At first sight
MSI already has several models in its product range motherboards for new AMD Phenom II processor family with socket AM3 and support for DDR3 memory. One of them is the 790FX-GD70 board, which can be positioned as MSI's top solution for overclockers, gamers and PC enthusiasts. Looking ahead, we note that in terms of functionality, it has no equal on the market. The MSI 790FX-GD70 board has such features that competitors' solutions simply pale in comparison.
This board has a standard ATX form factor and is based on the top AMD 790FX chipset paired with the SB750 southbridge. Recall that earlier AMD 790FX chipsets were used in tandem with the SB600 southbridge.
The main innovation and advantage of the board is the new AM3 socket, which provides the ability to install 45nm AMD Phenom II X4 and Phenom II X3 processors, as well as support for DDR3 memory.
The board uses a 5-phase (4+1) processor voltage stabilization circuit with solid-state Japanese capacitors, which has already become a norm for top-end boards. And, of course, MSI 790FX-GD70, like other motherboards from this company, has a large number of proprietary MSI technologies.
The board's cooling system is built on the basis of two radiators, one of which covers the CPU voltage stabilization module and the chipset's northbridge, and the other covers the chipset's southbridge. Radiators are connected by one heat pipe. Note that, unlike other motherboards based on AMD 790FX chipset, traditional position changed in 790FX-GD70 north bridge chipset (for which it was necessary to completely change the reference design of the board). Due to the fact that the northbridge of the chipset is located in close proximity to the processor voltage stabilization module, we managed to use one massive heatsink for both the northbridge and the voltage stabilization module.
In addition, the board has four three-pin connectors and one four-pin fan connector. The four-pin connector is for connecting a CPU cooler fan, and the three-pin connector is for connecting additional case fans. Recall that a three-pin connector uses the method of changing the supply voltage to control the fan speed, and a four-pin connector uses the method of pulse-width modulation of the supply voltage.
The MSI 790FX-GD70 has four DIMM slots for installing DDR3 memory modules. The board supports DDR3-800/1066/1333/1600/1800/2133 memory in dual-channel mode, but support for DDR3-1600/1800/2133 memory is implemented only in overclocking mode and, of course, is not guaranteed. That is, it is not a fact that the MSI 790FX-GD70 board will work stably with any DDR3-1600/1800/2133 memory, since given memory is not certified.
To install video cards, the MSI 790FX-GD70 board has four PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots (supporting ATI CrossFireX technology). Recall that the northbridge of the AMD 790FX chipset has 42 PCI Express 2.0 lanes, four of which are used to connect the northbridge with the southbridge, six more - to connect various integrated controllers and organize PCI Express 2.0 x4 or PCI Express 2.0 x1 ports, and the remaining 32 PCI Express 2.0 bus lines - for organizing PCI Express x16 slots. Moreover, the board can have two, three or four PCI Express x16 slots, since the chipset supports up to four video cards in ATI CrossFireX mode.
When using all four PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots on the MSI 790FX-GD70 board, they operate in the x8+x8+x8+x8 mode, which in total just gives 32 PCI Express 2.0 x16 lanes. Similarly, three slots will operate in x8+x8+x8 mode, and if only two PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots are used, they will operate in x16+x16 mode.
In addition to the PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots, the MSI 790FX-GD70 has one PCI Express 2.0 x1 slot for installing an expansion card, as well as two traditional PCI slots.
To connect SATA devices (hard drives, optical drives), the MSI 790FX-GD70 board provides eight internal SATA ports, one external eSATA port, routed to back panel boards, as well as one IDE port. Six of the eight SATA ports are based on the built-in AMD SB750 SATA RAID controller in the south bridge. Hard drives connected to them can be combined into a RAID level 0, 1, 5, 10 or JBOD.
Two more SATA ports are implemented on the basis of the JMicron JMB322 RAID controller integrated on the SATA board. Hard drives connected to these ports can be combined into a RAID 0, 1, or JBOD array.
The external eSATA port is also based on the JMicron JMB322 controller. It is worth noting that this is not an ordinary eSATA port. It is made shared with a USB port and, accordingly, belongs to the POWER eSATA category, that is, when connecting SATA devices to it, they do not need to be additionally connected to the USB port to provide the necessary supply voltage.
The IDE port, which can be used to connect an optical drive with the appropriate interface, is implemented on the basis of a single-channel PATA controller integrated into the AMD SB750 south bridge.
To connect a variety of peripherals, the MSI 790FX-GD70 board has seven USB 2.0 ports on the rear panel of the board and two USB connectors, each of which can be connected to a plate with two USB ports. Thus, taking into account one eSATA/USB combo port, MSI 790FX-GD70 supports 12 USB 2.0 ports based on the south bridge of the AMD SB750 chipset.
In addition to all the functionality provided by the AMD 790FX+SB750 chipset, the MSI 790FX-GD70 board has a number of additional integrated controllers that significantly expand the functionality of the board. So, the board has an integrated gigabit dual-channel Network Controller Realtek RTL8111DL, which allows not only to connect a computer based on this board to the segment local network(switch, router with Internet access), but also organize a PC-based router or connect it simultaneously to two different network segments. In addition, you can aggregate (to increase throughput) two gigabit channels into one.
The audio subsystem of the AMD 790FX + SB750 board is based on the ten-channel Realtek ALC889 codec with a signal-to-noise ratio of 106 dB, and the rear interface panel of the board has six standard analog mini-jack connectors for organizing a 7.1 system, as well as coaxial and optical outputs S /PDIF.
In addition, the VIA VT6315N IEEE-1394 controller is integrated on the board, and one IEEE-1394 connector is placed on the back panel of the board. In addition to this, using the internal connector on the board and the appropriate expansion plate or panel on the case, you can connect another IEEE-1394 port. There are also two PS/2 connectors (for keyboard and mouse) on the rear interface panel of the board.
Another one interesting feature board is the presence of power buttons (POWER), reset (RESET) and clear BIOS settings (Clr CMOS) on the board itself. In addition, there are three more interesting buttons: GreenPower, OC DRIVE and OC GEAR. The GreenPower button is designed to activate the power saving function, which we will discuss next. The OC DRIVE and OC GEAR buttons are designed to change the system bus frequency in order to overclock the system. To be more precise, OC DRIVE is not a button, but a knob. In order to change the system bus frequency, you must press the OC GEAR button, and then turn the OC DRIVE knob to set the required system bus frequency.
Of course, when installing the board in a PC case, all these buttons become unclaimed, however, for people who like to experiment with hardware and assemble computers first on the table, and then in the case, the presence of such buttons will not be superfluous.
In addition, there is an indicator for checking the health of individual nodes when the system boots. If the system does not boot, then by the codes displayed by this indicator, you can determine what the problem is.
BIOS setup features
If we talk about the possibilities for setting up the BIOS of the MSI 790FX-GD70 board, then they are quite typical for boards based on the AMD 790FX chipset and it hardly makes sense to use them. once again list. However, in addition to the standard BIOS functions, there are a number of specific ones that should be considered in more detail.
So, in the BIOS menu there is a Green Power item that allows you to configure the power saving function of the motherboard. In this item, you can disable or enable switching the number of phases of the processor voltage stabilization modules (CPU PWM Phase Control), chipset (System Phase Control) and memory (Memory Phase Control). When the Green Power function is activated, the number of phases in the power supply voltage stabilization module will switch depending on the system load. In addition, the board has miniature LED indicators that allow you to determine the number of active phases for voltage stabilization modules for the processor, chipset and memory.
Another interesting BIOS menu item, called M-Flash, allows you to update the BIOS from a USB flash drive or other media that has a FAT or FAT32 file structure. Of course, the procedure for updating the BIOS on an MSI 790FX-GD70 board is not as easy and safe as on Gigabyte or ASUS boards, but for MSI boards it is still a big step forward.
Another interesting menu item is User Settings, which allows you to save up to four custom BIOS settings.
Well, the last item of the BIOS menu, which makes sense to dwell on, is devoted to the possibility of setting the rotation speeds of the fans connected to the MSI 790FX-GD70 board. As we have already noted, the MSI 790FX-GD70 board has one four-pin connector for connecting a processor cooler fan and four three-pin connectors for connecting case fans. In the vast majority of cases, controllers on motherboards do not allow you to control the rotation speed of case fans connected to three-pin power connectors. However, the MSI board compares favorably with the solutions of competitors. So, in the BIOS settings for each of the four three-pin power connectors, it is possible to control the rotation speed of the connected fan due to a three-stage scheme for changing the supply voltage. In order to adjust the fan speed, you need to select the H / W monitor item in the BIOS main menu and set the values \u200b\u200bfor each of the SYS FAN 1/2/3/4 Control items to 100, 75 or 50% in the submenu that opens. A value of 100% corresponds to a fan supply voltage of 12 V and top speed rotation; a value of 75% corresponds to a supply voltage of 9 V, and a value of 50% corresponds to a supply voltage of 6 V. We emphasize once again that this three-stage fan speed control scheme is provided for all case fans connected to the MSI 790FX-GD70 motherboard, which allows you to create very effective system cooling in the PC case, and if necessary, very quiet. Note that so far we have not come across motherboards that would have implemented the ability to adjust the rotation speed of all case fans through the BIOS settings.
Even more impressive is the ability to adjust the fan speed of the CPU cooler connected to the four-pin power connector. To set the CPU cooler fan speed in the H/W monitor menu, set the CPU Smart Fan Target item to Enable. Next, specify the minimum fan speed (CPU Min. FAN Speed (%)) and set the temperature value for the CPU Smart Fan Target parameter in the range from 40 to 70 °С (in 5 °С increments).
The minimum fan speed is set as a percentage (from 0 to 87.5% in 12.5% increments), and, apparently, we are talking not about the minimum rotation speed, but about the minimum duty cycle of the PWM control pulses.
The CPU Smart Fan Target parameter is rather ambiguous. Nowhere in the manual does it describe exactly what it means. During our testing, it turned out that the CPU Smart Fan Target parameter sets a certain temperature value, in the region of which the duty cycle of PWM control pulses changes depending on the current processor temperature.
As the processor temperature increases, the duty cycle of the PWM control pulses increases linearly from the minimum specified value to 100%.
In principle, the value of the minimum duty cycle of PWM pulses and critical value processor temperatures must be selected for each specific case individually. It all depends on what kind of processor and cooler are used. For example, in order to correctly set the minimum duty cycle of PWM pulses, you need to know the dependence of the processor cooler fan speed on the duty cycle of PWM pulses. Moreover, it should be taken into account that there are coolers whose fans will rotate even with a zero duty cycle of PWM pulses. It is desirable that minimum value the duty cycle of the PWM pulses was slightly less than the duty cycle of the PWM pulses at which the used fan starts to rotate. However, in most cases, you can safely set the duty cycle of PWM pulses to 0%.
As for the value of the critical temperature of the processor, it can be safely set to the maximum, that is, equal to 70 °C. This allows you to create a very quiet PC, but at the same time guarantees efficient cooling.
Testing the MSI 790FX-GD70 Board
So, having considered all the features of the MSI 790FX-GD70 board, let's turn to the results of its testing.
When testing the MSI 790FX-GD70 board, the stand with the following configuration was used:
- processor - AMD Phenom X4 810;
- memory - DDR3-1066 (A-Data);
- memory size - 2 GB (two modules of 1024 MB each);
- memory mode - DDR3-1066, dual-channel mode;
- video card - Gigabyte GeForce GTX295;
- HDD- Intel SSD X25-M (Intel SSDSA2MH080G1GN);
- power supply - OCZ Fatality 700W.
When testing the board, we focused not on its performance (which is determined by the chipset, processor and memory used), but on its features such as power consumption and fan speed control.
Recall that the board has one four-pin connector for connecting the CPU cooler fan (CPU_FAN) and four three-pin connectors. For the CPU_FAN connector, we studied the dependence of the change in the duty cycle of PWM pulses on the processor temperature. To do this, the following settings were implemented in the BIOS of the board:
- CPU Smart Fan Target - Enabled;
- CPU Min. FAN Speed (%) - 0%.
The value of the CPU Smart Fan Target parameter was changed in the range from 40 to 70 °С in steps of 10 °С.
The meaning of these settings is to allow the CPU cooler fan speed to be controlled based on the current temperature. In addition, it is indicated that the minimum duty cycle of PWM pulses must be equal to 0% (in this case, the fan will rotate at minimum speed or stop).
When testing, a cooler with a four-pin connector was installed on the processor, which was connected not to a connector on the motherboard, but to an arbitrary digital pulse generator, which allowed us to control the fan speed and thus heat the processor to the desired temperature. For 100% CPU usage, I used special utility of our own design, and to control the processor temperature - the Core Temp 0.99.4 utility.
Another cooler was connected to the CPU_FAN connector, and the duty cycle of the PWM pulses was controlled using a digital oscilloscope.
During testing, it turned out that the control PWM pulses have a repetition rate of 23 kHz, which corresponds to the specification, and their amplitude is 3 V. We also found that the dependence of the duty cycle of the PWM pulses on the current processor temperature has a pronounced hysteresis, that is, the dependence of the change the duty cycle of PWM pulses with an increase in temperature differs from a similar dependence with a decrease in temperature.
Also during testing, the temperature range of the processor was determined for different meanings parameter of the CPU Smart Fan Target, in which the duty cycle of the PWM pulses is changed ( see table).
Graphs of the dependence of the duty cycle of PWM pulses on the processor temperature for various values of the CPU Smart Fan Target parameter are shown in fig. 1-4.
Rice. 1. Dependence of duty cycle of PWM pulses
CPU Smart Fan Target = 70 °C
Rice. 2. Dependence of duty cycle of PWM pulses
on the processor temperature at a value
CPU Smart Fan Target = 60 °C
Rice. 3. Dependence of duty cycle of PWM pulses
on the processor temperature at a value
CPU Smart Fan Target = 50 °C
Rice. 4. Dependence of duty cycle of PWM pulses
on the processor temperature at a value
CPU Smart Fan Target = 40 °C
With the CPU Smart Fan Target set to 70 °C, as the processor temperature rises in the range from 67 to 72 °C, the duty cycle of the PWM pulses changes almost linearly in the range from 0 to 74%. An increase in processor temperature over 73 °C leads to an abrupt increase in the duty cycle of PWM pulses up to 100%.
When the processor temperature drops below 72 °C, the duty cycle of PWM pulses decreases abruptly from 100 to 88% and then does not change up to a temperature of 69 °C, and with a further decrease in temperature, the duty cycle of PWM pulses decreases linearly with decreasing temperature up to 63 °C , at which the duty cycle of the PWM pulses becomes equal to zero.
With the CPU Smart Fan Target set to 60 °C, as the processor temperature rises in the range from 56 to 64 °C, the duty cycle of the PWM pulses changes almost linearly in the range from 0 to 100%.
When the processor temperature drops below 62 °C, the duty cycle of PWM pulses decreases abruptly from 100 to 74% and then does not change up to a temperature of 59 °C, and with a further decrease in temperature, the duty cycle of PWM pulses decreases linearly with decreasing temperature up to a value of 53 °C , at which the duty cycle of the PWM pulses becomes equal to zero.
With the CPU Smart Fan Target set to 50°C, as the processor temperature rises in the range from 46 to 53°C, the duty cycle of the PWM pulses increases abruptly in the range from 0 to 74%. An increase in processor temperature over 53 °C leads to an abrupt increase in the duty cycle of PWM pulses up to 100%.
When the processor temperature drops below 52 °C, the duty cycle of PWM pulses decreases abruptly from 100 to 74% and then does not change up to a temperature of 49 °C, and with a further decrease in temperature, the duty cycle of PWM pulses decreases linearly with decreasing temperature up to 43 °C , at which the duty cycle of the PWM pulses becomes equal to zero.
With the CPU Smart Fan Target set to 40 °C, with an increase in processor temperature in the range from 36 to 44 °C, the duty cycle of PWM pulses increases abruptly in the range from 0 to 100%.
When the processor temperature drops below 42 °C, the duty cycle of PWM pulses decreases abruptly from 100 to 73% and then does not change up to a temperature of 39 °C, and with a further decrease in temperature, the duty cycle of PWM pulses decreases approximately linearly with decreasing temperature up to a value of 33 ° C C, at which the duty cycle of the PWM pulses becomes equal to zero.
Summing up our testing, we can state that the MSI 790FX-GD70 board uses a very convenient and functional way to control the CPU cooler fan speed. Alas, today motherboards in which fan speed control technology In a similar way implemented, there are practically none on the market, so the MSI 790FX-GD70 board can be called unique.
To test the power consumption of a system based on the MSI 790FX-GD70 board, a digital wattmeter was used, to which the power supply was connected. When testing, the Balanced power saving mode was used.
It turned out that in idle mode, that is, when AMD processor The Phenom X4 810 is not loaded, the system power consumption based on the MSI 790FX-GD70 board is 146W with Green Power off and 142W with it on. With a 100% processor load, system power consumption rises to 198 W with both disabled and enabled Green Power. As you can see, the Green Power energy saving technology, which boils down to switching the number of active phases, does not allow for significant energy savings and is nothing more than a marketing gimmick. Moreover, this statement applies not only to the MSI 790FX-GD70 board, but also to all boards with the technology for switching the number of active phases of the supply voltage stabilization module. The gain in energy saving from the implementation of this technology is so small that it should not be taken seriously.
Summarizing all of the above, we can conclude that the MSI 790FX-GD70 board is perfect for creating home computers when a solution that is optimal in terms of price / performance ratio is required.
, fan settings…
Hello, dear readers computer users. In this article, we will look at BIOS options for fan speed control, select the type of fan speed control, and other BIOS Setup options for fan settings.
CHA Fan Duty Cycle
Selection of rotation speed of additional fans as a percentage of the maximum value.
Option values:
60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 100%
Chassis Fan Ratio
With this option, you can set the rotation speed of additional fans when the temperature inside system block does not exceed the allowed values.
Option values:
Auto - automatic detection of fan speed;
60% -90% of the maximum value.
Chassis Q-Fan Control
This option allows you to set automatic speed control of additional fans of the system unit.
Option values:
CHA Fan Control
Chassis Fan Speed Control
SYS Fan Speed Monitor
System Fan Control
System Smart Fan Control
CPUFAN2 Tmax
Setting the processor temperature value, upon reaching which the processor cooler fan will run at maximum speed.
Option values:
55°C-70°C
This option can also be found under the following names:
Fan Auto Mode Full Speed Temp
FAN1 Limit Temp °C
Full Speed Temperature (°C)
Q-Fan1 Full Speed Temperature
CPU Fan Duty Doll
Selection of the CPU cooler fan speed as a percentage of the maximum value.
Option values:
60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 100%
This option can also be found under the following names:
Manual Fan Speed, %
CPU Fan Control
The function of automatic fan speed control depending on the processor temperature (with an increase in processor heat dissipation, the cooler fan speed increases and vice versa). This option is relevant for Biostar motherboards.
Option values:
Always On - disable automatic fan speed control;
Smart - set automatic fan speed control.
CPU Fan Ratio
With this option, you can set the CPU cooler fan speed when the CPU temperature does not exceed the allowed values.
Option values:
Auto - automatic detection of CPU cooler fan speed at low CPU temperature;
20% -90% of the maximum value.
This option can also be found under the following names:
Minimum FAN Duty Cycle
CPU Fan Start Temperature
Sets the temperature value of the processor, upon reaching which the processor cooler fan will run at minimum speed.
Option values:
20°C-50°C
This option can also be found under the following names:
CPUFAN2 Tmin
Fan Auto Mode Start Speed Temp
FAN1 START Temp °C
Low CPU temp °C
Q-Fan1 Start Temperature
Start Up Temperature (°C)
CPU SmartFAN Idle Temp
Setting the minimum fan speed.
CPU Smart Fan Target
The function of automatic fan speed control depending on the processor temperature (with an increase in processor heat dissipation, the cooler fan speed increases and vice versa). This option is relevant for MSI motherboards.
Option values:
Disabled - disable automatic fan speed control;
Temperature value (from 40 to 70 in increments of 5) at which automatic fan speed control will be enabled.
CPU Slope PWM
Sets the step for increasing the speed of the CPU cooler fan when the CPU temperature rises.
Option values:
0-64
This option can also be found under the following names:
CPU Fan Slope (PWM/°C)
FAN1 Slope Select PWM/°C
Slope PWM
Slope Select PWM/°C
CPU Target Temperature
Setting the processor temperature that the cooling system will have to maintain by increasing / decreasing the speed of the processor cooler fan.
Option values:
10°C-85°C
This option can also be found under the following names:
CPU Smart Fan Target Temp Select
CPU Smart Fan Temperature
Smart CPU Fan Target
Smart CPU Temperature
Smart CPUFAN Temperature
CPU Smart Fan Control
The function of automatic fan speed control depending on the processor temperature (with an increase in processor heat dissipation, the cooler fan speed increases and vice versa). This option is relevant for Gigabyte and ECS motherboards.
Option values:
Disabled - disable automatic fan speed control;
Enabled - set automatic fan speed control.
CPU Q-Fan Control
The function of automatic fan speed control depending on the processor temperature (with an increase in processor heat dissipation, the cooler fan speed increases and vice versa). This option is relevant for ASUS motherboards.
Option values:
Disabled - disable automatic fan speed control;
Enabled - set automatic fan speed control.
CPU Quiet Fan
The function of automatic fan speed control depending on the processor temperature (with an increase in processor heat dissipation, the cooler fan speed increases and vice versa). This option is relevant for ASRock motherboards.
Option values:
Disabled - disable automatic fan speed control;
Enabled - set automatic fan speed control.
FAN2 Start PWM Value
Setting the initial rotation speed of additional fans in arbitrary units.
Option values:
0-127
FAN2 Slope Select PWM/°C
Setting the step for increasing the rotation speed of additional fans with an increase in temperature inside the system unit.
Option values:
0-64
FAN2 START Temp °C
Setting the temperature value inside the system unit, upon reaching which additional fans will work at minimum speed.
Option values:
20°C to 50°C
Front Fan Target Temp Value
Setting the temperature inside the case, which the cooling system will have to maintain by increasing / decreasing the fan speed on the front panel of the system unit.
Option Values
25°C-50°C
Lowest Fan Speed
CPU cooler fan speed control at low CPU temperature.
Option values:
Off - stop the fan when the processor temperature is low;
Slow - maintain minimum fan speed at low CPU temperatures.
Lowest System Fan Speed
Controlling the speed of additional fans at low temperatures inside the system unit.
Option values:
Off - stop fans;
Slow - maintain minimum fan speed.
MCP Fan Speed Control, %
Selection of the fan speed of the system controller cooler of the chipset as a percentage of the maximum value.
Option values:
0 %-100 %
Mem Fan Speed Control, %
Select the fan speed of the memory module cooler as a percentage of the maximum value.
Option values:
0 %-100 %
Rear Fan Target Temp Value
Setting the temperature inside the case, which the cooling system will have to maintain by increasing / decreasing the fan speed on the rear panel of the system unit.
Option Values
25°C-50°C
Smart NB Fan Target
Setting the temperature of the system controller of the chipset, which the cooling system will have to maintain by increasing / decreasing the speed of the fan that cools the system controller.
Option Values
25°C-50°C
SPP Fan Speed Control, %
Selection of the fan speed of the cooler of the functional controller of the chipset as a percentage of the maximum value.
Option values:
0 %-100 %
Start Up PWM
Setting the initial rotation speed of the CPU cooler fan in conventional units.
Option values:
0-127
This option can also be found under the following names:
CPU Fan Start PWM Value
FAN1 Start PWM Value
Low CPU fan PWM duty
StartUp/Stop PWM
Target Fan Speed
Selection of the fan rotation mode at a temperature below the allowable one.
Option values:
Fast - the fan will rotate quickly;
Middle - the fan will rotate at medium speed:
Slow - the fan will rotate slowly.
Q-Fan1 Stop Temperature
Sets the temperature value of the processor, upon reaching which the operation of the processor cooler fan will be stopped.
Option values:
20°C-40°C
Q Fan Control
This option allows you to set automatic fan speed control depending on the temperature of the processor and chipset.
Option values:
Disabled - disable automatic fan speed control;
Enabled - set automatic fan speed control.
Q Fan Controller
The function of automatic regulation of the rotation speed of all fans connected to the connectors on the motherboard.
Option values:
Disabled - disable automatic fan speed control;
Enabled - set automatic fan speed control.
This option can also be found under the following names:
ASUS Q-FAN Control
Q Fan Support
Smart Q-Fan Function
Article taken from open sources: http://userwords.ru/2011/09/bios_3914.html
Others identical in purposeoptions: CPU Target Temperature, CPU Smart Fan Target Temp Select, Smart CPUFAN Temperature.
The Smart CPU Fan Target option allows the user to configure the fan (cooler) rotation parameters of the central processing unit (CPU). The option value can be processor temperatures. In addition, in the option, the user can select the options Enabled/Auto and Disabled.
Since in the process of its work it releases a lot of thermal energy, it needs constant cooling. This function is taken over by the CPU cooler. The airflow created by the fan blows around the processor, and due to this, the heat generated during the operation of the processor is safely removed from it. However, the cooler has one significant drawback - it creates a lot of noise. Since the rotation speed of a standard fan is independent of processor heat, this noise will be produced even if the processor does not require special cooling.
Today, however, there are models of "smart" coolers that have not a constant, but a variable speed of rotation. Since a change in the rotation speed leads to a change in the rate of heat removal, this feature allows you to maintain constant temperature CPU. In the event that the processor does not operate at full capacity, it generates less heat than usual. At the same time, the fan speed decreases and, as a result, its noise level decreases, as well as the amount of energy consumed by it.
This option allows you to set the CPU temperature value that the fan should support. For different models processors, this value may vary, so the user can independently set the desired number. Most BIOSes have a temperature range of 30 to 85°C (86 to 185°F).
The user can also disable the variable fan speed feature by selecting Disabled. The fan will keep running all the time. constant speed, the maximum for this fan model.
Sometimes the option, instead of selecting specific temperature values (or at the same time as selecting these values), offers the option Enabled or Auto. In this case, the BIOS itself will select the required target temperature value based on the CPU parameters.
What value to choose?
If your computer has a fan that has a variable speed function, it is best to enable this option to minimize the amount of noise as well as power consumption.
But what is the best target temperature value to set? The specific value largely depends on both the CPU model and the cooling fan model. Best Choice in most cases the temperature will be around 50 °C. Setting the temperature too low will increase the RPM of the cooler and may result in excessive noise. On the other hand, setting the target temperature too high can cause the processor to overheat.
If you don't know exactly what temperature you need to set, then it's best to trust the BIOS and set the value to Auto (if, of course, this option is present in the BIOS), so that the system itself can determine the required fan speed.
