Changing CPU Cooler speeds when motherboard won't support it

[Ali Tauseef]

Well I've been running on high temperatures for quite a while, my intel stock cooler seems to run very quite (bios says 600 rpm) which is not enough cooling at all. I tried changing it with SpeedFan but it didn't work.
So I was thinking of getting an aftermarket cooler, but I realized the speeds on that would be controlled my the motherboard as well, so is there any other way to change the fan speeds with an aftermarket cooler? Was planning on the Cryorig H7, or will I have to look for another motherboard? I plan to switch to an entirely new PC soon but that'll take a while

 

[zero_l0gic]

change the stock cooler, to change the speed of fans if your MBO doesnt support use a fan controller
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/9f6BD3/nzxt-fan-controller-sentry2

 

[Paperdoc]

I have never heard of a mobo that can NOT control the speed of its CPU cooler, so something does not add up.

My first question is: why do you say the temperature is too high? Do you know what it really should be? Many current CPU chips run much hotter than older ones.

My second question is, how do you know the temperature inside your CPU is too high? If you are using Speedfan for that, the reading may be quite wrong. Many such third-party utilities need calibration settings to give you correct information. You should have TWO more reliable alternatives to try first. In fact, if Speedfan also is how you know what the fan speed is, even that MIGHT not be correct.

1. After your machine is warmed up and you get this existing indication of CPU high temperature, reboot the machine and go immediately into BIOS Setup, Go to where you can see the system temperatures and adjust your fan controls. Look at what THAT display says your CPU temperature is. It is very reliable. Also note the fan speed reading. IF it confirms that your CPU temp is too high and the fan speed is low, examine the configuration settings for your CPU_FAN header. I should be set to a "Normal" setting to allow it to control the CPU fan speed automatically. If it is set to a fixed slow or "Quiet" setting, change that to let the mobo do its job. If you change anything here, remember to SAVE and EXIT.

2. Check the CD of drivers and utilities that came with your mobo. VERY often the mobo maker includes on it an application you can install and run under Windows that can show you temperatures, fan speeds, and many other items while you are running normally, instead of only in BIOS Setup. This would allow you to check the real CPU temp any time as your workload changes.

Oh, a last point. Some fans (I doubt yours, but maybe) come with a tiny little piece that you can insert into the connector of the fan called a "Low Noise Adapter" or some such. It forces the fan to run slower so that it is quieter, BUT that means of course that it limits how much cooling the fan does. IF you have one of those installed in the CPU fan wiring, remove it.

 

[Ali Tauseef]

I have never heard of a mobo that can NOT control the speed of its CPU cooler, so something does not add up.

My first question is: why do you say the temperature is too high? Do you know what it really should be? Many current CPU chips run much hotter than older ones.

Because they never drop below 65c at idle and peak to 96c as soon as I start a game or a video render. Absurd since I haven't even overclocked, which I planned to.

My second question is, how do you know the temperature inside your CPU is too high? If you are using Speedfan for that, the reading may be quite wrong. Many such third-party utilities need calibration settings to give you correct information. You should have TWO more reliable alternatives to try first. In fact, if Speedfan also is how you know what the fan speed is, even that MIGHT not be correct.

I didn't use Speedfan to monitor the temperatures neither do I rely on it for that purpose, just tried changing fan speeds with it. My main source for checking temperatures is Speccy, but I also have HWMonitor for more detailed information, and yes they all give the temperatures that I mentioned above.

1. After your machine is warmed up and you get this existing indication of CPU high temperature, reboot the machine and go immediately into BIOS Setup, Go to where you can see the system temperatures and adjust your fan controls. Look at what THAT display says your CPU temperature is. It is very reliable. Also note the fan speed reading. IF it confirms that your CPU temp is too high and the fan speed is low, examine the configuration settings for your CPU_FAN header. I should be set to a "Normal" setting to allow it to control the CPU fan speed automatically. If it is set to a fixed slow or "Quiet" setting, change that to let the mobo do its job. If you change anything here, remember to SAVE and EXIT.

Well, sadly it also doesn't seem to provide CPU temperatures, just the CPU core temperature which is at 98c all the time, whether I restart from load or just start it after putting to rest for hours. And yes, this might confuse you as the cpu fan reading says 2600 rpm but I can confirm to you that it's incorrect since the fan is extremely quiet.
And I've looked through the BIOS thoroughly and already told you that it gives me no option whatsoever to control my fan speeds in any way. Here's some screenshots to tell you how it looks in there:

. Check the CD of drivers and utilities that came with your mobo. VERY often the mobo maker includes on it an application you can install and run under Windows that can show you temperatures, fan speeds, and many other items while you are running normally, instead of only in BIOS Setup. This would allow you to check the real CPU temp any time as your workload changes.

Well I hate to break this but I bought this PC pre-built and no boxes or accessories came with, so I'm not able to do that.

Oh, a last point. Some fans (I doubt yours, but maybe) come with a tiny little piece that you can insert into the connector of the fan called a "Low Noise Adapter" or some such. It forces the fan to run slower so that it is quieter, BUT that means of course that it limits how much cooling the fan does. IF you have one of those installed in the CPU fan wiring, remove it.

Well I could try that, but all the stock cooler really has is the 3 pin connector for running the fan. I don't know where exactly I'm supposed to find it in case it exists, could you hint that?

ps. the motherboard is Intel DH55TC
p.p.s I've recently cleaned the insides of the PC, the cpu fan and re-applied my mx-4 thermal paste

 

[jsmithepa]

Modern Mobo let you control the CURVE of the cooling. Even older Mobos have setting for HIGH PERFORMANCE/STANDARD/QUIET, with Performance mode, running the fan sooner/faster. Be sure you are running the Mobo's supply utilities. Always consult the manual, the answer maybe right there.

Am surprised Speedfan doesn't work, it suppose to give you control to whatever u want, bypassing Mobo.

 

[Ali Tauseef]

Modern Mobo let you control the CURVE of the cooling. Even older Mobos have setting for HIGH PERFORMANCE/STANDARD/QUIET, with Performance mode, running the fan sooner/faster. Be sure you are running the Mobo's supply utilities. Always consult the manual, the answer maybe right there.

Am surprised Speedfan doesn't work, it suppose to give you control to whatever u want, bypassing Mobo.

Well no I'm sure that this is how Intel's BIOS really is which is unbelievable looking at the lack of control they give you.

Surprising it only seemed to change the readings at not actually increase the speeds.

Well I guess switching to a new motherboard will be a solution, looking to get an Asus P7H55-m soon

 

[Paperdoc]

I looked at the Intel site for a user manual on that mobo, and BOY! I can sympathize with your frustration trying to figure this out. There is nothing in there about how to configure this, except to say it can be done in BIOS Setup, OR by using Intel Desktop Utilities which I cannot find! The ONLY idea I got from that is, in some way, due to missing info. MOST mobos (not stated at all for this one) use DIFFERENT temperature sensors to guide the CPU_FAN and SYS_FAN headers. The CPU_FAN header, normally the one closest to the CPU socket, is guided by the sensor inside the CPU chip. The SYS_FAN header is guided instead by a sensor on the mobo somewhere. The Intel manual seems to say that it really does not matter where you plug in what, which I find odd. Is there any chance that your CPU fan is plugged into the wrong mobo header and thus being guided by the wrong sensor?

 

[Ali Tauseef]

I looked at the Intel site for a user manual on that mobo, and BOY! I can sympathize with your frustration trying to figure this out. There is nothing in there about how to configure this, except to say it can be done in BIOS Setup, OR by using Intel Desktop Utilities which I cannot find!

Yeah exactly ;D I got an i5 760 before this and that behaved the same way so I thought the problem was with the chip, now I have this and it runs the same way, I've been confused for so long but I guess it was the cooling problem after all.
Too bad the i3 540 I had before ran perfectly on this motherboard and cooling, even pushed it to 3.6 ghz it was stable.
Also about the Intel Desktop Utilities, I tried that software back then and I can't even remember if it had any option to change fan speeds. for some reason, it's not available on Intel's on website anymore, weird.

MOST mobos (not stated at all for this one) use DIFFERENT temperature sensors to guide the CPU_FAN and SYS_FAN headers. The CPU_FAN header, normally the one closest to the CPU socket, is guided by the sensor inside the CPU chip. The SYS_FAN header is guided instead by a sensor on the mobo somewhere. The Intel manual seems to say that it really does not matter where you plug in what, which I find odd. Is there any chance that your CPU fan is plugged into the wrong mobo header and thus being guided by the wrong sensor?

Nope, I'm 100% sure that I've plugged it in the CPU_FAN header, always look out for stuff like that.

 

[Paperdoc]

Sorry, I don't have any more ideas to contribute. I do find the lack of fan configuration options on that system odd, and the fixed low fan speed is weird, too.

 

[Ali Tauseef]

Sorry, I don't have any more ideas to contribute. I do find the lack of fan configuration options on that system odd, and the fixed low fan speed is weird, too.

You don't have to know everything, I guess it's clear that Intel didn't care about giving control to users in their lower end motherboards back then, I'll be switching to a new one soon.
Your help is appreciated!

 

[Paperdoc]

Thanks for your kind words and Best Solution.