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0 pointsduped2y ago0 comments

I would be surprised that a PID controller can't adjust the control signal of the fan on the order of milliseconds/hundreds of microseconds. The mass of the fan would be the bigger issue.

Something that would help is multiple fans being adjusted by the same PID controller. It's not a problem if they're spinning too fast, but if you need more cooling the controller needs to increase air flow at the fastest rate which means turning up multiple fans.

0 comments

lostlogin2y ago

Fans are annoying enough when at a steady speed, but a fan that is continually changing speed sounds extra irritating if it’s in the same room.

Some sort of smoothing plus a conservative base rate might be more tolerable.

guappa2y ago

> a conservative base rate

Do you use windows?

I find that with windows the fan is always spinning, even if at low speed. While with linux most of the times it is not spinning at all.

fennecbutt2y ago

>Do you use windows

In a desktop the motherboard controls the fans unless you have an alternative like fan control installed, so not windows.

In a laptop it's either still the motherboard, or a specific chip used to manage the fans and other peripherals (ie for Dell/XPS it's locked out of bios control and you need to use Dell's special software to adjust it; Fuck You, Dell!), so still not Windows.

1 more reply

whywhywhywhy2y ago

In windows my CPU fan is always spinning although silently in my experience but my case fans spin down.

ASUS motherboard Noctua fans if that makes a difference.

lostlogin2y ago

I’m on a Mac - and for the first time a computer I can’t hear (it’s a model with a fan).

1 more reply

crote2y ago

The problem is that you really don't want the fans to react that quickly. Fans make noise, and a changing noise is far more irritating than a constant buzz in the background.

You quickly stop hearing a fan constantly running at 50%, but a fan randomly switching between 10% and 100% gets on your nerves extremely quickly.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 pointsduped2y ago0 comments

I would be surprised that a PID controller can't adjust the control signal of the fan on the order of milliseconds/hundreds of microseconds. The mass of the fan would be the bigger issue.

0 comments

lostlogin2y ago

Fans are annoying enough when at a steady speed, but a fan that is continually changing speed sounds extra irritating if it’s in the same room.

Some sort of smoothing plus a conservative base rate might be more tolerable.

guappa2y ago

> a conservative base rate

Do you use windows?

I find that with windows the fan is always spinning, even if at low speed. While with linux most of the times it is not spinning at all.

fennecbutt2y ago

>Do you use windows

In a desktop the motherboard controls the fans unless you have an alternative like fan control installed, so not windows.

1 more reply

whywhywhywhy2y ago

In windows my CPU fan is always spinning although silently in my experience but my case fans spin down.

ASUS motherboard Noctua fans if that makes a difference.

lostlogin2y ago

I’m on a Mac - and for the first time a computer I can’t hear (it’s a model with a fan).

1 more reply

crote2y ago

The problem is that you really don't want the fans to react that quickly. Fans make noise, and a changing noise is far more irritating than a constant buzz in the background.

You quickly stop hearing a fan constantly running at 50%, but a fan randomly switching between 10% and 100% gets on your nerves extremely quickly.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse