Can I disable Q-Fan Control BEFORE installing Windows?

[1st_Tym_Builder]

Hi everyone, I've turned on my first ever build and it seems to be working

and sending me into the BIOS correctly :D :D :D :D.

 

However I have a query before proceeding.

 

I have a Corsair H150i RGB Pro XT installed as a side intake on my Lian Li 011D XL.

As instructed by the manual it's connected to the CPU_FAN header and I'd like to keep

it this way as according to DevBiker's Cooling post this will allow

for a warning to occur if the pump does end up failing.

 

My motherboard is Maximus XI Hero and on BIOS 1401

 

I understand that the Q-fan control must be disabled or should be set to

constant 100% speed so that the pump operates correctly (or is this irrelevant with the Pro series??)

 

My Q is, is it fine to change these fan settings before installing Windows?

 

Sorry if this is a silly Q, just wanna make sure as I'm complete beginner with this.

 

Thanks for any help!

Edited December 18, 2020 by 1st_Tym_Builder

[mikedoh]

I have the Hero X Maximus board.

 

I don't think there is a disable on mine so I've set them to manual 100% and yes its fine to do this before you install windows. Its just making sure you get the correct power and Q-Control doesnt regulate it.

[1st_Tym_Builder]

I have the Hero X Maximus board.

 

I don't think there is a disable on mine so I've set them to manual 100% and yes its fine to do this before you install windows. Its just making sure you get the correct power and Q-Control doesnt regulate it.

 

Thank you!

[c-attack]

Yes, you can disable it from the BIOS directly. For Asus boards, it's the "Full Speed" option in the "EZ BIOS" graph or QFan "disabled" from the Advanced BIOS -> Monitoring tab -> Qfan -> CPU fan (usually toward the very bottom).

 

However, this is not as critical as it once was. For any pump that gets it's power from the MB fan headers, it still is the first thing you need to do. For most newer large or RGB AIOs, your power will come from the SATA connection. That means full voltage to the pump all the time. You can't screw this one up and you don't have to worry about overloading the 1.0A MB header. For these models, it doesn't matter if you connect the dummy 1 wire tachometer lead, but it usually is a good idea to connect it to CPU fan anyway. This makes the BIOS "CPU boot error" protection work as intended. If the BIOS doesn't get a response on boot from the pump, it will stop you on load to let you know there is an issue. Otherwise you would make it to the OS while wondering why the fans are continually ramping up to maximum before eventually triggering the CPU temp protection and shutdown.