ASUS X99 Fan Control

[Dar_BB]

I have a define R5 case and replaced the DC case fans with Silent Wings 3 PWM fans. The goal was to make the system quieter, which it is now with the new fans. I have a SilentLoop 280 mm as well, which are also PWM BeQuiet fans. However, I am having trouble getting the control right. The ASUS motherboard (X99a-II) has quite a few features, but I am having trouble getting it right. All of my connections are set right.

I first tried controlling the fans with QFan in the BIOS, but I was unable to set the speeds low enough. These fans should go down to 300 RPM. I then tried Fan xPert 4, which is part of ASUS AISuite 3 package. It did a better job of controlling the fans, and even shuts them off, when the temps are cool enough. Furthermore, it is much faster to tune. Was careful not to run the 5-way optimizer. However, I still find that QFan and Fan XPert are conflicting. The fans some times ramp up for no reason, and clicking on 'Standard' on the Fan Xpert screen controller sets it back. I think QFan is interfering but I am not sure.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can disable QFan? Or what may be causing the fans to spin up. When I had AISuite unintalled, it was not happening.

 

[Lutfij]

1| Have you made sure your motherboard BIOS is up to date?
2| You should also make sure you're on the latest revision of Asus's fan software suite.
3| It'd shine some light if we knew of your full system's specs inclusive of your OS.
4| Try going into BIOS and disable QFan for that particular header and see if the results vary.

 

[Dar_BB]

Yes, BIOS is up to date and I am using the latest versions of the software, as I just downloaded them. I found a way to disable QFAN by disabling each FAN in the BIOS. I thought you needed to leave these as PWM, so that AI Suite "knows" that these are PWM fans. However, after I turned these off, the FAN XPert was working fine and I have now fine-tuned them. In Fan XPert there is no way to distinguish between DC and PWM. Maybe the I/O controller detects this? I am not sure, but it appears to be working well.

Finally, I have the water pump plugged into the CPU_OPT connection? Should it connect here or into the W_PUMP socket. It is a a 3-pin connector and the BeQuiet system does not have a USB connection like the corsair products. I think it uses AlphaCool components, but I am not sure. The BeQuiet! manuals are some of the worst I have come across in a long time. They just say "plug" into motherboard. From the reading that I have done, the water pump should be left at full or near full voltage. It should not be adjusted for CPU temperature like the fans. With the CPU OPT is is running around 2200 RPM, but nothing in the manual says if this is right. I guess my next step would be to plug into the PUMP and set a profile to 100%. Would this warn me if the pump fails?

Here is my system:
CPU: 6800K
Mainboard: ASUS X99A-II
Memory: Vengence LPX 8GB x 4
O/S: Win 10 Pro
HDD/SSD: 2xWD Blue 2 TB, 1-850 Evo SSD, 1 M.2 Intel 600p
Case: Fractal Design R5
PSU: BeQuiet: Dark Power Pro 11 650W
CPU Cooler: BeQuiet 280mm Silent Loop
Case Fans: 2 x BeQuiet Silent Wings 3, PWM, 1000 RPM max.

 

[Lutfij]

Ah I was going to cover that topic, the BeQuiet!'s AIO is actually a unit made by Alphacool and is almost identical to Fractal's kelvin series. The pump header can go onto the W_Pump header or even the CPU_FAN header. You could also pick up a fan splitter like this and have them all plugged onto the CPU_FAN header.

If the fan header should be left at full voltage then the fan header you plug should be set in BIOS to operate at full speed/rpm. I must ask though, where is this source material that states for full pump speeds?

If the pump fails then in BIOS you'll get a warning that a fan failed(that it's connected to). In simpler terms you'll see your system shut off after it reaches ~100Deg C.

It actually seems like the problem with the fans and the header's has been solved...?

 

[Dar_BB]

It does not mention anything about pump speeds or voltages in the manual. I think I read this for detail of the other products, so it may not apply here. I take it from what you saying, the pump does not need to run "at full speed". Since the documentation is so poor, it is good to get some insight. The two fans are running off a splitter already, and the manual warns about supplying enough power to the pump. ON this MoBo, I don't see the need for a three way splitter--unless there is a benefit.

I tried putting the water pump into the "water pump" fitting and it worked too. I will have to say that the AI Suite software is buggy, and each time it scans the system, different RPM-% curves are produced. Sometimes the yaxis is RPM other times %. I think that QFan was doing the same, but I only ran the scan a couple of times. The fans should go down to 300 RPM, but currently they won't get that low (on my current scan). At one time, when the pump was on CPU_OPT, it did all kinds of strange things and set the CPU fan and pump to zero during a stress test. I sort of panicked and shut the system down since the CPU was heating up fast--meaning I never could figure out why it was happening. My last CPU on this system failed after two weeks, so I guess I am being cautious. That being said, I am having trouble getting confidence in the software, which is maybe limited by the hardware; I don't know. In any event, it am done fiddling and will get on with using the computer. The cooling system keeps the computer cool and it is not very loud. If I encounter problems again, I will go back to QFAN. Fiddling with the curves is much more convenient live in Fan XPert.

Thanks for your help and we can close this off.

 

[Lutfij]

You're welcome and Thank YOU for awarding my post as the Best Answer.

Yeah, sticking to one app will do you better and keeping an eye on your temps will also help. In case the pump fails, you will know what to do, i.e slap on an air cooler for the time being and proceed with RMA.

You sure you want me to close this thread?