Best source/setup for controlling fan speed?

[ShadyHost]

Hey all,

I have a custom loop with the following:

• 2x 360 rads
• 9x total Noctua fans all wired up to a 10-port powered PWM splitter 
• A Hydro X pump from Corsair
• A Corsair Commander Pro
• 2x coolant temp sensors (more on that later)
• 2x air temp sensors (more details later)
   

A while back I created this thread: Alternatives to Corsair Commander Pro for coolant temp-based fan control?

 

I've been tinkering with "FanControl" from GitHub and it's been fantastic. The issue I'm running into now is that any time my room temperature changes, my fan speeds get a little wonky and it's usually too high for what temp my GPU is running at. My question is: what is the most optimal setup for controlling fan speed with inputs for coolant temp, air temp, and gpu/cpu temp?

My loop is as follows:

1. Pump/res
2. Coolant Temp Sensor 1
3. GPU
4. Coolant Temp Sensor 2
5. Radiator 1 (top, exhaust)
6. CPU
7. Radiator 2 (front, intake)
8. Pump (same as #1, completing the loop)

The air temp sensors:

• 1 sensor inside the case measuring how warm it gets
• 1 sensor outside the case (sticking out the front) to see how cool the air is coming in

At the moment I am averaging the coolant temp sensor readouts, averaging the air temp sensor readouts, and also adding in the GPU temp offset by -25c. Then I'm taking those values and averaging them together, then averaging that number over 60 seconds to avoid my fans jumping around if I hit a spike in-game. I've tried increasing the 60 avg to 120, 240, 300 etc but all that does it delay the fans ramping into full tilt, or at least higher than I think they should be running at. 

 

 

 

Fan curves are nothing fancy. Mostly triggers based on GPU temp and coolant temp to keep my pump running quickly when it sees a load, or when I quit a game it keeps running until the coolant temp reaches a certain point. 
Here's a full screenshot of my setup:

 

 

Any advice is appreciated. I have been running fans based on coolant temp alone (but with a single coolant temp sensor) for years and in my most recent rebuild I added more sensors for fun. I also ditched my 3rd 360 rad because maintenance was a nightmare and I also re-pasted my card and actually saw the temps drop haha. 

Bonus dirty pic of my rig (ignore the dust, please)
 

[FI Fheonix]

1 hour ago, ShadyHost said:

Hey all,

I have a custom loop with the following:

• 2x 360 rads
• 9x total Noctua fans all wired up to a 10-port powered PWM splitter 
• A Hydro X pump from Corsair
• A Corsair Commander Pro
• 2x coolant temp sensors (more on that later)
• 2x air temp sensors (more details later)
   

A while back I created this thread: Alternatives to Corsair Commander Pro for coolant temp-based fan control?

 

I've been tinkering with "FanControl" from GitHub and it's been fantastic. The issue I'm running into now is that any time my room temperature changes, my fan speeds get a little wonky and it's usually too high for what temp my GPU is running at. My question is: what is the most optimal setup for controlling fan speed with inputs for coolant temp, air temp, and gpu/cpu temp?

My loop is as follows:

1. Pump/res
2. Coolant Temp Sensor 1
3. GPU
4. Coolant Temp Sensor 2
5. Radiator 1 (top, exhaust)
6. CPU
7. Radiator 2 (front, intake)
8. Pump (same as #1, completing the loop)

The air temp sensors:

• 1 sensor inside the case measuring how warm it gets
• 1 sensor outside the case (sticking out the front) to see how cool the air is coming in

At the moment I am averaging the coolant temp sensor readouts, averaging the air temp sensor readouts, and also adding in the GPU temp offset by -25c. Then I'm taking those values and averaging them together, then averaging that number over 60 seconds to avoid my fans jumping around if I hit a spike in-game. I've tried increasing the 60 avg to 120, 240, 300 etc but all that does it delay the fans ramping into full tilt, or at least higher than I think they should be running at. 

 

 

 

Fan curves are nothing fancy. Mostly triggers based on GPU temp and coolant temp to keep my pump running quickly when it sees a load, or when I quit a game it keeps running until the coolant temp reaches a certain point. 
Here's a full screenshot of my setup:

 

 

Any advice is appreciated. I have been running fans based on coolant temp alone (but with a single coolant temp sensor) for years and in my most recent rebuild I added more sensors for fun. I also ditched my 3rd 360 rad because maintenance was a nightmare and I also re-pasted my card and actually saw the temps drop haha. 

Bonus dirty pic of my rig (ignore the dust, please)
 

I'm not sure, what exactly are you asking for here?

[Mick Naughty]

You can make profiles that average the cpu and gpu temp. Or split rads per device. I never base mine off anything but the cpu and gpu temp. 
no point in me doing it based of air or coolant temp. 
If it’s too loud then the profile is simply too high. 
Optimal is gonna be your noise to temp ratio. No one will know that but you. 

[For Science!]

Set pump to a constant speed, and fans tied to coolant temperature. Nothing else required.

[ShadyHost]

12 hours ago, FI Fheonix said:

I'm not sure, what exactly are you asking for here?

 

I'm asking if I can use air and gpu temp in addition to coolant temp to control fan speed in a more efficient way. Averaging them together produces results similar to what I want but I feel like I'm missing a critical piece. I do realize my main question is kinda buried in there and I should have been more clear  

 

10 hours ago, Mick Naughty said:

You can make profiles that average the cpu and gpu temp. Or split rads per device. I never base mine off anything but the cpu and gpu temp. 
no point in me doing it based of air or coolant temp. 
If it’s too loud then the profile is simply too high. 
Optimal is gonna be your noise to temp ratio. No one will know that but you. 

 

True. I realized after posting that this would be highly personal (in terms of noise preference)
I think I have the wrong type of fans. They're perfect until about 800-ish RPM where I get a faint hum that is kind of annoying. 900-1100 is fine again and then 1200+ is where I really start getting annoyed. They are NF-F12 2000rpm (9 of them)

 

19 minutes ago, For Science! said:

Set pump to a constant speed, and fans tied to coolant temperature. Nothing else required.

 

Yeah I think this is the most straightforward solution. I think I can utilize averaging the two coolant temp sensors still but the air temp (and GPU temp) is just adding complexity that probably doesn't need to be there. 

[FI Fheonix]

1 hour ago, ShadyHost said:

 

I'm asking if I can use air and gpu temp in addition to coolant temp to control fan speed in a more efficient way. Averaging them together produces results similar to what I want but I feel like I'm missing a critical piece. I do realize my main question is kinda buried in there and I should have been more clear  

 

 

Yes, you can.

[ShadyHost]

I'm looking for someone with a similar setup (measuring coolant temp and air temp) to see how they're controlling fan speed. 

[ShadyHost]

I've messed with it for another week or so and I finally settled on these settings. 
I also turned down my GPU from 500w peak to maybe 330w or so (3090 FTW3 Ultra with an EK block)