970M Pro3 Arctic Freezer 11 fan speed

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   Have upgraded my PC to an AMD FX8300 on Asrock 970M Pro3 and am finding the fan speed on my Arctic Freezer 11 is too high when idling.

On my old rig, the fan ran at about 1,000 rpm (MSI mobo), but the min speed on this system is 1,666 rpm. I've got Target Fan Speed set at Level 1 and Target CPU Temp. at 50 centigrade for both CPU Fan and Chassis Fan.

The idle CPU temp is currently 34 centigrade, M/B Temp 33 centigrade.

I guess the board is just supplying too much voltage to the fan, is there a way I can further reduce this through the motherboard settings in BIOS?

Other alternatives I've come across:

Install SpeedFan
Add a resistor into the circuit to reduce voltage
Buy a new fan!

Thanks,

Tim

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TimButterworth Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 31 Dec 2016 Status: Offline Points: 9	Post Options Post Reply Quote TimButterworth Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: 970M Pro3 Arctic Freezer 11 fan speed Posted: 31 Dec 2016 at 5:04am
	Have upgraded my PC to an AMD FX8300 on Asrock 970M Pro3 and am finding the fan speed on my Arctic Freezer 11 is too high when idling. On my old rig, the fan ran at about 1,000 rpm (MSI mobo), but the min speed on this system is 1,666 rpm. I've got Target Fan Speed set at Level 1 and Target CPU Temp. at 50 centigrade for both CPU Fan and Chassis Fan. The idle CPU temp is currently 34 centigrade, M/B Temp 33 centigrade. I guess the board is just supplying too much voltage to the fan, is there a way I can further reduce this through the motherboard settings in BIOS? Other alternatives I've come across: Install SpeedFan Add a resistor into the circuit to reduce voltage Buy a new fan! Thanks, Tim

Xaltar Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Joined: 16 May 2015 Location: Europe Status: Offline Points: 25028	Post Options Post Reply Quote Xaltar Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 31 Dec 2016 at 5:27am
	Make sure you have your CPU fan connected to the right header on the board. I have highlighted the correct header in red. If you are connected to the CHA_FAN1 (which is where many motherboards have the CPU header) then obviously if you adjust CPU_FAN1 it would have no effect.


TimButterworth Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 31 Dec 2016 Status: Offline Points: 9	Post Options Post Reply Quote TimButterworth Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 31 Dec 2016 at 7:10am
	Yes, that's the header the fan is attached to. If I change the Level settings, the Idle speed progresses from 1,666 rpm in steps up to about 2,000 rpm which is the fan's max speed. I'm guessing the fan is designed to work with something like 7v increasing to 12v, but the mobo is offering a range of something more like 10v to 12v. Problem is, running the CPU at 100% when encoding video, I need to get to the 2000 rpm limit to stop the CPU exceeding the happy temperature zone for extended periods on hot days. That means no resistor in the circuit. And from what I've read, it looks like Speedfan isn't great on ASrock motherboards. So, I guess it's either put up with the (admittedly not too loud) noise or get a different cooler. It's just annoying because at 1,000 rpm the fan was pretty much silent. MSI's fan control utility gave a much wider range and more granular control than AXTU on the 970M Pro3, next time I'll go back to MSI.

parsec Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Joined: 04 May 2015 Location: USA Status: Offline Points: 4996	Post Options Post Reply Quote parsec Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 31 Dec 2016 at 3:12pm
	Do you have a Custom option setting for the CPU_FAN header? I've seen that option in another ASRock board that has their older fan speed control configuration, as you described. If so, you enter a number between 0 and 256, which sets the minimum fan speed. You could try the latest BIOS version for your board, in case it has that option. Did your MSI board cost as much as this budget ASRock board?


TimButterworth Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 31 Dec 2016 Status: Offline Points: 9	Post Options Post Reply Quote TimButterworth Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 01 Jan 2017 at 10:39pm
	The MSI one was a budget one, cheeper than this board. FM1 socket. Interestingly, Arctic have brought out a cooler specifically to address the problem of many motherboards not allowing low fan speeds - the Freezer a32 switches off the fan when the CPU is below 40 centigrade. To be honest, this isn't really a problem. The PC can't be heard unless the room is otherwise silent. I just enjoy solving this sort of problem (and is why I buy budget systems). I could have spent twice as much on new kit by better manufacturers, but where's the challenge in that?

Xaltar Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Joined: 16 May 2015 Location: Europe Status: Offline Points: 25028	Post Options Post Reply Quote Xaltar Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 01 Jan 2017 at 11:02pm
	I am sure you mean higher end products rather than better manufacturers For the most part, once you get into the enthusiast segment there isn't really much between the different manufacturers and it tends to come down to price/features. What attracted me to ASRock is the fact that they address pretty much all the market segments very well. From the most budget oriented products all the way through to the enthusiast Extreme, Fatal1ty and OC Formula product lines. I have often found in the past that other manufacturers tend to excel in one segment but fail to impress at others. ASRock is fairly consistent across all segments so I always know what I can expect at a particular price point. The reality is that any top 5 or so manufacturer today is no better or worse than it's competition with regards to quality in the mid - high end market, it comes down to features, gimmicks, marketing and, perhaps most importantly, brand loyalty. Brand loyalty is earned by a users particular experiences with a manufacturer and can vary wildly with some users having bad luck with a product another user swears by.


TimButterworth Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 31 Dec 2016 Status: Offline Points: 9	Post Options Post Reply Quote TimButterworth Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 02 Jan 2017 at 12:30am
	True, some of the higher end Asrock boards look really good, whereas some of the cheaper boards by supposedly better manufacturers are rubbish. My first home build was a cheap Gigabyte mobo and was very unstable. I really like the 970m Pro3 so far, apart from the cooling fan issue - but that may well just be with this particular fan. It's the only mATX AM3+ mobo in this segment that has USB 3 header, 4 RAM slots and allowed me to put in a double height graphics card without covering spare PCI-E slots. Total cost of upgrade was a little over £170 for moving from 5 year old quad CPU to an old technology but otherwise brand new octo core CPU for ripping my extensive DVD and Blu-ray collection. A similar recoding speed from Intel would have cost a lot more. Also finally I can play Diablo 3 on max settings!

Xaltar Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Joined: 16 May 2015 Location: Europe Status: Offline Points: 25028	Post Options Post Reply Quote Xaltar Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 02 Jan 2017 at 12:42am
	The 970m Pro3 offers quite a lot for it's price tag. The main issues are common across all manufacturers and stem from the rather dated platform more so than any oversight on the part of motherboard designers. The FX 8k series are still more than up to the task when it comes to multi-threaded apps and gaming


TimButterworth Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 31 Dec 2016 Status: Offline Points: 9	Post Options Post Reply Quote TimButterworth Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 04 Jan 2017 at 7:31pm
	So, I've installed an Arctic Freezer a32 (£27 on Amazon), which is the one where the fan doesn't come on under low temperatures. Idling temp is 35-40 centigrade with fan off. Light load takes it up to about 40-50 centigrade, still with the fan off. Under increasing load the CPU gets above my "target temperature", which is set at 50 centigrade. The fan then comes on full speed until the temperature comes down to about 5 degrees below the target temperature, at which point the fan switches off. 100% load has the fan on full and the temp at 45-50 centigrade most of the time, with the temperature of the CPU never exceeding 55 centigrade. The fan is very quiet even at full speed. So, whilst I'm still not properly getting variable fan speeds, and I imagine the fan may come on more often in the summer, I've got a system that's now very quiet under light load (which is what I want for media) and pretty quiet under full load too. Problem solved! Edited by TimButterworth - 04 Jan 2017 at 7:34pm

TimButterworth Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 31 Dec 2016 Status: Offline Points: 9	Post Options Post Reply Quote TimButterworth Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 07 Jan 2017 at 2:16am
	Final update for anyone else who find themselves with the same mobo... After some testing, turns out the temp when idling slowly crept up to the target temp, which turned the a32's fan on and then the system cooled down. The fan switched off and temps crept up again. Repeat. On medium load, the temp quickly rose, started the fan, which quickly cooled the CPU down and then the fan switched off. Repeat again. On high load, the CPU didn't get cool enough for the fan to switch off. I don't know if repeatedly and quickly heating / cooling the CPU by 10 to 15 degrees every few minutes is likely to reduce the lifespan of the CPU or fan, but decided not to experiment. I increased the fan setting to Level 4, which means the fan now comes on once the system has warmed up and stays on all the time. However, the speed of the fan is now correctly variable at this speed. Idle temp about 37 centigrade, fan at ~ 850 rpm. Anything above idle, temp increases to a temp of between 43-47 centigrade (depending on load) with the fan at ~ 1000 rpm. That is with a target of 50 centigrade. If I set the target to 45 centigrade, the full load temp comes down a few degrees but the fan runs at max ~ 1400 rpm. The fan is really quiet at 1000 rpm or lower, so I'm happy with that. Note: I have a Fractal 1500 mATX case with SSD, 2 x HDD, R7 360 and Xonar Audio card, so it's quite warm and cramped in there. For some users, the idle temp may never get high enough to switch on the fan.