Question Does the Corsair Commander Pro override bios fan settings?

[evensteven33]

Does the commander pro override the bios setting when it comes to fan speed? i've heard you can control fans through the link software, can i for example make all my fans stand still with the commander pro? I want a silent system, and being able to keep fan speed at low when idle would help a lot.

And would my mobo get mad if i put all 6 of my fans in the commander pro? Can i put any fan into the commander pro, and control it, fully?

I have the b450-d mobo, 4 LL rgb fans and two ML140 pro fans.

 

[Lutfij]

If you want your fans to stand still while the system is running, why do you have fans in the first place? Might as well not connect the power leads to the fans to achieve silence but that would hamper your temps.

 

[evensteven33]

If you want your fans to stand still while the system is running, why do you have fans in the first place? Might as well not connect the power leads to the fans to achieve silence but that would hamper your temps.

The good thing about being able to control the fans is so they can start up once you give it a load, by creating some fan curves through the link software. And for running small tasks or idle a fan or two will do it for enough flow, eliminating lots of noise, without having to disconnect them.

 

[Paperdoc]

Quick answer is yes.

All mobos these days come with at least two separate temperature control systems that manipulate fan speeds to keep components cool. There is always one that is devoted to cooling the CPU chip, and it uses a temperature sensor built into that chip by its maker. Then there is at least one system for cooling the entire case, based on a sensor built into the mobo. SOME mobos even have a few extra sensors IF you want to concentrate a fan on one mobo component. There also will be some cooling system built into any video card you add, but that is NOT managed by the mobo.

Normally each of those cooling systems has at least four options you can choose. By default they will start up with a pre-programmed "curve" of fan speed versus measured temperature and a target temperature for the sensor in use. This will manipulate the fan speed according to measured temperature always, with no interference from you. A second option is to let you specify a new fan "curve" to do the same work, but at different speed/temperature settings. A third option is to run the fan full speed always for max cooling, and the last is to run it at a fixed lower speed for less noise AND less cooling. In addition, these systems also monitor the fan for FAILURE, based on the fan speed signal returned to the mobo header. Virtually none of these automatic controls allow you to stop the fan, although you may be able to achieve that with some custom fan "curve" settings. But that's a bad idea - in almost all cases, running the fan at its lowest practical speed (i.e, without risking fan stall) at low temps is VERY quiet.

There are many third party accessory suppliers who sell Fan Control systems that take over this function so that you do not use the mobo's systems to manage cooling. Often they have additional features able to handle many fan types, maybe also RGB lighting systems, maybe easier interfaces for users to monitor and adjust, etc. Many of these use a cable connection to a mobo USB2 port and their own proprietary software utility you download and install. The software communicates with the Hub via the USB cable, and the Hub usually gets all the electrical power for its functions from a direct connection to a n output from the PSU, rather than from a mobo fan header. The Corsair Commander Pro is such a device, and the top of their controller line. When you use it, normally you would connect all your fans - CPU and case cooling - to it, and use the Corsair iCUE software to do all cooling management. If you do that, your mobo's cooling systems in BIOS are not used at all, and iCUE becomes the way you observe and adjust all cooling. The Commander Pro also includes two channels for controlling ADDR RGB lighting in some of the Corsair fans. If you have more than two such lighting devices, you can get a RGB LED Hub from Corsair that can expand one of the Commander's output channels to six RGB devices.