Expand the Motherboard menu and select the manufacturer of the motherboard you are using.
Go to the Readings menu and find the fields that display speed rotation coolers. Select speed rotations of each cooler. When set to 100%, the blades will rotate at maximum speed Yu.
If you downgraded speed coolers, make sure that the devices to which these fans are connected do not overheat. To do this, open the Charts tab and in the Analyze column select the Temperatures parameter. Select the checkboxes for the devices whose temperature changes you want to monitor.
After launching an application that actively uses PC resources, minimize it and look at the readings of the temperature graph. Make sure that during operation of all devices, their temperature does not exceed the permissible limits.
Sources:
- fan speed
If the system unit of your computer is very noisy, and after turning it off, silence in the room immediately becomes noticeable - this is not a normal situation. The noise from the computer should not exceed the permissible limits, and certainly should not disturb your sleep or hear what your neighbor says to you.
You will need
- - computer
- - SpeedFan program.
Instruction
Perhaps your system unit is clogged with dust (this happens with almost all personal computers over time) - clean it gently with a vacuum cleaner. If it is clean, you may just need to adjust speed fan rotation. Launch the browser and in the search bar enter the name of the program - SpeedFan. Follow one of the first links and download the program to your hard drive. You can download the program on one of the software portals www.softportal.com. Install the program by running the setup file.
Run the program. You will need to wait a bit while the program performs an analysis of the operating system. If you find it difficult to navigate the inscriptions on English language, click on the Configure button and change the language to Russian on the Options tab. Now you need to enable hardware support for fan speed control on the motherboard. Click on the "Configuration" button, then - the "Advanced" button. Change the value to Software contolled and click OK. If your motherboard was determined by the program, then this value will be set immediately.
Adjust the fan speeds in your computer by clicking on the control arrows. You should not greatly underestimate the performance, since the fans are installed in the computer system unit not for noise, but to provide cooling for spare parts. If the components overheat, it will damage the computer. Try to choose the most optimal parameter values in order to speed cooler was not low, but did not interfere with its sound to others.
By issuing a new release. The program is a compact but very functional tool for monitoring computer hardware. Allows you to read voltages, fan speeds and temperatures from monitoring chips. Displays S.M.A.R.T. status information as well as temperatures for hard drives. Works with HDD on EIDE, SATA and SCSI interfaces (most of "software" IDE/SATA RAID controllers, unfortunately, are not supported). It is also possible to adjust the system bus frequencies on some motherboards, but development in this direction is actually frozen. Works under Windows 9x, ME, NT, 2000, 2003, XP and Vista operating systems, as well as x64.
The main highlight of the program is the regulation of fan speed depending on conditions (for example, processor temperature), but again, with hardware support from the hardware. In addition, it can collect statistics on the parameters taken and write information to a log file, draw graphs of changes in temperatures, voltages and fan speeds.
This release has a lot of important changes and innovations:
- added a new bookmark called "EXOTICS"
- fixed problems with dialogs when using a large font resolution
- added full support for Areca RAID controllers
- significantly expanded support for SCSI devices
- added support for Abit uGuru 3 (uGuru 2005)
- added full support for Intel FB memory temperature monitoring-
- added support for ITE IT8720F, Andigilog aSC7611, LM96000, Analog Devices ADT7490, SMSC SCH5327,Windbond W83766HG sensors
- improved processor identification system
- extended support for WINBOND W83637HF, Asus F8000, SMSC SCH5514, SMSC EMC2300, ITE IT8718F, Analog Devices ADP3228, ITE IT8512F, Fintek F71872, SMSC LPC47M17 sensors
- added support for HECI driver
- fixed problems with temperature reading on Intel processors made using 45 nm technology
- added support for SMBus system logic nVIDIA MCP65, MCP67, MCP73, MCP78S, VIA CX700M, Intel 82801JI
- extended support for some motherboards and system logic
- added support for some Dell laptops
- fixed many other errors and inaccuracies ()
The only drawback is, perhaps, insufficient support for mobile platforms, or rather, its almost complete absence.
Download latest version You can, as always, from our file archive.
It is no secret that high-performance microprocessor devices heat up during operation: the greater the load, the stronger. For many elements of a modern computer, installing a conventional heatsink on a “chip” is no longer enough - active heat removal is required. The easiest way to implement this is with a fan (cooler): system units with a total number of coolers of 8-10 no longer surprise anyone. Sometimes the motherboard does not have enough connectors for connecting additional fans, and the connection is made through a power splitter or reobas.
A single cooler makes little noise and consumes little electricity. But if there are a dozen of them in the case, the noise becomes already uncomfortable, and the power consumption increases to quite noticeable values.
Most often, the need to change the fan speed is associated precisely with excessive noise system block. If the cooling efficiency of the system unit is high enough and overheating of any computer elements does not occur even under the highest loads, you can try to reduce the rotation speed of some fans.
One way to reduce this is to use reobas, a multi-channel fan speed controller.
But this way is not the only one. Most modern motherboards are capable of controlling the speed of connected fans. In many cases, you won't even need to install any software– the necessary function is built into the BIOS.
To enter the BIOS, you must press a specific key (or key combination) when the computer boots, most often Delete. If nothing happens by pressing Delete when the computer boots, you should look at the bottom lines of the screen during boot - there, at the start of boot, a hint is usually displayed which keys should be pressed to enter the BIOS.
In the BIOS, you should find a page with fan settings (Fan Speed, Fan Control, Fan Profile, etc.) CPU Fan settings refer to the processor cooler, Chassis Fan - to the case cooler (or coolers). CPU cooler settings should only be changed if you know exactly what you are doing and are confident in the correctness of your actions - overheating the processor can lead to its failure. The case cooler settings are not so critical, but you shouldn't change them mindlessly either; it will be useful to write down all the old values before changing.
To adjust the fan speed, first make sure that this function is enabled: the Q-Fan Control (or Fan Speed Control) parameter must be set to Enabled. At the same time, fan fine-tuning options become available - some BIOSes have a lot of them, others less. Most often the most in a simple way reducing noise (or, conversely, improving cooling) is to change the profile (Q-Fan Profile). To reduce noise, set it to Silent, to increase cooling - to Performance or Turbo.
After saving the settings and restarting the system, you should make sure that the configured cooler is spinning and that the system does not overheat, otherwise you should return the old BIOS settings.
If the necessary settings were not found in the BIOS, do not be upset - most often the fans connected to the motherboard can also be controlled using specialized software. The most popular of these programs (and at the same time absolutely free) is speed fan. When you start the program, the first tab will display all found fans, their rotation speeds and temperatures of computer elements - you should be guided by them when setting up coolers. The setup recommendations are the same - you should be careful with the CPU Fan (processor cooler) and GPU Fan (video card cooler) settings. When changing speeds (from 0 to 100%), the effect of these changes on temperature should be monitored. In the program, you can also set critical temperatures for all elements and, by specifying which cooler is responsible for which temperature, start the automatic fan speed control mode.
If neither speed fan nor other similar programs "saw" the fans, or if the fans are not connected to the motherboard at all, then reobas will be required to adjust their rotation speed.
Before considering the characteristics of reobass, we should mention one more, very common reason for the increased noise of fans - clogging of coolers with dust and / or thickening of grease in them. If it seems to you that the computer was less noisy before, you may not need any programs and devices to reduce noise - it will be enough to clean the cooler from dust and (if necessary) renew the lubricant.
Characteristics of fan speed controllers.
Reobas type.
The main task power splitter- provide power to additional fans for which there were no connectors on the motherboard. The splitter may not have fan speed control at all. If there is such a function, then it will be implemented programmatically.
speed controller(reobas) - has more functionality compared to a splitter. In addition to connecting additional fans, reobas also provides some additional features, among which may be:
- control and display of the rotation speed of each connected fan;
- temperature control from its own temperature sensor (or several temperature sensors);
- automatic or manual adjustment of fan speeds;
- control and display of the power consumed by the connected fans
The rotation speed control type can be manual or automatic.
At manual control the speed of rotation is set manually by the operator - using the buttons, the control knob or on the touch screen. Despite the simplicity of this control method, it will be convenient only in cases where it is not necessary to change the fan speed while the computer is running. To adjust the rotation speed of case fans, this method will still work, but to control the rotation speed of the processor cooler - no longer.
The automatic type of control, which provides for automatic change in the cooler rotation speed depending on the readings of the temperature sensor, is much more convenient in operation and provides Better conditions equipment operation. To control coolers of elements that change temperature greatly depending on the load, you should use reobass with an automatic control type.
The number of connected fans determines which maximum amount fans can be connected to the reobas. It should be borne in mind that with an increase in the number of connected fans, the power consumed by the device also increases; The computer's power supply must have enough power.
The presence of a display with the ability to display temperatures and fan speeds in some cases may be useful. The display can warn of impending overheating or fan failure and prevent crashes or data loss. For servers (often not having their own monitor), such a display will be especially useful.
Temperature control is carried out by the temperature sensors of the motherboard or by the reobas's own temperature sensors. In the latter case, you should also find out the number of temperature measurement channels (in other words, the number of temperature sensors). For many reobass, temperature control is carried out using one temperature sensor. If CPU/video card coolers are also supposed to be connected to such a reobas, this can lead to problems (if you install a sensor near the processor, it may “not notice” the video card overheating and vice versa). Reobasses with several thermal sensors are more expensive, but in cases similar to the above, you should not save on this.
Fan Connectors can be 2-pin 3-pin and 4-pin.
2-pin and 3-pin connectors allow you to control the fan speed by changing its supply voltage. This is the easiest way, so the reobasses and fans that implement it are inexpensive. The disadvantages of this method are the low accuracy of setting the speed and the reduction in torque with decreasing voltage. Fans with a 3-pin connector cannot spin at all slower than a certain threshold value - the torque becomes so small that it is not enough to turn the impeller. For case fans and hard drive fans, such fans are suitable, but it has long been customary to install fans connected with a 4-pin connector on processors.
The 4-pin connectors offer fan speed control via pulse-width modulation (PWM). At the same time, full power is supplied to the fan - 12 volts - but not constantly, but by pulses, changing the duration of which, you can very accurately set the fan speed. In addition, with this method there is no restriction on the minimum rotation speed - a fan controlled in this way can rotate even at a speed of 1 rpm. The only drawback of this method is that it is more difficult to implement, and therefore more expensive.
The reobass power connector can be 3-pin (in this case, the speed controller is connected to one of the free 3-pin connectors of the motherboard) 4-pin Molex (power is taken from one of the power supply connectors) and SATA (power is taken from the SATA connector of the motherboard ).
Choice options.
If you just need to connect a couple of additional fans at the lowest price, choose a power splitter for fans at a price of 230 rubles.
If any of the fans in the system unit spins too much, pay attention to the manually controlled single fan speed controllers. With it, you can easily adjust the fan speed to the required one and it will cost from 180 rubles.
To control multiple case fans, you can purchase reobas for multiple manually controlled fans. Depending on the additional functions, it will cost you 900-3800 rubles.
To control all the fans of the computer, you should choose reobas for several fans with the ability to automatically control their rotation speed. These cost in the range of 230-8000 rubles.
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