SmartFan, Cool 'n Quiet, and my 9NPA+ Ultra

[archcommus]

I have the board in the title with Cool 'n Quiet enabled (well actually, Auto, Auto and Disabled are the only options in the BIOS, I'm assuming Auto is enabled). However, the fan was still running pretty fast (4000+ RPM) even when idle, keeping my temps well below 40 C. Then I found the SmartFan option in the BIOS, and set the temperature on that to 45 C. There isn't much description of what this is in the manual. Does this just set like a target temperature? That's what it seems to do, because after I set that it started lowering the speed of the fan until the temperature started to raise near 45 C, at which time it stop slowing it down, and now it's actually still barely above 40 C, which is great, at only about 2000 RPM.

So does this SmartFan thing do what I think it does? And is it in any way related to Cool 'n Quiet?

 

[archcommus]

Bump.

 

[archcommus]

Bump again.

 

[furballi]

It probably varies the CPU's fan output voltage based on a specific temperature sensor on the motherboard. Some Abit boards have a similar feature that will vary the voltage from 8V to 12V, depending on the CPU temp or case temp.

 

[archcommus]

So is it a good thing to set or no?

What would Cool 'n Quiet be accomplishing otherwise?

 

[GadgetBuilder]

I'm not familiar with your board but many NF4 boards incorporate the IT8712F chip to monitor temps and control fans. A simple way to check whether your board uses the 8712 is to run SpeedFan and look at the list of things it finds on the ISA buss.

The 8712 chip includes "SmartGuardian" which can (if enabled) ramp the fan speed up based on temperature. In BIOS the user can typically set the lower and upper temperature limits, etc.

The chip spec: http://www.ite.com.tw/product_info/file/pc/IT8712F_V0.8.2.pdf

SmartGuardian will normally run the fan at some minimal speed when the temp is below the low limit and ramp the fan up as temperature rises until the fan is full on when the temp exceeds the upper limit.

SpeedFan can also be set to control the fan speeds if you have an 8712 and will ramp the fan speed similarly. SpeedFan also provides graphs of fan speed (and other variables) vs time for the last 25 minutes -- makes it easy to see if things are working as you expect, whether SpeedFan or SmartGuardian is doing the fan control.

Fan speed control is mostly about reducing noise so it is worth some effort to get it right if the fan noise is bothersome.

Cool n Quiet senses when the processor is idling and sets the clock speed down and also lowers the core voltage. This combination drops the power dissipated by the CPU. With lower power comes lower temperature if fan speed is constant; the fan control will lower the fan's speed and so the temp remains near your setpoint.

In my system CnQ drops the CPU temp by 6C if the fan is kept constant; with SpeedFan in control the temp stays within 1C or so of the setpoint. Check Vcore's chart in SpeedFan to see whether it varies with processor load when CnQ is on.

(No connection to SpeedFan, just a happy user)
http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php

 

[archcommus]

Thanks for the info.

SmartFan seems to be working well, then, hopefully. I have it set to 45 C, and at idle my CPU fan is spinning at a very quiet 1700 RPM, with my CPU temp still barely above 40 C. When I game or do something else intensive, it gets faster to compensate for the extra heat. Pretty cool.