Win 10 & fan control

[ca4014]

Greetings, one and all.

Just got my new computer, custom build (can't claim to have built it myself, I'm afraid), couldn't be happier.

Well, actually, I could be slightly happier.

In BIOS, I can set the fan speeds for quiet operation, and it's quiet as a whisper but when Windows starts they all run at full speed, and it is an unholy DIN!

Asus Z170M-Plus
i7 4.2Ghz
Perhaps worthy of note that the BIOS had to be updated to make it work with the processor.
32Gb Kingston RAM DDR4 2133Mhz
Asus GTX1060 3Gb

Clean install of Windows, updates and drivers since it's a new build.

Any ideas? Appreciated.

 

[Jwpanz]

Are your fans PWM?

 

[ca4014]

Oops, should have mentioned that the CPU fan is PWM, case fans are DC.

 

[Jwpanz]

Non-PWM fans will run at stock-speed no matter what you tell them to do. They may just be running at top speed all the time.

 

[ca4014]

They slow down and run quietly in BIOS before Windows starts up, though.

 

[Jwpanz]

You said you updated your BIOS, correct?

 

[ca4014]

Yep, the fella who built it for me took it to his supplier, who is an agent for Asus. I know it was done because the motherboard wouldn't even complete POST prior to the update, wouldn't load BIOS, far less Windows.

 

[ca4014]

Oh and I tried SpeedFan (or is it FanSpeed? I'm not at home right now). No joy.

 

[Nigel Spike]

Did you set the case fans to DC in BIOS? I believe PWM is the default BIOS setting.

See page 2-11 in your motherboard manual.
http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA1151/Z170M-PLUS/E10768__Z170M-PLUS_UM_WEB.pdf

Nigel

 

[ca4014]

Thanks Nigel. I did indeed configure these settings in BIOS; DC and PWM accordingly, and in BIOS it works but once Windows starts they ramp up to full speed. Got to be Windows at fault, surely?

 

[ca4014]

Progress. CPUID HWMON says AUXTIN3 is fluctuating between 97-98°C. A quick Google suggests that this is the PSU temp. Would that cause chassis and/ or CPU fans to run full speed, and if this is the case, does anyone know how I can override/ get the system to ignore it?

Incidentally my case & CPU Temps are all mid-high 20's - low 30's with the system idling, so no other cause for concern.

 

[ca4014]

Sorry, that was a lie: got that info from SpeedFan 4.52, not HWMON

 

[Nigel Spike]

Have you tried ASUS software Fan Xpert 3? I use it on my ASUS Z97-A board, and it handles my fans perfectly.

Nigel

 

[ca4014]

Yep. Made no difference selecting various modes, fans just run (and run..!)

 

[Nigel Spike]

Only thing I have left to suggest is checking if your fans are controllable at all. The slower speed in BIOS may be cased by the BIOS itself restricting the fan voltage unrelated to temp, as long are you don't leave the BIOS. (Only guessing here.)

I notice you never mentioned make and model of the fans, nor of your case.

Nigel

 

[ca4014]

Update. It may be my graphics card that's misbehaving; I stopped 2 of the 3 case fans in turn by hand and the processor (!) Just for a second! No appreciable difference in noise. The remaining case fan is a Noctua, I'm not suspicious. Graphics card I couldn't get to; it's a very cramped mATX build.

According to Windows I have the most up-to-date driver; is this reliable?

It's a nuisance being at work just now, but a colleague advised me to go to the Nvidia website to re-check my driver is up-to-date and to download MSI Afterburner. Regardless of brand name, apparently it will control the fans on the GPU.

Thoughts?

 

[ca4014]

Sorry Nigel, didn't see your reply.

Bitfenix Prodigy M case,
Intake fans: Bitfenix fans top & bottom (definitely not the source of the noise)
Noctua CPU and exhaust fans.

The CPU fan is PWM, the others aren't. But if the BIOS can control their speed directly or indirectly, shouldn't Windows also be able to?

In any case, as I said above, my suspicion is growing with regard to the graphics card. I'll try Nvidia for a driver update tomorrow and MSI Afterburner, and remain open to suggestions in the meantime.

 

[Nigel Spike]

It seems like the standard fans in your case have a fixed speed, the way I read the specs.
https://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/products/accessories/spectre#specs

At least this review claims it to be those fans. https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Bitfenix/Prodigy_M/4.html.

That however would not explain why they should rev up once Windows is started, so I'm looking forward to your findings.

Nigel

 

[ca4014]

OK. Not the case fans at all. Fan Xpert 3 does indeed control them just fine, I just couldn't hear them ramp up & down over the din of my graphics card. For definite.

Disabling the driver in Device Manager instantly cured the noise problem.

Downloaded latest driver, racket starts up again, MSI Afterburner not having any effect.

Scratching my head, thought I had it cracked just then.

 

[Nigel Spike]

Just tried MSI Afterburner with my Nvidia GTX 970 and it works fine. My GPU fans doesn't move until 60´C, so I set it to full speed in Afterburner and they immediately went to max (= 3000 RPM). Good luck.

Nigel

 

[ca4014]

Think I've got a faulty graphics card, or a software problem?

 

[DigitalHamster]

Hey!
My two cents is to first check the temperature of the GPU.
If its really hot (75c +) then you have an overheating problem!

Another clue can be the type of noise the fan is making.
If its a blower cooler, you should hear a 'whoosh' sound and lots of air coming out the back.
If the noise is more grindy and does not sound mechanically healthy, it would appear the fan is faulty.

For the other axial coolers, it is different. They really shouldn't make a din even at maximum speeds.
Again, if the noise is grindy and unhealthy, a faulty fan is to blame.

I wish you good luck!

 

[ca4014]

Okay folks, it's a good job I'm thick-skinned, otherwise I might be embarrassed.

A friend came round to lend a hand and discovered a cable fouling the blades of one of the GPU fans. The other fan must have been working overtime to compensate. Obstruction cleared, it now runs like a dream. So it was a rather low-tech solution in the end!

Thanks for your help everyone.

 

[neo_morak]

Okay folks, it's a good job I'm thick-skinned, otherwise I might be embarrassed.

A friend came round to lend a hand and discovered a cable fouling the blades of one of the GPU fans. The other fan must have been working overtime to compensate. Obstruction cleared, it now runs like a dream. So it was a rather low-tech solution in the end!

Thanks for your help everyone.

Hey! Finally!!! Thanks !
I was searching for almost 30 minutes (one hour counting many reboot and drivers install) a solution on the internet, many many topics with that problem, and I finally got rid of mine!

Your friend is a genius haha I checked under my graphic card, and TADAAA, there was the power cable blocking one of the 3 fans of the card. I didn't think of that because it was just slightly touching it (hard to see).

Anyway, great answer, I'm sure many should check that first before doing things with bios and drivers ^^

Thanks

 

[lemonpuff]

Okay folks, it's a good job I'm thick-skinned, otherwise I might be embarrassed.

A friend came round to lend a hand and discovered a cable fouling the blades of one of the GPU fans. The other fan must have been working overtime to compensate. Obstruction cleared, it now runs like a dream. So it was a rather low-tech solution in the end!

Thanks for your help everyone.

Hey everyone, necro-ing this because we'd been scratching our heads for 4 hours+ (Googling, trying every fan control software out there) and it turned out to be the GPU fan caught in a cable. I can't tell you how much this helped us.