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Fan Speed Issue!


SoldierNerd

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Hi Everyone,

 

Recently, I added 6 Corsair LL 120mm fans to my PC. Along with the fans, I purchased a Commander Pro and a Corsair RGB LED Fan HUB to control the fan speed/RGB effects in the iCue software. The Commander Pro is plugged into one of the two USB 2.0 ports on my motherboard (Asus Z390-A Prime).

 

When I turn my PC on, all of the fans run at max speed until I reach the post screen, then return to normal speed. While this issue isn't the end of the world, it would be great to find a solution. I never experienced this with my 2017 build that used NZXT fans/NZXT Hue.

 

I've set quiet/fixed fan curves in iCue but this does not help. At this point, I'm tempted to remove the Commander pro and plug the fans directly into motherboard fan headers.

 

Any help would be appreciated!!!

 

SoldierNerd

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The default control variable for the Commander Pro presets is CPU temperature — the only thing each PC is guaranteed to have. However, it’s not a very useful control variable for case fans. The temperature probes included with the device are the native control source and provide data with or without iCUE running. Those can be positioned to measure air temperature at various points with exhaust air temperature being a good candidate for case fan control. You can use other things as well such as GPU temp, but the device can’t read other components in the boot state and without the software. Use the + button in the performance tab to make a custom curve. Control variable choice will be down below above the graph.
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Hi c-attack,

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

So I went back and added 4 sensors to my commander pro. Not sure if all 4 are needed but I did it anyway.

I followed your instructions and created a custom profile/custom curve. The max curve rpm I set is 500rpm. For the sensor dropdown, I selected the #1 sensor on the commander pro. The temperature for all four sensors is between 23-26 degrees Celsius. I then clicked each individual fan to apply the new settings.

Doing a system shut down and reboot, I experienced the same problem. Fans were at max speed up until I hit the post screen. I repeated the above steps for GPU temp and motherboard temp but experienced the same issue.

 

Any other ideas?

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For GPU temp, that should happen during POST since the controller cannot read the GPU temp via the motherboard and its software. For the temp sensors this should not happen. I've changed all my names, but it should read something like "COMMANDER PRO sensor #1" and it seems like you do have the right sensors selected. You also appear to have applied the curve to the fan. Not doing that is another common misstep.

 

That should have worked. I am running the same way and all 9 of my fans and 1 4800 rpm D5 are tied into one of several temp probes. The only fan blast is my PSU. Is iCUE set to start-up on boot? Are you running AI Suite on any other fan control program that might delay it?

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You are correct, the option I have to choose from is the Commander Pro (1) Temp 1. I went back to iCue and confirmed the Commander Pro sensor #1 was selected for temperature data. Also confirmed the setting was applied to each fan.

Before shutting down, I uninstalled CAM which I thought might be posing an issue. Additionally, I found that AI Suite is not installed so this is not an issue either (Should I install this?).

I shutdown and rebooted but still not luck. My next thought is to reset the BIOS. I did this as part of the troubleshooting steps Asus sent me (before making this forum account) but I did not have the profile setup like you recommended.

While looking through Corsair's forum, I found another person had the same issue back in January. You provided them with the same steps and it worked which leads me to think it is a BIOS setting or something.

What do you think?

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The BIOS should not have an effect on the Commander Pro since it runs from internal memory during the boot state. However, maybe try disabling the BIOS level fast boot (F7 Advanced BIOS -> Boot tab -> at the top). Maybe the C-Pro needs a positive USB response on power up, but that is guess work. I do remember my cooler used to do that if you pulled the USB plug even though it should be running from an internal sensor. (**Nope. Still works fine with no USB, no motherboard power, etc. See post below)

 

I would not install AI Suite. You may never get it all out again. More seriously, it offers very little in terms of monitoring, has terrible polling rates (some things as infrequent as 10-30 seconds), and the fan control we are trying to manage through iCUE. That leaves it without a purpose.

Edited by c-attack
Added in test result
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I had my PSU yanked out this morning and while I was down there I the C-Pro from two different PSUs with the jumper, neither with any USB connection and the motherboard has no power in this state. I powered on/off with the secondary PSU 5 or 6 times as I was testing something else and each and every time the fan quietly purred on. In fact, I had a hard time hearing them at all. Definitely no max blast. Then I started randomly pulling fans off their C-Pro headers and connecting new PWM fans. One or two would burst, but it literally was less than a 1/10th of second. My finger wasn't even off the switch before it was back down at 600 rpm. I don't think this is what you're talking about.

 

Possible things to check:

 

1) LL fans are PWM (I have several on now and tested them). In iCUE, go to Settings, then your Commander Pro. There is an individual toggle for each header Auto/3 pin/4 pin. You likely are on Auto. Try switching the corresponding headers to 4 pin for any LL fans. If you have something else on other headers, make sure you choose the proper 3 or 4 pin designation.

 

2) Most LL fans (120 or 140) will have a minimum run speed of around ~600 rpm. My LL140s won't go below 630. Now with the software running the fan will simply stop at the lowest point it can if you set the control speed to 200-300-400 rpm or whatever. However, I am not sure what it would do in the boot state. I would expect it to run the minimum it can, but perhaps this plays some part. With the software running, are you able to lower the LL120s down to 500?

 

3) Do all the sensors seem to work OK? Try linking the fan curve to one of the other sensors. And while you're at it, make sure the fan curve it actually applied to each fan. iCUE works the opposite way to what most people are accustomed. First click the fan curve on the left. It will turn yellow. Then click all the fans on the right you want to run that curve. They each will highlight yellow when the curve is applied. It took me a good month or two to stop trying to do it the other way around. If the fan curves are not actually applied, then it is still on the "Quiet mode" and the boot behavior would make sense.

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Hey c-attack,

 

Sorry the delayed reply. To answer your previous post, I disabled fast boot and still encountered the issue.

 

1. I will need to review iCue again to confirm but I vividly remember the header setting you mention and know it is set to Auto by default. I'll try switch it to PMW to see if this makes a difference

2. When I created the temperature sensor fan curve for my LL120s (6 total), I set the fan speed to 500. Again, I'll go back through iCue to confirm the settings applied. As you noted in #3, I recall having difficulty the first time I tried adjust any of the fan settings.

3. The sensors seem to be working. I'm getting temp readings on all four. When I get time, my plan is to remove all four and try only one to see if this makes any difference.

 

See if this link works, it's a short clip of what I'm experiencing: https://www.dropbox.com/s/cbtt6mbqftcdnl7/IMG_0638.MOV?dl=0

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UPDATE: Problem resolved! It was the fan pin connection setting that was causing the issue. After changing the commander pro settings from Auto to 4-pin (since these are PWM fans as you noted in #1), it's as quiet as a mouse on bootup.

 

I greatly appreciate the help throughout this process!

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Well good, because I was having a hard time replicating things. I haven't talked about the auto vs 4 pin thing in a while, but the operating theory was that when in auto mode it must do fan power test on each boot/wake to cover the starting voltage for a DC fan. Once you tell it things are PWM, then it no longer needs to do that and automatically supplies the 12v on that line while leaving the tach line untouched.

 

Your case looks nice. I am about to start a build in the same one and I agonized over white vs black LL fans for quite a while. I am going to have black radiators everywhere, so I think I made the right call with the standard LL, but it definitely looks better with the white when mounted against the case. Good luck!

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That makes sense. I'm extremely happy to get this resolved. Now i know for the future what to look for if this issue occurs.

 

Thank you! I watched many reviews on the Lian Li PC-11 Dynamic case and finally pulled the trigger. It's my favorite case that I've built in so far. The panels come off super easy and it has plenty of room to work in. If you haven't bought the case yet, Amazon has it marked down to $119 (org $140).

 

My future plans are a custom water cooled loop. I've only had AIOs in my builds. Corsairs' new Hydro series looks great and it will probably be what I go with. Plus, it keeps everything within the iCue Software ecosystem.

 

Best of luck on your build and take care!

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