Built-in Case Fan Controller - Override Case Auto Speed

[PhoenixKsE]

Okay, this is a bit long winded and possibly a strange request... bear with me please.

I have a Mean:IT 5PM LUM case, which came with a built-in fan controller (it has 6 ports for fans, all are currently being used). I also have an AIO Water Cooler (Captain 240EX, in case that matters) with two 4-pin fan connectors. The controller is plugged into the CPU fan port on the motherboard. There are 4 case fans (came with the case) plugged into the other slots, these are all 3-pin. On the controller itself, there is another port that is connected to three buttons on the top of the case (Off, Low, and High/Auto). It also has a DC/PWM switch. This is set to PWM currently.

I noticed last night that my CAM software (and also SpeedFan software, when I was trying to use that instead of CAM) was not controlling the fan speed as it should have been, and my CPU was up at around 65 degrees on a 42% load. Seemed a bit high for water cooling.

So today, I pulled off the block, cleaned off the paste (that was originally installed from the factory on the block) from it and the CPU, and replaced it with Arctic Silver 5 paste. This has helped the temps, but that's really beside the point. It is just worth noting that the sub-par paste could have been causing the high temps.

Now my main question is this: how can I override the case's Off/Low/High/Auto settings and force the controller to use my custom settings from CAM (or SpeedFan)? Is this even possible with this stock fan controller, or do I need to get an aftermarket one?

 

[Aeacus]

NZXT CAM software doesn't control fan speeds that are connected directly to the MoBo or via PWM hub. Though, NZXT CAM can report fan speeds that are connected directly to the MoBo.

Only fans that NZXT CAM can control are rad fans on NZXT Kraken series AIOs and/or when you use NZXT GRID+ V2 PWM hub.

As far as SpeedFan goes, SpeedFan can't control CPU_FAN header. Though, SpeedFan can control other fan headers on MoBo (e.g SYS_FAN).

Since your PWM fan hub is connected to the CPU_FAN header, you need to go to the BIOS and set a custom fan curve for CPU_FAN header. If you run your PWM fan hub in PWM mode then all connected fans will follow your custom fan curve.

If you want to gain control over your PWM hub via SpeedFan then you need to unplug the PWM wire from CPU_FAN header and connect it to SYS_FAN header.

 

[Sohom]

A little more information would be helpful...
Whats your cpu?
How much temperature difference did you get with the arctic silver 5?
whats the fan setup in your case?
Are the fans on the AIO cooler radiators properly aligned in the right direction?
Which fans are you using?
I would ask you get the MX4 or the cooler master mastergel nano which i personally use and recommend. Deepcool AIO's are not the best but not the worst either....

 

[PhoenixKsE]

NZXT CAM software doesn't control fan speeds that are connected directly to the MoBo or via PWM hub. Though, NZXT CAM can report fan speeds that are connected directly to the MoBo.

Only fans that NZXT CAM can control are rad fans on NZXT Kraken series AIOs and/or when you use NZXT GRID+ V2 PWM hub.

As far as SpeedFan goes, SpeedFan can't control CPU_FAN header. Though, SpeedFan can control other fan headers on MoBo (e.g SYS_FAN).

Since your PWM fan hub is connected to the CPU_FAN header, you need to go to the BIOS and set a custom fan curve for CPU_FAN header. If you run your PWM fan hub in PWM mode then all connected fans will follow your custom fan curve.

If you want to gain control over your PWM hub via SpeedFan then you need to unplug the PWM wire from CPU_FAN header and connect it to SYS_FAN header.

So it turns out that SpeedFan doesn't even report the proper CPU temps... Turns out it already was overriding the case's settings, without me having to go into the BIOS (my BIOS doesn't have a custom curve setting... it just allows you to set a target temp and speed), but when the CPU was actually at 45 degrees and climbing during benchmarks, SpeedFan still reported it was at 39 degrees and therefore wasn't starting its curve. Even when other CPU temp programs were showing the CPU temp at 50-60 degrees, SpeedFan was still sitting at 39. I messed around with every possible combination of temperature reading settings in SpeedFan, but it still would not take a correct temp. Oddly enough, the Core 0-4 temps in SpeedFan were showing fairly accurate temps, but there is no way to take an average of these and use *that* temp to trigger SpeedFan's curve...

So this entire thread is now moot. Thanks for your answer though! This was definitely something I did not know. Anyway, for now, I have the BIOS using its "custom" fan settings (target temp of 46 degrees and target speed of 4 -- fans remain pretty silent until the CPU temp jumps up to around 55, then they kick up to cool it back down).

For the other response:

CPU is an i5-3550 3.3GHz, currently running at 4.0 GHz

Temp differences after cleaning off factory paste and using Arctic Silver: about a 5-8 degree difference at idle, 10-15 degree difference at light loads, and a whopping 20-25 degree difference at high loads.

3 stock (came with the case) fans in front, pulling in, one stock fan in back, pushing out. Stock fans on radiator (came with the radiator) are indeed facing the right direction. PSU is shrouded, and has its own airflow that does not affect the rest of the case.

Thanks for the video link, but that has nothing to do with my cooler.


Thanks guys!