Silent in BIOS. PC temperature control via BIOS

Useful tips

Good day, dear friends, readers, visitors and other individuals. Today we'll talk about the program SpeedFan, as is clear from the title.

I think that you all remember the article "", which told you a lot of useful information about heating the contents of your iron friend and a few words about how to deal with this heating, namely, for example, by or.

But what to do if everything is more than normal with temperatures, and the computer is buzzing like hell? The answer is simple: you need to somehow regulate the fan speed, because they are the cause of noise in most cases. Just how to do this will be discussed in this article.

Introductory information about computer cooler speed

Let's start with how the adjustment generally occurs, if it exists at all.

Initially, the rotation speed is determined and set based on the temperature readings and settings specified in.

The motherboard, in turn, does this by changing the voltage/resistance and other nuances, intelligently controlling the number of revolutions (RPM), based on the settings you specify, as well as the temperature of the computer components as such and inside the case in general.

However, not always, despite all sorts of smart adjustment technologies (Q-Fan and others like them), it clearly does its job, and therefore the knobs on , or work too hard (often this is what happens), which creates an illusory noise, or too little (rarely), which increases temperatures.

What should I do? There are at least three options:

Try to configure everything in the BIOS;
Use specialized programs;
Either physically tinker with something with the power supply (or by buying all sorts of rheobass and other physical devices).

The BIOS option is not always justified, because, firstly, such technology is not available everywhere, secondly, it is not nearly as intelligent as it seems, and thirdly, it may be necessary to change everything manually and on the fly.

Additional information on speed

Again, not all of them are plugged into the motherboard (this is especially true in the case of case-based ones), i.e. the BIOS does not know about their existence, and therefore cannot control them, i.e. they spin at full power, often idle and, again, increasing the overall noise level (about this, i.e. about the connection, see below in the text).

The option with a physical solution is quite... Cruel, because cutting the wires is inhumane, and this is more likely not a method of adjustment, but a forced reduction in characteristics, because, again, you can’t adjust according to your needs - you’ll be tortured by picking the wires every time.

You can, of course, buy a reobass (like the one below), to which you connect everything and enjoy life, but this, again, costs money, and reaching for the body every time you need to change the rotation speed can be lazy.

Therefore, in connection with the above, for many the option of using specialized programs will be relevant, fortunately they exist and they are free. In this article, I will talk about an old and very famous utility called SpeedFan.

How to reduce or increase the fan speed in a SpeedFan computer

You can download SpeedFan. Of course, the program is completely free, although it does not support the Russian language, but it doesn’t matter because, in general, everything is clear;)

The installation is extremely simple and I will not dwell on it, and therefore I will go straight to use.

When you first start it, a window like this may appear:

Feel free to click the “Do not show again” checkbox and click on the “Close” button.

Let's see what's what, both in the newer version of the SpeedFan program (it's in the screenshot above) and the older one (in the screenshot below). They differ slightly in the value labels, but the principle of operation is similar:

The "Cpu Usage" field and the indicators next to it show the current load and its . The "Minimize" and "Configure" buttons allow you to minimize the program or open its settings.

The "Automatic fan speed" checkbox enables automatic rotation adjustment. You can use it, but in general there is no point as such, otherwise why did you install this program at all if you were happy with everything as it is?

IMPORTANT ! The list of indicators does not necessarily refer to a particular cooler, as it is signed in the program! That is, if it is CPU or Fan1, it does not mean that this is the speed of the processor cooler, since it all depends on which socket the fan is connected to by the assembler (or you) directly on the motherboard and how correctly the program reads data about the this connector! Ideally, determine the speed by changing the value and looking into the open case.

Details on various regulators in SpeedFan

I’ll tell you what is what in the case of the rotation speed indicator (measured in RPM, i.e. in the number of revolutions per minute):

SysFan (Fan1) - shows the rotation speed of the fan (I mean the fan) connected to the SysFan socket on the motherboard. This can be either a cooler installed on the chipset, or any other one simply plugged into this connector (all connectors on the motherboard are labeled accordingly);
CPU0 Fan (Fan2) - shows the rotation speed of the rotary knob on the processor, i.e. the fan plugged into the CPU_Fan connector on the motherboard;
Aux0 Fan (Fan3), - tells about the current rotation speed of the fan connected to the AUX0 connector;
CPU1 Fan (Fan4), - similar to CPU0, but only if you have a second processor or cooler connector labeled CPU1_Fan;
Aux1 Fan (Fan5) - similar to Aux0, i.e. shows the rotation speed for the cooler plugged into the AUX1_Fan connector;
PWR Fan (Fan6) - it happens that the rotation speed of the cooler installed is indicated here (not always), or simply the speed of the fan that is plugged into the PWR_Fan connector on the board there.

Let me note once again that each parameter here corresponds to motherboard connector and almost any cooler can be plugged into any of them and then its indicator will be displayed in the corresponding column.

Naturally, it should be plugged into the motherboard through a small 3-pin connector, and not powered from the power supply. To make it clearer, let me show you a photo.

Cooler connectors and their photos

The correct connector and the correct socket (the socket in the picture is 4-pin, and the connector is 3-pin) so that you can watch and adjust the rotation speed:

“Wrong” connector, i.e. power supply from the power supply, which does not allow (see note above) to monitor and, often, change the rotation speed using a program, BIOS or anything else:

You mean, if during assembly you have some of the coolers (for example, case coolers) powered from the power supply by the connector shown above, then I recommend getting into the computer and plugging them into the motherboard so that you can control the fans as you please.

To the right of the above values, as I already said, temperatures are indicated. Personally, for me, they are not filmed accurately and adequately enough, and therefore I recommend using analogues like or and drawing conclusions based on them.

And now the best part. Below, opposite each inscription Speed01-06 (or in later versions of the program it can be Pwm1-3, Pwm1-3), there are arrows, by clicking on which we can adjust the rotation speed of a particular fan. Actually, that's what we need. Try to play with them, moving them up and down and you will see how quieter/louder your computer can work.

By the way, to understand which graph regulates the speed of which cooler, just watch the change in RPM values. Naturally, it is not recommended to turn off the fans completely, so as not to burn something and, of course, it is necessary to simultaneously look at the temperatures when adjusting the values.

Disable/enable automatic speed control in BIOS

Depending on the type of motherboard, version and type of its BIOS and other factors, the program may not work if adjustment is enabled or disabled in the BIOS automatically or based on specified templates.

Therefore, it is possible that if you encounter problems with the program and it works (or does not work), or you want to entrust control to the motherboard, you may need to enable or disable the adjustment system built into the BIOS. Approximately, depending on the version, it is done like this:

That is, Q-Fan in the Enable position enables automatic control based on the specified parameters in the BIOS, and Disable disables this parameter. Depending on the BIOS type, as you can see in the screenshots above, this parameter may be located on different tabs and look different. It is also possible that you need to switch the CPU Fan Profile from Auto to Manual or vice versa.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to consider all the variations, but one way or another, this tab is necessarily present on any computer (except, perhaps, laptops) and you can find it there. In particular, it is not always called Q-Fan, it could be something like CPU Fan Contol, Fan Monitor and similar.

In a nutshell, something like this. Let's move on to the afterword.

Afterword

Something like this. I won’t talk about all sorts of deep settings and other tabs within the framework of this article, since they are not particularly needed. The remaining tabs are responsible for overclocking, information and other useful data (more on that later).

As part of the next article in this series, I told in detail how to adjust the speed, because they have their own BIOS and fan, powered not from the motherboard or power supply, but from the card itself, and therefore it will not be possible to control them through SpeedFan or the motherboard.

As always, if you have any questions, thoughts, additions, comments, etc., please feel free to comment on this post.

Today we will look at:

The temperature of all components is a very important factor if you want your computer or laptop to work properly for a long time. You can control fans in various ways, one of which is by adjusting the cooler in the BIOS.

In this topic we will talk about how to configure fans in a computer via BIOS and what opportunities this shell provides for this.

Preface

Why might you need manual fan control? First of all, this is what we said in the introduction: setting up the optimal cooling system for a PC. However, in addition to this, performing these steps can be useful if you need, say, to reduce the amount of noise emitted by coolers.

We will not talk about the various downloadable utilities or tools built into Windows. We will leave this material for subsequent topics. Today we will exclusively touch on the BIOS capabilities for adjusting coolers. We will consider this topic using the example of BIOS American Megatrends. In other versions of this shell, this procedure is performed in a similar way.

Cooler management

Adjusting the cooler in the BIOS is extremely easy. First of all, you need to enter the BIOS itself. On our website you can find many topics where we talked about BIOS and how to enter this shell on different devices.

Once in the BIOS (in our case, in the AMI BIOS), go to the “Power” category. In other versions, this tab may be called “Hardware Monitor”.

On this page you will see information about the operation of the processor fan, and you can also configure its operation.
In addition to the fact that here you can view the current temperature of the central processor and motherboard, you can also see the current fan speed (rpm) and the voltage received by the fans.

The cooler is adjusted in the BIOS through the “CPU Fan Profile” item, in which, as a rule, 3 modes are available:

turbo – maximum energy consumption and maximum speed;
standard – optimal mode;
quiet – adjust the fan for maximum silent operation.

Having selected the mode, exit the BIOS, having first saved all the changes made. The next time you start the PC, you will see that the coolers have started working in accordance with the specified mode.

Bottom line

As you can see, setting up the cooling system in a computer via BIOS is a very simple process and accessible to everyone. If you follow the instructions described above and do not change other parameters, then in this way you will protect your computer from breakdowns, and the temperature of the working parts will be at an acceptable level. Write in the comments below this article how you regulate the cooling system inside the system unit and what tools you use for these purposes.

It is no secret that as the speed of computers increases, the level of heat generated by system components also increases: the motherboard chipset heats up, the central processor gets seriously hot (at high load the temperature of the processor core can reach 90-110 °C), and the graphics card does not lag behind the central processor in terms of heat generation. The video card processor and even power supplies began to get very hot as power increased. Therefore, all components require increasingly powerful and large cooling fans, which can be very noisy. However, some of the problems associated with increased system noise can be solved using software and even BIOS settings. For example, modern processors and operating systems automatically reduce power consumption during idle periods to help cool devices, but they rarely reduce the speed of noisy fans.

Smart Fan Control

In most modern computers, fans can be controlled through the basic input/output system (BIOS). The easiest way is to change the settings in the BIOS for turning fans on and off depending on the temperature (if, of course, there is such an option).

Some BIOS systems have in the menu (PC Health Status section) some function such as Smart CPU Fan Temperature, CPU Smart Fan Control, or even Noise Control. It is enough to enable this function, and the noise from the fans will only bother you at boot time (usually, regardless of the temperature set in Smart Fan Control, the processor fan runs at full power for a few seconds when you turn on the computer, and then slows down) or in those rare moments when you will really load your computer with some complex operations.

After enabling this option, during operation the processor fan will increase speed only when the temperature rises, and when there is no load, it will decrease (the fan may even turn off altogether).

Note that the Smart Fan Control function of smooth automatic fan speed control usually works reliably only on those fans that are equipped with a fourth control wire. In addition, the presence of CPU Smart Fan Control sometimes depends on the processor being installed. By the way, this function is usually not enabled by default, so in any case you will have to configure it manually (the settings are usually limited to enabling this function and/or setting critical temperatures).

Of course, reducing the fan speed will inevitably lead to an increase in the temperature inside the system unit, but as long as the processor, hard drive and other components operate within the permissible temperature range (check with your equipment supplier), nothing threatens the hardware. Safe operating temperatures are approximately 70°C for processors and 55°C for hard drives. The maximum permissible operating temperature for Intel processors can be found on the company's website (for example, for Pentium 4 processors - http://www.intel.com/support/processors/pentium4/sb/CS-007999.htm). For AMD processors, you can check the Case Temp setting on the Technical Documents Page(). Let us remind you that for a specific processor, stable operating temperatures may vary. The maximum temperature for the hard drive can be found on the website of the relevant supplier.

Noise reduction technologies in Intel Core 2 Duo

Intel's new multi-core processors (including Core 2 Duo) have relatively low power consumption and, as a result, generate less heat. This feature can be used in different ways: either to overclock the system, or, conversely, to reduce the noise from the cooling system.

Setting up the BIOS in motherboards for Core 2 Duo (for example, on the i975X chipset) is simple - it consists of activating additional functions such as Intel SpeedStep (reducing power consumption when the processor is idle), and AI Quiet technology (intelligent fan control to reduce noise ).

In silent mode (Silent mode) in a computer with a conventional cooling system, even after several hours, the processor temperature does not rise above 35-40 °C, and in a system with passive cooling, the processor heats up to 50-55 °C. The temperature of hard drives rarely exceeds 40-45 °C, and the temperature in the case is set at 35-40 °C. These are very good results for modern computers, taking into account the fact that during truly silent operation, air circulation in the case is very weak.

Cool'n'Quiet technology from AMD

AMD's Cool'n'Quiet technology is Intel's answer to long-standing problems with heat and noise generated by cooling systems. The new technology, designed to reduce power consumption and, accordingly, reduce the level of noise produced by the cooling system, has found its application in all modern chipsets for motherboards designed for AMD processors. The processor fan and other cooling system fans connected to the motherboard will increase speed only when the temperature rises, and if there is no load, they may turn off altogether.

Let us remind you that AMD platforms are usually also equipped with D.O.T. technology. (Dynamic Overclocking Technology) with a maximum automated overclocking of 10%.

We also note that each manufacturer of chipsets and motherboards for a particular platform introduces its own additional technologies to support such solutions to reduce noise from computers.

Multifunctional CoreCell technology from MSI

AMD's strategic partner, motherboard manufacturer MSI, has developed its own functions to support the AMD Cool'n'Quiet solution.

MSI motherboards use the original multi-functional CoreCell technology. The CoreCell Chip includes four components: Speedster (technology that allows flexible BIOS configuration), BuzzFree (technology that allows you to reduce system noise by automatically adjusting fan speed), PowerPro (power management technology that can reduce power consumption) and LifePro (technology that maximizes extending the life of the motherboard, processor and cooling fans by constantly monitoring their condition).

Speedster technology gives the user the ability to flexibly adjust BIOS settings during overclocking, including asynchronous FSB and memory frequency mode, the ability to increase the voltage supplied to memory in 0.05 V increments to tune it, as well as the voltage supplied to the processor core with minimum step of 0.0125 V.

BuzzFree technology is designed to check the current system load, its temperature and change the rotation speed of the cooling system fans in accordance with the state of the system. Thanks to BuzzFree, the noise level produced by the system is significantly reduced (by 10-50%), and the annoying whirring of fans practically does not bother users. We also note that BuzzFree improves the quality of playback of audio and video files. This technology is coordinated with Cool’n’Quiet technology from AMD.

PowerPro technology extends the lifespan of your motherboard and fans by keeping them in optimal condition. This system also monitors the load level of the motherboard in order to avoid exposure to negative factors that could lead to a system crash.

PowerPro is a flexible system power management solution that reduces power consumption by up to 67%, ensures stability and increases performance.

LifePro technology also increases system reliability by maintaining the most favorable state of the entire system and its components. LifePro monitors all operations, which prevents system failure and increases the life of the motherboard, central processor and other components.

For the AMD Dual Core platform, MSI has implemented Dual CoreCell, a feature-rich technology similar to CoreCell, but for AM2 motherboards based on dual-core processors.

MSI Dual CoreCell is a software development from MSI that provides hardware monitoring, overclocking and cooling system management.

Compared to CoreCell technology, Dual CoreCell is focused not only on improving performance, but also on improving the user experience of the system. It includes four sections: performance level, quietness level, and picture and sound quality, providing the user with a work environment that suits him.

SilentTek - noise reduction technology from AOpen

Almost all motherboard manufacturers are engaged in developments in the field of noise reduction. For example, the AOpen company, in addition to increasing the performance and functionality of motherboards, pays a lot of attention to the ergonomics of its devices, even if these are cheap solutions. To reduce the noise level from a running computer, special means are used that allow you to adjust the fan speed depending on the temperature and limit the maximum rotation speed of the optical drive so that it also produces less noise.

The original development of AOpen engineers is called SilentTek - this function is built into the BIOS and also has a special proprietary management utility for Windows.

SilentTek manages features such as Hardware-Status Monitoring, Overheat Warning and Fan Speed Control. With SilentTek you can achieve the optimal balance between noise, performance and system stability.

When using a computer at home, the SilentBIOS technology built into the BIOS, as well as support for software control of the rotation speed of all fans, can be an invaluable advantage, allowing you to minimize system noise directly during operation.

The proprietary SilentTek utility from AOpen allows you to monitor in real time the operating parameters of various PC components (voltage, temperature, etc.), and also has a set of special features with which you can choose the best ratio between noise (fan speeds) and cooling motherboard, processor and power supply.

Instead of a conclusion

We have not identified any shortcomings in the operation of these systems, but it is worth keeping in mind that these technologies are still relatively new and therefore may well have some roughness in their operation until the BIOS versions that support them are fully debugged.

But even if there is no such function in the BIOS (or it is not open in the settings menu), you can achieve relative silence using some special program. For example, you can note the free program SpeedFan (http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php), which has a large database of modern motherboards, reads temperature sensors, and then changes the fan speed taking into account temperature indicators (the SpeedFan program you found on our CD-ROM).

However, for such a program to work, the following conditions must be met: the readings of the hardware temperature sensors must be readable by the program (that is, the program must “know” your motherboard), the computer hardware must be able to change the fan speed, and, finally, the user will have to independently configure program and monitor the progress of its operation (at least find out the safe temperature range at which certain computer components will not fail).

The cooling system is one of the most important mechanisms of any PC, but many users often do not even realize that most of the problems in their computer occur due to overheating of various devices. To avoid such troubles, it is better to configure the cooler in the BIOS in advance.

What does this affect?

The cooling system of modern computers has an extremely simple and uncomplicated design, which, in essence, is fans (coolers) installed inside the system unit. Such fans are placed near all the most important mechanisms that can overheat during operation - the processor, video card and power supply.

Since the BIOS can only configure the video card and other devices in the most primitive way, many may notice that from time to time they get too hot during operation, and this is often the cause of malfunctioning of the cooling system. It is worth noting that the reasons can be very diverse, ranging from improper operation of coolers to their banal clogging, as a result of which the devices cannot operate normally, causing overheating of the rest of the equipment. To eliminate the first cause of this problem, you have to configure the coolers yourself so that they work at full capacity and provide the required air flow.

If you don’t want to deal with BIOS settings, you can download the Speed Fun program, which also allows you to control the operation of coolers.

How to configure them?

There is nothing difficult about setting up coolers through the BIOS. This is done as follows:

It happens that some users write that they are using the “outdated” BIOS mode. Few people know what this problem is, since it occurs mainly among people using the operating system Windows 10 on relatively older motherboard models. To get rid of it, change the motherboard or simply go back to an earlier version of this operating system.