Dig through your BIOS settings and your motherboard's manual for more information on your specific PC.įor example, in my computer's BIOS, I can only automatically control fans based on the CPU temperature. Your SYS fans may have similar options, or you may only be able to set them to certain constant speeds. You may have to play with these values a bit to get them just right. If you find that happening, you'll want to raise your target temperature and/or raise your minimum fan speed. But then your temperature will increase, because the fan has slowed down, creating a situation in which the fan is constantly ramping up, slowing down, then ramping up again every minute or two.

Your fan will ramp up to cool the PC, and slow down when it reaches your target temperature. NOTE: If either of these values is too low, you'll run into a bit of an annoyance. If your computer is constantly working hard due to a runaway program, its fans are going to run much more often.

Open up Windows' Task Manager and see if there are any programs working hard that shouldn't be. Related: How to Use the New Task Manager in Windows 8 or 10 If you're using a laptop, try to keep it on a flat surface where the rubber feet can allow air to pass under it, rather than using it on top of a blanket or mattress. If you're using a desktop, make sure there's some space around the case, not pushed up against a wall or in a closed cupboard.

Make sure your computer is well ventilated.

We have entire guides on cleaning out desktops and laptops.

If it's dusty, clean it out (especially the fans) with some compressed air. Open your computer and check for dust buildup.Related: Can You Build a Fanless Desktop PC? If your computer is getting hotter than you'd like, or your fans are louder than you'd like, you should do a couple of other things first: If you are using a laptop or other off-the-shelf computer (like a Dell), chances are your computer automatically controls its fans to some extent already. Let's start with a really simple question: Do you really need to customize your fan control? How you control your fans depends a lot on your computer, your fans, and how everything is put together, so let's start with some basics.

But there's nothing quite like automatic fan control, where your PC ramps up the fans when things get hot, and turn them down when it's business as usual. Sure, you could connect a manual fan controller to your PC, with knobs that set fans to different speeds.

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