How to adjust cooler rotation. How to use SpeedFan

SpeedFan reads fan speed values, PC component temperatures, operating frequencies and voltages from existing sensors, as well as S.M.A.R.T HDD and SPD RAM data. The temperature of the processor, video accelerator, hard drive and other PC components is controlled by adjusting cooler speeds, operating frequencies and voltage, and for this you should download SpeedFan Rus for free for Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP SP 3 (32-bit and 64-bit), without registration and without SMS. Permanent link: https://site/ru/utility/speedfan

Causes and consequences of overheating

During operation, many components generate heat, but comprehensive control of the computer’s temperature is not carried out using standard Windows operating system tools. When the load increases significantly, for example during graphics-intensive 3D games, rendering or video editing, maximum performance is required. Accordingly, PC components heat up, especially four-, six- and eight-core processors and top-end video cards.

The situation becomes even worse when overclocking or extreme testing of system stability under load. During overclocking, heat generation increases significantly due to an abnormal increase in the FSB frequency, multiplier and voltage parameters of the central microprocessor, video chip and video memory. The critical level of heating will be clearly demonstrated by a program for monitoring the temperature of the computer, therefore, for example, it would be very reasonable to prudently download SpeedFan for free in Russian. This will help protect such expensive components as the central microprocessor and video accelerator from overheating, leading to interruptions and failure.

You should not place your system unit, laptop, netbook, tablet, smartphone or other smart device near heating devices, warm air currents, in bright sunshine and similar places. An extra few degrees can be critical. During the summer heat, especially in unconditioned rooms, it is important to control the temperature of the computer and prevent overheating.

The system unit and laptop should be regularly vacuumed and wiped with a clean, dry cloth or brush, since dust is a common cause of overheating. Dusty air ducts and radiators significantly reduce heat removal efficiency. In grates, air ducts and radiators clogged with dust, the intensity of air circulation intended by the developer is disrupted. A thick layer of dust is a heat insulator and, acting like insulation, leads to poor cooling of components. A lump of dust can cause the fan to fail. You should check whether the fans work when turned on, and how easily they rotate when de-energized. If the fan spins with effort or does not rotate at all, it needs to be lubricated or replaced.

The average temperature inside the case determines the condition of all components. If the PC case overheats, it is necessary to cool the internal space of the system unit. Supply ventilation and removal of warm air require the installation of at least one blowing fan and one blowing propeller. The cooling system may not work efficiently enough if coolers, radiators, and fans are installed incorrectly. Proper installation of coolers inside the system unit ensures sufficient flow of cold air and removal of warm air through real or virtual air ducts. The laptop should be placed on a hard surface with all air intake and exhaust grilles open. Tables and stands with fans successfully cope with laptop cooling.

Chronic overheating may be a consequence of incorrect or corrupted BIOS settings. The BIOS is stored in the permanent memory of the motherboard and allows the system to boot with certain settings. Many motherboards have component sensors and allow you to change adjustable default settings. In particular, this applies to critical temperature indicators. You can get into the BIOS if you press the F2, Del or F12 key immediately after turning it on (depending on the BIOS). In the BIOS you can see the sensor readings without load. To prevent overheating of the CPU, video card, or hard drive, you should download SpeedFan for Windows XP SP 3, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10 (32-bit and 64-bit) or similar.

How to control and prevent overheating

You need to monitor the condition if any problems arise with your computer, and even more so with a laptop or netbook. Application crashes, sudden program crashes, decreased performance, freezes, slowdowns, stuttering, interference, stripes on the screen, blue screens, screens of death, or unexpected Windows reboots may indicate overheating. To keep the situation under control, you should download the latest version of SpeedFan for free without visiting the official website directly from https://site securely.

Today, quite a few utilities have been created for monitoring PC temperatures, including those distributed free of charge. According to the ratings on the social networks Facebook, Google Plus, VKontakte, Odnoklassniki, on thematic sites and forums, one of the best programs for monitoring the temperature of a computer is SpeedFan. The Speed ​​Fan application in Russian provides detailed, reliable information, has an intuitive interface and is easy to use. In addition to the temperatures of the CPU, GPU, RAM, HDD and others, SpeedFan displays information about the processor, video card, RAM, hard drive and system data.

Among the alternative software that is similar in functionality to the SpeedFan utility, it is worth mentioning such free programs as HWMonitor, Speccy, Core Temp, CPU-Z, GPU-Z, MSI Afterburner and a 30-day trial version of AIDA64 Extreme Edition. On the page https://site/ru/utility/speedfan we talk about the SpeedFan program and provide the opportunity to download the latest version of SpeedFan for free to your computer or laptop.

Which PC monitoring system is better?

There is no need to additionally install a special monitoring device, sensors, controllers, thermostats, relays or other devices. A modern computer, laptop, netbook, tablet, smartphone and other devices already have all the necessary sensors installed.

Desktop computers typically use temperature sensors and fan speed sensors. In miniature devices, the parameters from the built-in sensors after processing are adjusted by reducing the performance, load intensity and power supply of the corresponding system components. For adequate temperature monitoring and management, it is enough to download SpeedFan Rus from without visiting the official website. This freely distributed program has earned a high rating, positive reviews and comments on the social networks vKontakte, Odnoklassniki, Facebook, Google+, and on many websites and forums.

SpeedFan interface

SpeedFan's understated, classic interface design is rich in data. Indicator values ​​are displayed in real time. From the page https://site/ru/utility/speedfan you can download SpeedFan for free in Russian, although the application is installed and launched in English. To Russify the interface, go to the "Options" tab of the Configuration and select the Russian interface language.

The easiest way to monitor the status of components is to enable automatic fan speed by checking the appropriate box. The "Speeds" tab of the SpeedFan configuration allows you to set minimum and maximum speeds, as well as activate auto-change for coolers found in the system. Extended "Fan Control" is possible for user-selected fans. The utility shows many parameters, among which each user can change those that require special attention. When you minimize the program window, an icon remains in the system tray for quick access.

SpeedFan Features Overview

Displaying the values ​​of temperature, voltage, cooler speed is not the main thing for which it is worth downloading SpeedFan for free in Russian from today. Speed ​​Fan is not only a diagnostic tool, but also a convenient tool for temperature monitoring and PC temperature management. The Russian version of SpeedFan can regulate cooler speeds, change voltages and operating frequencies of the motherboard and PC components according to specified parameters, programmed events or scenarios. Fan speed adjustment is carried out manually, based on triggering events, or automatically, depending on the temperature inside the system unit and on the surface of the most important components.

In real time, it is possible to display the values ​​of the received data on a graph, keep a temperature control log, record statistics in a log file, create a pop-up message and send a message by e-mail. It can be launched from the command line with specified parameters.

With the appropriate settings, for those who like silence and can't stand it when coolers are too noisy, SpeedFan will help significantly reduce noise when it's needed most, for example, when doing creative work, while playing games or watching a 4K movie.

SpeedFan working with HDD

The program will promptly warn the HDD status when it is time to replace the hard drive in order to avoid information loss. In addition to temperature indicators, the SpeedFan utility has access to S.M.A.R.T information about the status of IDE, SATA, SCSI hard drives. The utility accesses the online HDD database to analyze and compare the obtained indicators with the factory parameters.

Critical indicators for PC components

The SpeedFan utility reacts when there is a deviation of one degree Celsius from the norm or specified settings. To avoid unnecessary worries when red signs and yellow-red flame symbols appear, you should understand which temperature is normal for a particular component and which is critical.

High-quality computer temperature control must take into account at least the following factors:

CPU, its temperature and CPU cooler fan speed,
- video card, the temperature of its radiator and the intensity of the cooling system,
- chipset, its temperature and speed of installed coolers (if available),
- hard drive, its surface temperature and the rotation speed of the HDD cage fans,
- power supply, internal temperature and fan speed of the built-in cooling system,
- average temperature inside the PC case.

The processor in idle mode should not heat above 40°C, with an average load - 55 degrees Celsius, maximum - 60. The less the central processor heats up, the faster it works, so high-quality CPU cooling directly affects computing power. Exceeding 60°C causes problems and the skipping mode is activated, which reduces performance. At 80 degrees the system will reboot in emergency mode or turn off.

The critical heating level for an old video card is 60 degrees Celsius; modern graphics accelerators operate without problems at 75 degrees and above. Overheating should be feared when it rises to 90-95°C.

The chipset on the motherboard heats up in the range of 40 - 45 degrees, maximum. Higher readings indicate a malfunction, incorrect BIOS configuration, or overclocking of the PC.

For HDD, 30 degrees is optimal, maximum 45°C. Overheating of the hard drive can lead not only to interruptions in operation, reduced service life, failure of the device, but also to the loss of all user information.

The power supply, as a rule, is located at the back at the top of the system unit, equipped with one or two fans and serves as an exhaust fan. All the warm air from the housing is pumped out through it. The heat dissipation of the power supply greatly depends on the design and the element base used. Branded models heat up moderately and have good cooling. However, if there is not enough power to power the system, the voltage sags and overheating occurs. Overheating can also be caused by dust and dirt, jammed and stopped fans, swollen or leaking capacitors.

The easiest way to check the heat dissipation of the power supply is to place your palm on the top grille at the back of the system unit, where the power supply is located. If the blown air is hot, the temperature is close to 50°C. If it is difficult to hold your palm, the power supply has heated up to 60 degrees or more. There are no sensors inside the standard power supply, so the program for monitoring the temperature of the processor and video card in Russian, Speed ​​Fan, has nowhere to get the data. The ATX standard does not specify heating criteria for the power supply. However, according to the standard voltage deviations +3.3V, +5V, +12V are acceptable within 5%. This can be easily checked with a multimeter at home.

If all components heat up within normal limits, then it won’t be hot inside the PC case. In a properly designed case, air is drawn in through the lower front grille located opposite the power supply, where a blower fan can be installed. Through air ducts or special guides, cold air enters the most heated components, and from them is discharged outside. The exhaust function is performed either by a power supply or a specially installed additional fan.

Additionally, care should be taken to remove heat from the system unit if it is equipped with a significant number of powerful components. It is necessary to free up space for natural air circulation in the housing, to ensure the influx of cold air and the removal of heated air. If natural air exchange is not enough, you should organize forced air circulation in the case by additionally installing fans. The laptop should be placed on a flat, hard surface, special stands, or tables with additional ventilation.

To monitor the temperature of the processor, graphics card, hard drive, chipset and other components of a computer, laptop or netbook, we recommend downloading the SpeedFan program for free for Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, XP SP 3 (x86 and x64). The SpeedFan temperature control utility adjusts parameters at the hardware level, and some equipment may become unstable in the new user-defined cooling mode. The developers of the Speed ​​Fan utility warn users in the license agreement that they are not responsible for any damages.

The processor makes a lot of noise - a problem for most people who use system units (commonly known as a processor out of ignorance). To be more precise, then fans are noisy, which cool the system from overheating.

There are a variety of reasons why a fan may make noise. Most often, they need to be thoroughly cleaned of dust (including the cooling radiator) and lubricated. But there is one more thing that caused noise at my workplace - the rotation speed of the cooler.

Coolers are divided into two types: with software speed control and without. Fortunately, I have a Sumerian cooler that supported rotation control using software.

Everything could be configured perfectly in the BIOS, which itself regulated the rotation of the cooler. But there was one thing. The principle of adjusting the cooler with the BIOS is that you set the minimum rotation speed that the BIOS adheres to. And as the temperature increases, the rotation speed of the cooler increases in order to lower it.

And since I work in the range of 45-50 degrees, the system thinks that it is overheating and always spins the fan, which means this is not an option. What was needed was manual control of the cooler rotation speed without any resistors, etc. A couple of searches on the Internet and found program for monitoring cooler rotation speedSpeedFan.

Fortunately, the program turned out to be free and compatible with Windows XP and Windows 7 (x32-64). I also ran it on Ubuntu Linux via Vine, but the program refused to work.

Setting up SpeedFan. Increase and decrease cooler speed

To get started, go to the download page and download the latest version of the program. Now that the program is installed, it can load in about a minute (sometimes much faster). The first launch of the program reads information about the hardware and coolers that are installed. Here's how it's configured for me:

  • all hints are disabled
  • the program starts with Windows
  • launching the program in the tray
  • When “closing the program” it is minimized to tray

The program has a lot of settings and since the interface is in Russian, it’s easy to customize it for yourself. Initially, the program is installed in English; to install the Russian language, click on the configuration button:

In the window that opens, find the “Options” tab and in it select the language you need and click Ok:

Now the program works in Russian. Hints are turned off at the moment they are shown. They hinder more than they help. Therefore, the next time you see a hint, check the box next to “Do not show again.”

In order to the program was loaded withWindows, open Start and select the Startup folder. You need to copy the shortcut to SpeedFan into this folder. This is the simplest option.

If you want the program to load invisibly (in the tray), then go back to the settings tab and check the box next to “run minimized”.

In the same tab, check the “minimize when closing” checkbox and when you click on the cross in Windows, the program will not close, but will be minimized to tray. I think this is very convenient, since opening and closing the program every time is inconvenient.

The coolers themselves are determined in the main program window. These windows with percentages are the rotation speed regulators. I have three coolers in my system, so three are displayed. By changing the power percentage, the speed will decrease or increase. Accordingly, 0% fans stop, 100% fans spin at full power.

Building a modern desktop PC is surprisingly easy, thanks to modular parts and a lot of engineering. It is often explained as “Lego for adults.” But managing the air cooling system in a PC is much more complicated.

We talk about physics, thermodynamics, and all sorts of other fun things. But there are a few basic principles that can be applied to almost any build to achieve optimal airflow, and therefore optimal cooling.


How to Choose the Best PC Fans

Any desktop PC in a standard case is equipped with a fan - 80mm, 120mm, 140mm, 200mm. Decide on the cooling that suits your situation and your components before you go shopping for fans and coolers that might benefit your case.

What can I say, cases come with a surprising number of cooling variations. You'll need to make sure they're a size that will fit the mounting screws in your case, but beyond that you'll also need to consider:

Big or small: Generally, large fans can move the same amount of air per minute as small fans at low speeds. Because the tiny electric motors in the fan mechanism don't have to spin quickly, large case fans are quieter than smaller ones and therefore more desirable if your case supports them.

Fast or slow: The fan housing is designed to operate at a maximum of revolutions per minute, or rpm. Fast fans move more air, but slow fans are much quieter. With a compatible motherboard, you should be able to adjust the fan speed for the perfect balance, so it doesn't matter which fan you install. Some fans even install manual switches for basic fan control.

Air flow or static pressure: Fans typically come with two types of fins: one designed for airflow and one designed for static pressure. To optimize airflow, quiet fans are great for unrestricted areas. Static exhaust fans are designed to pull or push air with extra force, and they are ideal for areas with tighter airflow restrictions, such as a water-cooling radiator or a large cooler with a lot of fins. What can I say, some basic tests of these models show “high static pressure”, and their usefulness is questionable in standard air cooling.

LEDs and other aesthetics: what fans to use to power the fan motor so that the LEDs also light up, either one color or RGB multi-colored. They look cool, especially when combined with a “sophisticated” overall body, but they don’t add anything and are only distracting. There is no point in spending money on LED fans if you want to save money.

If you don't want to do a ton of research, we highly recommend power supply fans with less noise and better quality - although some models are on the expensive side. But there are many fans who dig around the sites to see what they can find.

Basics: cold air comes in, hot air comes out

The central concept of air cooling is very simple. When computer components operate, they create heat, which can cause poor performance and ultimately damage the hardware. The fans on the front of your computer case are typically intake fans, and they introduce relatively cool air into the room to lower the temperature inside the case. Fans on the back of the case, typically exhaust fans, push hot air away from heated components back into the room.

This may seem obvious, but the air cooling setup relies more on the air cooler outside the case than inside. Since the inside of the case is usually quite warm, this isn't a problem, but if you're using the PC in a particularly hot room you'll see less efficient cooling. If you can, move your desk and computer to a cooler area.

Do not place the computer directly on carpeted flooring as this will block airflow from the fan located at the bottom of the case. Place it on a table or small table. Some office desks include a large compartment in which you can hide your computer. Keeping the compartment closed will restrict airflow to your case fans, making them less efficient.

Let's talk about how to place fans for optimal air circulation.


Plan air flow

Before you begin, you should look at the available fan mounts and decide on the best way to plan your airflow. Here are some things you should keep in mind.

Airflow from front to back and bottom to top
When installing case fans, the air flow passes through the open side with a protective grille, like this:

So that the open side of the fan faces outside the case for the intake fans on the front or bottom, otherwise it will have to collide inside the case with the fans on the back or top.

Most cases are designed with some directional airflow - usually front to back and bottom to top. This means that you must mount the intake fans on the front of the case, and sometimes on the bottom.

Exhaust fans are installed on the back or top. Do not install exhaust fans on the bottom of the chassis; since hot air rises, a fan installed at the bottom will work against physics, expelling slightly cooler air rather than warm air. The inlet-outlet direction is front-back and bottom-up. Side fans may be intake fans, depending on the setting.

Organize cables well and remove other obstacles

In general, it's best to have as few obstructions as possible between the intake fan on the front of the case and the exhaust fan on the back and top of the case. This creates faster and more efficient airflow, cooling components more efficiently. Try to mount all long, flat components such as CD drives, hard drives, video cards horizontally - this is the default configuration in most PC cases.

Cables, especially the large set from the power supply, can be particularly troublesome to manage well. Most larger cases include a system of openings and guides that allow users to route these cables away from the main open area, often behind the motherboard tray. Stack as many of these judas cables as you can. This is a really good example of a case with good cable management to create open air.

And not a very good example. The case doesn't offer many options for storing unused power cables, but you should still try to tuck them away somewhere as best you can.

Most cases include multiple connection points, sometimes even more points for mounting fans. If blocker fans are on, use them: It may be tempting to keep them open to hotter air, but it's much more effective to direct air through exhaust fans instead, and that's just one place where dust can get inside. Likewise, be sure to use any spacers that came with your case for unused PCIe slots, 5.25″ bays, etc.

Hot Spots

Your processor has its own heatsink and fan, even if you didn't add one yourself - it's the only fan installed directly on the motherboard component. This fan drives heat directly from the processor. Ideally, you should place an exhaust fan as close to the processor as possible to quickly expel this hot air. A side fan can be useful here, but not all cases have it installed.

When using a direct CPU cooler, create a heat outlet to the nearest exhaust fan.

If you have a large original CPU cooler, it probably has one or more fans. Try to route the output from these fans to line up with one of the exhaust fans for better heat transfer directly from the processor to the outside of the case. Most CPU coolers can be mounted in any cardinal direction to help achieve this (and to make other internal components easier to clean).

Air pressure balance

I think of the PC case as a closed box, and the air is collected in or out of each fan as approximately equal. (It's not a completely enclosed case, and the airflows are generally not equal, but we're talking in general terms here.) Assuming all the fans are the same size and speed, then you have one of three options to create equal pressure air inside the case:

Positive air pressure: Large fans draw air into the case and do not force air out of the case.
Negative air pressure: Large fans blow air out of the case more than they suck air in, resulting in a slight vacuum effect.
Equal air pressure: the same number of air blowing fans in and out creates approximately the same pressure as the surrounding room.
Because the internal components create blocks in the airflow, it is more or less impossible to achieve truly equal air pressure inside the case. Therefore you should at least install one intake and one exhaust fan.

With two intake fans and three exhaust fans, this unit creates negative air pressure.

Both approaches have their advantages. Negative air pressure needs to create a slightly cooler environment (at least in theory) since the fans work harder to expel the hot air. But the downside is that a small vacuum is created inside the case, usually from all unsealed areas: ventilation holes, from unused connectors on the back panel, even metal seams in the case. Positive air pressure is not cool enough, but if combined with dust filters (see below) there will be less dust because these holes and seams will expel air rather than suck it in.

Opinions about positive and negative pressure are mixed. Most people prefer a more balanced approach, leaning slightly towards negative air pressure or positive air pressure (for less dust), and we'd probably recommend something in the middle. In reality, the PC case is not that far from a sealed environment, so the difference will probably be negligible. If you see too much dust accumulation, move one of your output fans to the input position. If it's purely a temperature issue, check the CPU and GPU at minimum levels using the monitor software and try a few different configurations.

Dust: The Silent PC Killer

Even the most carefully built PC will accumulate dust from its environment, and if you live in particularly dry, dusty conditions (or you smoke, or have pets, etc.) you need to be very vigilant. Check your computer and remove dust regularly. More dust means less efficient cooling...not to mention how the case looks inside.

Every six months, or more often if you live in a particularly dusty area, open your computer and blow it with compressed air to get rid of any dust. If you haven't cleaned the inside of the case in a while, you may need to remove the fans from their mounting screws and clean the plastic blades as well.

To keep the case free of dust, install some kind of dust filters on the suction fans. Clean them with water and dry them completely every few months to keep the case free of dust (again, slightly positive air pressure can help here). Most cases come with a dust filter system, but if you need more, you can buy a good magnetic filter that comes in a variety of sizes. If you're desperate or thrifty, you can even make them yourself from old tights.

Water cooling

If you're looking for a water-cooled system that uses liquid convention to remove heat directly from the CPU or GPU to a heatsink, it's likely that you've already installed a fairly advanced model. But to complete the picture: water cools the components well but has minimal impact on the internal airflow of the case. A radiator and fan combo can be mounted on the front or bottom for intake, or rear or top mounted for exhaust, but this will be less efficient than a single fan.

If possible, mount the radiator and fan as exhaust fans. Putting them in the intake position will heat the air through the heatsink when it's installed in your PC, which essentially defeats the purpose of water-cooling the components in the first place.

After a six-month break, the author of the SpeedFan utility reminded himself by releasing 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 the status of S.M.A.R.T. parameters and temperatures for hard drives. Works with HDDs on EIDE, SATA and SCSI interfaces (most “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 virtually frozen. Works under Windows 9x, ME, NT, 2000, 2003, XP and Vista operating systems, as well as x64.

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The main highlight of the program is the adjustment of fan speed depending on conditions (for example, processor temperature), but again, with hardware support from the equipment. In addition, it can collect statistics on measured parameters and write information to a log file, draw graphs of changes in temperatures, voltages and fan speeds.

You are reading these lines now and hear a uniform, moderately loud noise from the cooler. You definitely hear, otherwise you wouldn’t be interested in this article. In fact, loud operation of the cooler in Linux is a fairly common problem among users who have recently switched from Windows. But he shouldn't make so much noise. In Windows, fan speed and many other parameters are controlled automatically depending on the load on the system and therefore the temperature of the equipment; here, out of the box, the fan always spins at full power, regardless of whether you are playing a heavy game, compiling a program, or just browsing the Internet. This needs to be fixed. In this manual, we will look at managing a Linux cooler and setting up automatic speed control depending on temperature.

In order to manage correctly and not burn anything, well, in fact, nothing will burn, the computer will simply reboot, but still... we need to know the temperature of the equipment at the moment. To take readings from any sensors on the motherboard, a set of lm_sensors programs is used. First, let's configure lm_sensors and then control the linux cooler.

Installing lm_sensors

This, one might say, is a system component, so it is in the repositories of all distributions.

For Ubuntu or Debian the installation command is as follows:

sudo apt-get install lm-sensors

For Fedora and RHEL:

sudo yim installlm-sensors

sudo emerge -av lm-sensors

Also for Gentoo the following features will need to be enabled in the kernel:

Device Drivers ->
-*- I2C support ->
<*>I2C device interface
<*>Hardware Monitoring support ->
//generally speaking, it is better to enable all hardware drivers and then see which ones will load and disable unnecessary ones.
[M] Intel Core/Core2/Atom temperature sensor (coretemp)

Don't forget to rebuild all packages with the lm_sensors flag

Setting up lm_sensors

Now we need to find and record information about all available sensors, to do this run:

sudo sensors-detect

# sensors-detect revision 6170 (2013-05-20 21:25:22 +0200)
# Board: ASUSTeK Computer

This program will help you determine which kernel modules you need
to load to use lm_sensors most effectively. It is generally safe
and recommended to accept the default answers to all questions,
unless you know what you're doing.

After running the command, you will need to press y successively to confirm scanning the next group of devices, then Enter:

Now follows a summary of the probes I have just done.
Just press ENTER to continue:

And then again y to save the assembled configuration to a file:

Do you want to overwrite /etc/conf.d/lm_sensors? Enter s to specify other file name?
(yes/NO/s):

sudo systemctl enable lm_sensors default

Let's launch:

sudo systemctl start lm_sensors

We can already look at the sensor readings:

It shows not only the temperature, but also the cooler speed, as well as the voltage. But this is not the main thing, we have information and we can move on to the next point.

Linux cooler management

Linux fan speed control is performed using the fancontrol service.

To install on Ubuntu:

sudo apt-get install fancontrol

sudo yum install fancontrol

After installation, we proceed to setting up automatic control of cooler speed. First, you need to programmatically associate each cooler with its corresponding temperature sensor, and set the acceptable temperature level. To do this, run:

pwmconfig revision 6166 (2013-05-01)
This program will search your sensors for pulse width modulation (pwm)
controls, and test each one to see if it controls a fan on
your motherboard. Note that many motherboards do not have pwm
circuitry installed, even if your sensor chip supports pwm.

We will attempt to briefly stop each fan using the pwm controls.
The program will attempt to restore each fan to full speed
after testing. However, it is ** very important ** that you
physically verify that the fans have been to full speed
after the program has completed.

First, the program will show the available fan drivers:

Found the following fan sensors:
hwmon1/device/fan1_input current speed: 3292 RPM
hwmon1/device/fan2_input current speed: 0 … skipping!
hwmon1/device/fan3_input current speed: 0 … skipping!

Warning!!! This program will stop your fans, one at a time,
for approximately 5 seconds each!!!
This may cause your processor temperature to rise!!!
If you don't want to do this hit control-C now!!!
Hit return to continue:

Here you see a warning that the Linux fans will be turned off for a while (5 seconds), as you read, press Enter. Next we will test the available cooler speeds:

Testing pwm control hwmon1/device/pwm1 …
hwmon1/device/fan1_input … speed was 3292 now 1051
It appears that fan hwmon1/device/fan1_input
is controlled by pwm hwmon1/device/pwm1
Would you like to generate a detailed correlation (y)? y
Note: If you had gnuplot installed, I could generate a graphical plot.
PWM 255 FAN 3276
PWM 240 FAN 3169
PWM 225 FAN 3026



Now select the temperature sensor for this cooler:

Devices:
hwmon0 is k10temp
hwmon1/device is it8712

Current temperature readings are as follows:
hwmon0/temp1_input 37
hwmon1/device/temp1_input 47
hwmon1/device/temp2_input 40
hwmon1/device/temp3_input -128

Select a temperature sensor as source for hwmon1/device/pwm3:

1) hwmon0/temp1_input
2) hwmon1/device/temp1_input
3) hwmon1/device/temp2_input
4) hwmon1/device/temp3_input
5) None (Do not affect this PWM output)

Now specify the temperature at which the Linux fan will spin at minimum speed:

Enter the low temperature (degree C)
below which the fan should spin at minimum speed (20): 45

Then the temperature at which you need to switch to maximum speed:

Enter the high temperature (degree C)
over which the fan should spin at maximum speed (60): 60

Enter the minimum PWM value (0-255)
at which the fan STOPS spinning (press t to test) (100):2

What pwm value to use if the temperature exceeds the minimum, in fact, this is the operating speed:

Enter the PWM value (0-2) to use when the temperature
is below the low temperature limit 100

Which value to use when the maximum temperature is exceeded:

Enter the PWM value (2-255) to use when the temperature
is over the high temperature limit (255): 255

Done now, all that remains is to configure other coolers in the same way, if you have several of them and can save them:

Select fan output to configure, or other action:
1) hwmon1/device/pwm3 3) Change INTERVAL 5) Save and quit
2) hwmon1/device/pwm1 4) Just quit 6) Show configuration
select (1-n): 5

Add fancontrol to startup:

sudo systemctl enable fancontrol

and let's start:

sudo systemctl start fancontrol

Do you feel it? silence... now fancontrol controls your coolers and there will be no more unnecessary noise.

Manual control of cooler speed

I've always wondered how to manually turn off the cooler. Looking ahead, I’ll say right away that nothing will burn, the temperature will simply rise smoothly. If fancontrol is running, stop it so as not to interfere:

sudo systemctl stop fancontrol

Let's look at the available devices:

$ ls /sys/class/hwmon/hwmon1/device/ | grep pwm

Here pwm1, pwm2.. are cooler files. We allow manual control of the Linux fan, for example, for pwm1:

root $ echo 1 >>_enable

Turn it on full:

root $ echo 255 >> /sys/class/hwmon/hwmon1/device/pwm1

And now to the minimum:

root $ echo 0 >> /sys/class/hwmon/hwmon1/device/pwm1

conclusions

Now you know enough and managing the cooler will not cause you any problems. You can stop your computer or laptop from making noise and disturbing your sleep at night. If you have any questions, write them in the comments!



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