When I was first setting up my pc I noticed in BIOS that I can have the fans vary in rpm but temps would go up. So I just set them to the idk Highest? Max? R speeds and no rising temps.
My thinking was that having more consistent temps would put less strain on my parts over time.
I just wanted to know if there are unintended consequences or anything else I should be aware about.
TIA.
Posted Apr 10, 2021, 9:04 PM UTC
Id rather have a curve..i couldnt stand fans on max rpm all the time
Also that could kill the fans faster, while high temps wont cause any problems, even long term
Obviously you can go full rpm all the time, but it sounds strange and its not needed..
Your logic is correct. Consistent loads and temps are great for parts. That’s why mining cards are actually preferable to buy than used gaming cards (despite the prejudice against them).
Technically, the best thing for your components would be to have the fans maxed out (although you will kill the fans), but that causes a lot of noise. Personally, I would just leave the fan curve to default
Thanks for the info. It seems like fans are cheaper and easier to replace than stressing my C/GPU.
One thing I forgot to mention is that I have to clean the dust filters probably more frequently as it’s drawing in more air. But that seems like it s better to do that more frequently anyway than say having never cleaned my Xbox.
Full RPM is louder, but keeps your temps lower. If you can live with the noise it might be better to keep them at max, though the fans may or may not die faster. I personally keep all of my fans around 60-100% - they slow down somewhat under light load, but max out as soon as a reasonably heavy load hits. For reference, the fans would probably be able to spin at around 20-30% minimum.
This reminds me a little bit of HDDs, where some people argue it's better to turn them off when not in use (so they're not spinning all the time), and some people argue it's better to just keep them on (so they don't start and stop frequently). I haven't seen a definitive answer either way.
HDDs don’t already stay off?
I’m using mostly SDD and the only time I hear my HDD kick on is when I’m trying to access windows explorer.
You can configure it to stay on. I believe turning off after some amount of idle time is default.
Your logic is correct, but it is not high temperature that kills chips. It's temperature variations (I.e. thermal shock). So ramp the fans down in idle and go to full speed at load actually keeps the temperature variation low. So higher idle and lower load temperature prolongs chip lives.
The bearings can wear out faster, and it will run louder. variable speed is better
Fans seem easier/cheaper to repair than a CPU wearing out due to temperature flux.
Your fans on variable speeds will die multiple times over before your cpu dies from temperature fluctuations. You're fine