Controling fan speeds

[Danny75]

My guess is 'Safety current' is the maximum current fan will ever draw .. the amount of current fan motor draws when starting up or if something is holding impeller from turning. 'Safety current' is same as 'startup current' published for some fans, like Gentle Typhoon and is usually 2-4 times more power than fan uses while running.

This startup current / saftely current load is why most fan header failures when running several fans on splitters happens when system is starting up.

Thanks Doyll. So running two of the above BeQuiets on single header (assuming 0.83-1.0 amps on header) would be a risk, if that's the case. I'm still trying to wrap my head around that.

Also had a look at the specs for the new Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM. They don't list a Safety Current (A) at all. Just Max Input Current (A) (0.14) and Max Input Power (W) (1.68). More refined engine maybe or just omission from the specs? Might ask Noctua about it.

 

[doyll]

Lol I didn’t realise PWM had fanboys. While I’m fully aware of its application within various fields of industry, it doesn’t make it good for PC fan control - especially when run from a motherboard header.

Again, compared to the accuracy and predictability of static and/or voltage control, PWM sucks *****. I’d sooner run everything fixed using a 7v molex than go back to using PWM.

You are entitled to your opinion. But please stop being so fanatical about your choices. Just because you don't like PWM fans does not mean they are bad. It only means you don't like them.

To me it seems you are the exception with most of us using PWM more and more. Almost nobody uses static speed fans in their systems anymore .. with speed control based on component temps being the norm. PWM control in computers is pretty much the standard now. We are seeing less and less variable voltage and more and more PWM used in computer industry. Most GPUs have PWM fans on their coolers too. Sure, there are some poorly made PWM fans, same as some poorly made variable voltage fans, but the majority of fans users buy today are PWM.

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[Bluntwrapped]

You are entitled to your opinion. But please stop being so fanatical about your choices. Just because you don't like PWM fans does not mean they are bad. It only means you don't like them.

To me it seems you are the exception with most of us using PWM more and more. Almost nobody uses static speed fans in their systems anymore .. with speed control based on component temps being the norm. PWM control in computers is pretty much the standard now. We are seeing less and less variable voltage and more and more PWM used in computer industry. Most GPUs have PWM fans on their coolers too. Sure, there are some poorly made PWM fans, same as some poorly made variable voltage fans, but the majority of fans users buy today are PWM.

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From my own experience of using both voltage and PWM, voltage has given consistent results while PWM hasn’t. If you run PWM from a motherboard header with either a fan or a pump, the rpm kicks into max on cold boot until post. This is enough to be quite annoying, especially if you have a PWM controlled DDC pump (it sounds horrible at full rpm)

PWM fans generally sound horrible at low rpm while voltage is silent all the way up from starting voltage. Depending on the board, you may have limited PWM headers and mixing both types of fans with limited bios options doesn’t always work well.

PWM pumps are generally more noisy than fixed vario too.

To put things into context, these specific reasons and a few others mean I’ll avoid using PWM.

You’ll struggle to find a recent model of fan which doesn’t come in both variations. Any decent fan test/comparison will be done using voltage control.

Spec a good 3 pin fan with high performance to noise ratio, find optimum rpm with voltage to cover all scenarios then forget about it. No noise, maximum performance and no bloatware utility to install, ever Win.

 

[Dirk76]

I have been playing with the bios.
I am trying to figure out how to just set a rpm on the 2 headers, not temp related.

I was trying to have a non games rpm, then hit a hotkey , then it goes to a different rpm.

my pc is all watercooled , with a temp lcd in pipe so I can see if it is getting hot.

I have not figured out how to do this yet.

the reason I am trying to do this as my cpu temp always spikes to 70 to 80 when doing something. up an down the fans go. 7700k. but my line temp stays the same.

 

[Bluntwrapped]

I have been playing with the bios.
I am trying to figure out how to just set a rpm on the 2 headers, not temp related.

I was trying to have a non games rpm, then hit a hotkey , then it goes to a different rpm.

my pc is all watercooled , with a temp lcd in pipe so I can see if it is getting hot.

I have not figured out how to do this yet.

the reason I am trying to do this as my cpu temp always spikes to 70 to 80 when doing something. up an down the fans go. 7700k. but my line temp stays the same.

Depending on the manufacturer of your board, there may be a fan utility you can download from the support pages. I don’t know of any that’ll give the option to profile and hotkey. Any Windows based changes will only kick in when Windows loads, so expect your fans to go a bit crazy when you start or restart your PC.

If your fans are silent enough running why not just put them to 75% and leave them?

 

[Dirk76]

was now looking at a fan controller like

I just need fan control. I am going to delid my cpu.
I have just bought seahawk X 2080 getting temps of around high 30's C in my gpu/cpu loop. I have a temp sensor inlood with flow a temp.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/lamptron-cr430-led-and-fan-controller-black-red-bb-00c-lp.html

for external

or

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/lamp...-controller-for-pci-slot-black-fg-00p-lp.html

for low ..no game... crank to max when gaming only

 

[LuckyBenski]

The thing is, having a fan profile that increases speed when temperatures rise is a safety measure too. If you fix fan speeds at low, and rely on manually pushing a button, guaranteed one day you will forget and end up with an overheating PC. Or there will be an unexpected software load when you were in quiet mode, same problem.

This is why the ideal is to set a fan curve yourself, which is quiet at your idle temperatures, becomes audible when temperatures rise, and only gets loud if you're really stressing the PC. Your case's fan controller can do that, you just need to set a single curve. You could use the BIOS or whichever software package the motherboard is compatible with.

A high end fan controller is an expensive solution to this problem and will still ultimately perform best if you set up a sensible fan curve. There are sub-£10 fan splitters with a voltage switch if that's really what you want. Run fans with a PWM curve, but switch from 7V to 12V when gaming.