A8R32-MVP Fan Control Question

[Operandi]

Question to all the Asus A8R32-MVP users out there?

What type of BIOS fan controls dose this board feature? Typically Asus boards have Q-Fan or Q-Fan2 (differences??) which seem to control two fan headers the CPU, and northbridge header with just two basic settings high and low.

However I've been told the A8R32-MVP only has control over the CPU fan header. Can anyone shed some light on this?

 

[Aries64]

Originally posted by: Operandi
Question to all the Asus A8R32-MVP users out there?

What type of BIOS fan controls dose this board feature? Typically Asus boards have Q-Fan or Q-Fan2 (differences??) which seem to control two fan headers the CPU, and northbridge header with just two basic settings high and low.

However I've been told the A8R32-MVP only has control over the CPU fan header. Can anyone shed some light on this?

You've pretty much got the gist of the way Q-Fan works on the A8R32-MVP - except that the A8R32-MVP can control both the CPUFan and ChassisFan when Q-Fan is enabled. Both headers have speed sensors, so you can choose to monitor the individual fan speeds or "Ignore" them through PC Probe II.

You can set the "CPUFan Start Temperature" (default is 5C), the "CPUFan Full Speed Temperature" (the default is 45C), and the "CPUFan Start PWM" temperature the default is 55C). All three can be set with with a value between 0-100.

You can set the "ChassisFan Off" (default is 0C), the "ChassisFan Start Temperature" (default is 25C), the "ChassisFan Full Speed Temperature" (default is 45C), and the "ChassisFan Start PWM" (default is 40C) with a value between 0-100.

There is a third 3-pin fan header (fan speed monitoring) on the mobo called "PowerFan". While you can choose to monitor or "Ignore" the fan speed (assuming you have a fan with a speed-sensing rotor hooked up to it) the PowerFan is not controlled by the Q-Fan program, so you cannot choose any "Start", "On", or "Off" temperatures.

Unfortunately, my Q-Fan has ceased to work now that I have updated my BIOS to 0404. You can set the target temps that you want in the BIOS settings, but when you click "Save and Exit BIOS" it will not preserve the values you have entered and saved. It also doesn't work with "Cool n' Quiet" enables eith.

Q-Fan worked flawlessly with 0311. My 120mm L1BX is bugging me running at full speed (1,785 RPM) all the time. I tried flashing back to 0311 and the board won't let me flash back to an earlier BIOS.

Hope this helps. Good night for now.

 

[Operandi]

Yes that's very helpful, thanks. :thumbsup:

I'm working on a "recommended motherboard) thread in the SPCR forums so I'll be sure to use this information. I'm glad to hear the board can control the chassis fan as well as the CPU fan header. The detailed settings for various temp thresholds looks great too.

A few questions; what is the difference between "CPUFan Start Temperature" and "CPUFan Start PWM", it sounds like they do the same thing? Have you tried SpeedFan on the board?, it could be a temporary solution to the new BIOS issue.

 

[Aries64]

Originally posted by: Operandi
Yes that's very helpful, thanks. :thumbsup:

I'm working on a "recommended motherboard) thread in the SPCR forums so I'll be sure to use this information. I'm glad to hear the board can control the chassis fan as well as the CPU fan header. The detailed settings for various temp thresholds looks great too.

A few questions; what is the difference between "CPUFan Start Temperature" and "CPUFan Start PWM", it sounds like they do the same thing? Have you tried SpeedFan on the board?, it could be a temporary solution to the new BIOS issue.

From what I can tell, the "CPUFan Start Temperature" and "CPUFan Start PWM" are not the same thing. The "CPUFan Start Temperature" is the temp at which the CPU Fan turns on (begins to spin). The default is 5C, so on an air-cooled system it starts as soon as you power the system on. I'm not really sure what the "CPUFan Start PWM" does, but I believe it is tied-in to the way Q-Fan operates in conjuction with Cool N' Quiet.

Unfortunately, I never tested this theory, but BIOS 0311 worked great for me, as I was able to run Cool N' Quiet without issue, but usually I just ran the system at full speed. I had been running an XP-90/92mm Panaflo L1BX combo. The L1BX ran between 1300-1554 RPM between idle and full load.

Then I switched over to an SI-120/120mm Panaflo L1BX while still running BIOS 0311. Strangely, the 120mm Panaflo L1BX still spun at about 1,300 RPM at idle (I would have thought that the size advantage the 120mm has over the 92mm would have allowed the 120 a greater RPM delta over the 92mm fan). I really wish BIOS 0404's Q-Fan worked properly for me, as my 120mm L1BX seems to cool nearly the same at about 1,400 RPM compared to full-speed, which is approximately 1,785 RPM. Why have the fan spin at full speed when it doesn't need to, you know?

I tried SpeedFan, but I couldn't get the (CPU) fan to speed up at Temp2 and Temp3 - the CPU fan stayed at the low fan speed setting I have assigned it, letting my CPU heat up more. I didn't like that, so I have decided to wait for another BIOS revision, and hopefully that will solve my Q-Fan issues.

So, for a re-cap, after my update to BIOS 0404, now:

(a) Q-Fan does not work
(b) Cool N' Quiet does not work
(c) I cannot change the default values from what they are in Q-Fan.
(d) BIOS 0404 is pissing me off because of items a-c

 

[PSUPef2k]

Just out of curiosity, what are you guys getting for your Motherboard/CPU temps (via speedfan or asus PC probe?

Stock with A8R32-MVP & Opteron 170 was:

IDLE:
CPU-32C
MB - 35C

LOAD
CPU-45C
MB-38C

OC'd to 2.5ghz is:

IDLE:
CPU - 35C
MB - 38C-40C

LOAD:
CPU - 48C
MB - 42C-43C

Are these temps normal, or on the high side? My case has a mesh side panel and I was thinking about snapping a 120MM fan on it somehow to bring more air into the case. Thoughts on these temps?

 

[Aries64]

Originally posted by: PSUPef2k
Just out of curiosity, what are you guys getting for your Motherboard/CPU temps (via speedfan or asus PC probe?

Stock with A8R32-MVP & Opteron 170 was:

IDLE:
CPU-32C
MB - 35C

LOAD
CPU-45C
MB-38C

OC'd to 2.5ghz is:

IDLE:
CPU - 35C
MB - 38C-40C

LOAD:
CPU - 48C
MB - 42C-43C

Are these temps normal, or on the high side? My case has a mesh side panel and I was thinking about snapping a 120MM fan on it somehow to bring more air into the case. Thoughts on these temps?

Load temps seem OK, but not stellar. How is the airflow inside your case? Do you have the wires and cables tied-up and/or folded out of the way to enhance airflow, or are there areas where heat pockets? Getting more air inside the case won't help if the airflow inside the case is poor.

Positive pressure inside the case is good, but as long as the air can move about freely inside the case, if you have decent exhaust flow to expel the heat I wouldn't worry about adding another intake fan. That might create more noise than the extra air is worth.

Using ASUS PC Probe II:

IDLE:
CPU - 40-41C
MB - 40C

LOAD:
CPU - 49C
MB - 43C

System is run at 2,925MHz (225x13). Cool N' Quiet and Q-Fan are disabled.

 

[PSUPef2k]

Originally posted by: Aries64

Load temps seem OK, but not stellar. How is the airflow inside your case? Do you have the wires and cables tied-up and/or folded out of the way to enhance airflow, or are there areas where heat pockets? Getting more air inside the case won't help if the airflow inside the case is poor.

Positive pressure inside the case is good, but as long as the air can move about freely inside the case, if you have decent exhaust flow to expel the heat I wouldn't worry about adding another intake fan. That might create more noise than the extra air is worth.

Using ASUS PC Probe II:

IDLE:
CPU - 40-41C
MB - 40C

LOAD:
CPU - 49C
MB - 43C

System is run at 2,925MHz (225x13). Cool N' Quiet and Q-Fan are disabled.

Well, I have the Gigabyte 3d Aurora if that helps.

Case airflow is as follows:

1 intake in the front bottom of the case. It brings air in thru the front grill, across the hard drives, and into the system right at the video card. I have a mesh side panel which allows air in the side. 2 rear 120mm exhaust fans and the powersupply fan. So I only have 1 in, 3 out. Do you think a 120mm fan on the side to bring more air in would help balance the pressure out? I am not sure how much cool air gets from the front of the case to the motherboard because it 1st crosses the HD's which are hot, only to get to the video card which is hotter.

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: Aries64

Originally posted by: Operandi
Yes that's very helpful, thanks. :thumbsup:

I'm working on a "recommended motherboard) thread in the SPCR forums so I'll be sure to use this information. I'm glad to hear the board can control the chassis fan as well as the CPU fan header. The detailed settings for various temp thresholds looks great too.

A few questions; what is the difference between "CPUFan Start Temperature" and "CPUFan Start PWM", it sounds like they do the same thing? Have you tried SpeedFan on the board?, it could be a temporary solution to the new BIOS issue.

From what I can tell, the "CPUFan Start Temperature" and "CPUFan Start PWM" are not the same thing. The "CPUFan Start Temperature" is the temp at which the CPU Fan turns on (begins to spin). The default is 5C, so on an air-cooled system it starts as soon as you power the system on. I'm not really sure what the "CPUFan Start PWM" does, but I believe it is tied-in to the way Q-Fan operates in conjuction with Cool N' Quiet.

Unfortunately, I never tested this theory, but BIOS 0311 worked great for me, as I was able to run Cool N' Quiet without issue, but usually I just ran the system at full speed. I had been running an XP-90/92mm Panaflo L1BX combo. The L1BX ran between 1300-1554 RPM between idle and full load.

Then I switched over to an SI-120/120mm Panaflo L1BX while still running BIOS 0311. Strangely, the 120mm Panaflo L1BX still spun at about 1,300 RPM at idle (I would have thought that the size advantage the 120mm has over the 92mm would have allowed the 120 a greater RPM delta over the 92mm fan). I really wish BIOS 0404's Q-Fan worked properly for me, as my 120mm L1BX seems to cool nearly the same at about 1,400 RPM compared to full-speed, which is approximately 1,785 RPM. Why have the fan spin at full speed when it doesn't need to, you know?

I tried SpeedFan, but I couldn't get the (CPU) fan to speed up at Temp2 and Temp3 - the CPU fan stayed at the low fan speed setting I have assigned it, letting my CPU heat up more. I didn't like that, so I have decided to wait for another BIOS revision, and hopefully that will solve my Q-Fan issues.

So, for a re-cap, after my update to BIOS 0404, now:

(a) Q-Fan does not work
(b) Cool N' Quiet does not work
(c) I cannot change the default values from what they are in Q-Fan.
(d) BIOS 0404 is pissing me off because of items a-c

Forgot about this thread, whoops .

I guess that?s the price you sometimes pay for cutting edge tech. Hopefully Asus gets the BIOS issues figured out soon.

SpeedFan has lots of fields you can play with in the advanced settings that might allow you to control the fans if you want to give it another shot.

Thanks for the info Aries64, it's been helpful.