Bob said:
Ok, so I enabled the Thing in the BIOS, A8S-X board.
Is software "required" for it to work properly?
I need to know exactly what to search for since the ASUS website is
really buggy and slow.
thanks
It appears that the original web page provided by Asus, is
no longer available. There used to be a simple graph and
a bit of text, describing how it works.
The actual implementation varies with motherboard. Some motherboards
rely on a BIOS routine to manage things. Some SuperI/O chips, like
some Winbonds, have a "cruise control" done in hardware, inside the
SuperI/O, and that can do the grunt work instead. In that case, the BIOS
code would no longer be needed - the BIOS could define the register values
and let the SuperI/O do its thing. The register values would get wiped,
if the user decided to run something like SpeedFan while in Windows
(as tools like SpeedFan, control the settings themselves).
There is an article here (and yes, the article is not in English, and
no, I cannot read it
):
http://www.overclockers.ru/lab/15697.shtml
This is the reviewer's idea of how Asus programs things, when
Q-fan is enabled. Basically, all the action centers on a
certain threshold temperature. You should be able to see
this, by starting something like Prime95 Torture Test. Get out
a tool that can display temperature versus time (like maybe one
of the several versions of Asus Probe), and see how the temperature
and fan speed vary. Note that the curve here, defines a "stop speed"
which is not zero. Which means the fan should have a "slowest speed"
that it adopts, until the temp rises high enough. Note that there
have been reports of Asus boards, where the CPU fan has actually
stopped. Whether this was intended, or was a programming mistake,
is a constant question with features like this (there is no harm,
because in that case, as soon as the CPU gets hot enough, the fan
starts spinning again). Since the motherboard manual doesn't seek to
clarify things, you can only guess at the details.
http://www.overclockers.ru/images/lab/2004/04/23/function_Qfan.png
The response can be complicated a bit, depending on whether the
fan used has its own temperature sensor. Some fans ramp their speed,
when the computer case air temperature rises past a certain level.
Then, you have the response of Q-fan, overlaid with how the fan works.
That could contribute, for example, to cases of stopped fans, rather
than the fan running at some minimal speed. (Temperature controlled
fans reduce their internal voltage, so you are seeing the effects
of two voltage reductions, cascaded.)
AFAIK, Q-fan does not observe the actual RPMs and do anything about
it. Q-fan observes temperature, and delivers a voltage to the fan,
in response to that temperature. The actual RPM value is not part
of the control algorithm.
No OS driver should need to be installed, for this to work.
HTH,
Paul
