Arch Linux

ScottArch

Member

From: Cork, Ireland

Registered: 2009-10-23

Posts: 58

Default fan controller, or one of the many daemons for the task?

Hi folks,

I have recently undervolted my laptop using the instructions in the PHC Archwiki and it is running nice and stable. I was thinking about looking at the fan speeds to further increase the efficiency of my system the system and reduce noise. I am using an Acer Aspire 5920G.

What I am looking for is more adaptive fan settings that are more in tune with the temps of the system, while keeping the fan noise to a minimum. My fans currently come in settings that seem to be 'off', 'low' and 'full', when what I really need are more adaptive speeds, i.e. more steps. Is one of the fan control daemons a better option for my needs, or is my system firmware usually the best choice. Does anyone have any comment on laptop fan scaling?

Cheers,

Scott

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Acer Aspire 5920G - 2Ghz Core 2 Duo T7300 - 256mb Nvidia 8600GS - 4GB RAM

lagagnon

Member

From: an Island in the Pacific...

Registered: 2009-12-10

Posts: 1,087

Website

Re: Default fan controller, or one of the many daemons for the task?

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Fan_Speed_Control

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Philosophy is looking for a black cat in a dark room. Metaphysics is looking for a black cat in a dark room that isn't there. Religion is looking for a black cat in a dark room that isn't there and shouting "I found it!". Science is looking for a black cat in a dark room with a flashlight.

ScottArch

Member

From: Cork, Ireland

Registered: 2009-10-23

Posts: 58

Re: Default fan controller, or one of the many daemons for the task?

HI,

Thanks for the link. I have seen this, but it does not discuss any of the main issues I raised regarding it's effectiveness vs. default (BIOS?) settings. Rather, it is a how to, once you have decided that it is something you want to do.

Also, I was wondering if anyone had any experience regarding this, particularly about stable temps and more stable fan speeds.

Cheers,

Scott

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Acer Aspire 5920G - 2Ghz Core 2 Duo T7300 - 256mb Nvidia 8600GS - 4GB RAM

megawebmaster

Member

Registered: 2009-08-12

Posts: 75

Re: Default fan controller, or one of the many daemons for the task?

Did you tried powernowd? If not - you should. It resolved my problems with fan speed (even that I've got Intel processor).

Last edited by megawebmaster (2010-02-08 17:28:23)

ScottArch

Member

From: Cork, Ireland

Registered: 2009-10-23

Posts: 58

Re: Default fan controller, or one of the many daemons for the task?

Hi there,

I have the acpi-cpufreq module running which I configure through the power management setting in KDE. As I'm sure you know, it works the same way as the various cpufreq modules, but can powernowd be used to control the CPU frequency using the built in KDE tool? I always used to use powernowd when I was running Gnome, but only recently made the switch over to KDE 4.4.

As for the fan speed. My laptop fan runs well enough and there is not really an issue with the fan per se because the laptop is pretty decent. My issue is really that the CPU temps seem to fluctuate. The fan seems right when under very low load (off) and when under very high load (full), it is in between where I have the issue. It seems to stay too low for too long, then jumps to full pelt when doing CPU intensive tasks, if there were more speed increments in between, this would resulting in an overall reduction in heat and noise. What I am really asking is, does the fan speed daemon provide this?

Cheers,

Scott

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Acer Aspire 5920G - 2Ghz Core 2 Duo T7300 - 256mb Nvidia 8600GS - 4GB RAM