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I have an old Socket 939 system that doesn't seem to know how to adjust the CPU fan. I have a Freezer 64 on a slightly overclocked Opteron 180 on an ECS KN1-SLI Lite board (don't laugh, I had a nice ASUS board that died and I needed a quick, cheap replacement). The CPU fan header on the motherboard just has 3 pins, no PWM like the heatsink fan. Anyway, the computer had shut down, so I opened it up and the heatsink was very hot to the touch. When I open Speedfan, the speed is set very low and does not change even when the CPU is getting dangerously hot. I can change the fan speed manually, but it does not adjust automatically with CPU temperature, even when I check the "Automatic fan speed" box. Is there anything I can do besides constantly tweaking the fan speed myself, or am I out of luck because of my obsolete motherboard? Oh and I have the latest BIOS.

Options:

1. Set fan speed in BIOS (if available)
2. Use Speedfan (set it to auto-load with windows, and set fanspeed and temperature thresholds)
3. Use a 3-pin to molex adapter and run the fan at 5, 7 or 12 V (may require some modding)

I used [2.] on my old s939 Opteron with Asus A8N-SLI motherboard. The downside is that fan controls don't work until windows loads.

Aha... I had no idea what Speedfan was capable of. I think I'll try suggestion #2, thanks for the help!

deputy dawg wrote:

Aha... I had no idea what Speedfan was capable of. I think I'll try suggestion #2, thanks for the help!

It's not completely intuitive. You have to check automatic fanspeed control, then set which temperatures are monitored, then set which fans are controlled, and thresholds (though not necessarily in that order).

Online guide

My A8N-VM CSM has fan speed control in the BIOS even the the fan header is 3-pin. You don't need PWM to be able to control fan speed (though PWM gives a bit more precise control). I would check the BIOS to see if there are fan speed control options first.

Flying Fox wrote:

My A8N-VM CSM has fan speed control in the BIOS even the the fan header is 3-pin. You don't need PWM to be able to control fan speed (though PWM gives a bit more precise control). I would check the BIOS to see if there are fan speed control options first.

I've checked and double-checked every setting in the BIOS. I see settings for Cool 'N Quiet, CPU thermal throttling, and shutdown temperature, but no auto fan control option.

Voldenuit wrote:

It's not completely intuitive. You have to check automatic fanspeed control, then set which temperatures are monitored, then set which fans are controlled, and thresholds (though not necessarily in that order).

Online guide

That's exactly what I need! Thanks again for the help