Fan control utility

DISCLAIMER
Using this software CAN ruin your computer. Proceed with caution.

Hello ladies and gents. Today I present to you: ACFanControl. This is a little utility that reads and writes to the Embedded Controller, that which controls your fan, monitor brightness, keyboards, etc... However, the most useful aspect to us is probably the ability to control the fan. So without further ado, here it is:

Clicky

Here's a very short guide on how to adapt the program to your Acer machine. You'll need some free time (a lot actually), a stress-testing program (like Prime95/IntelBurnTest/Furmark), and a temp monitoring program. I recommend OCCT for the later 2. Please read ALL of the following before attempting, because reading might save you some time and effort:

First, download the program. If your machine is not listed above, then just install it normally. The program should install a shortcut called Edit ACFanControl.ini. Find it and open it. Find in there the line ActiveMode=. Change the value to 0 for now. This will make the program reads the settings only, and cannot make any changes.

First thing you should do is let your laptop idle for a while. Have a temp monitor program open. Then open ACFanControl up and immediately press Read EC->EC1. It'll take a while, and the program might appear to be not responding, but give it time. You're getting all the EC data from the Embedded controller. When it shows up (a big list of hex numbers), find the temperatures in the list. When you've found the temps, put each offset into the text field on the right and press read. If the offset's data changes with the temperature, then that's the sensor. Write these offsets down.

Now, you'll need to fire up that stress test program, and let it run for a while. What we're trying to do is to get the BIOS to up the fan speed, and thereby allowing us to know where the offsets for fan control and fan speed are. After a while, your CPU+GPU will be nicely baked. Turn off the program. Now, press read EC->EC2. Wait for a while.

Now, what you need to do is compare the previous hex list and the new hex list for differences. How, you ask? I don't know, you think of something. If you need to view the old list, press display EC1. New list? display EC2.

Look for offsets that originally had a low value, and then a higher value. Usually, the values for the fan's current profile is between 1 and 6, and the value of the BIOS' command is between 0-5. Find those two. If you're lucky, the offsets will be at 94 and 85 respectively. If not, find them. Also try to find an offset where there is a big change. It's most likely the fan speed offset. Hint: Use the disp. EC2-EC1 button to make it easier.

Now, what you need to do is try to change the values for the BIOS' command offset. You need to find a value where it will allow you to change the fan profile. I suggest looking at values from 10 and above. When you try a new value, write random values to the other offset. If you feel the fan changes and/or see the fan offset changes, you've probably hit the right value. Put in more numbers, see if the speed changes accordingly. If yes, you're on. If not, keep trying.

Now, once you've gotten the value, it's time to do some experimenting. Keep the BIOS command value the same, and start experimenting with fan profile values. Start from 0, and work your way up. Note the fan speed. It's best if you keep an excel table. Note: Some values may turn off the fan, and in my case, permanently. You have to reset the BIOS command value to 0 (allow BIOS to take over), and then once you hear the fan spin up, change it back and continue.

A note about the fan speed: Bigger isn't necessarily faster. In my case (8940G), the fastest fan speed is at values between 210-220, 6th profile. 5th profile, between 240-255.

After you've found 6 levels of fan speed, or found the levels you wanted to find, it's time to edit the ini to your liking. You may want to consult Google Translate for the descriptions of the variables. The description does a good job, so you shouldn't have too many problems

If you're not computer savvy, or doesn't have any idea what to do, shoot me a PM with the following information: BIOS command offset, fan profile offset, fan speed offset, BIOS command manual value, fan profile level values, fan speed values (which profile has which fan speed value), and what you want to do (full manual editing, automated, etc etc). I'll help you with editing the ini file. Also provide your model and BIOS version, so I can add it to the list.

ini list:
Acer 8940G-6865 with bios 3114: View attachment ACFanControl_8940g.zip
8942g: View attachment ACFanControl_71b_8942G_ini.zip (older version, but should still work)
Extensa 5635z: View attachment ACFanControl_extensa 5635z.zip (same as above)

Those who are adventurous can always head over to Lüfterkontrolle 5235 / 5635 (z/g/zg): Testing - Acer-Userforum.de with google translator.

 

Does this work on Acer Ferrari 200 ? I need so bad a utility to quiet its fan.

 

This is a great tool. Thanks. Works miracles on 8942g.

 

Have others used this for the 8940g?

Any updates for Bios 3114? Do you have any guidance for using this utility?

Do you have any plans to enable fahrenheit instead of celius?

 

I'm currently using BIOS ver. 3114, and the settings are the same.

As for fahrenheit, I'm not sure. I'll have to ask the developers.

 

I made my own scheeme for fan speeds and tested it for a couple of days in everyday use and games. Not a single problem. GPU is warmer than CPU according to the ACFanControl and temps here are the higher reported (GPU)

Idle temps and light windows work: 47-52 fan off or 1st fan speed (much softer than the default BIOS 2nd speed)
Video and TV: around 50 - 1st fan speed
Gaming: around 68 after an hour - 5th fan speed (it is one below the fastest fan speed)

This is my fan speed scheme:

// Celsius/FanCtrl/BiosCtrl/CtrlNWrite

Level=10 216 03 0
Level=35 255 31 0
Level=43 255 31 0
Level=48 1 31 0
Level=52 2 31 0
Level=56 3 31 0
Level=63 4 31 0
Level=67 5 31 0
Level=70 6 31 0

I also tried fan off up to 58 and then when fan enters 1st speed it needs around 1 minute to bring it down to 45. Computer is virtually silent (I have an SSD and other drive goes off after 15mins on idle) for the most of the time. This is soooo nice late in the evening .

Default BIOS keeps it down to 40 in windows at mostly 2nd fan speed. Too noisy and too low in my opinion.

 

Damn, I wish my 8940G has temps like that. And nice bios too. Mine has values all over the place.

 

Have you found anything from the developers about converting to fahrenheit?

 

No luck I'm afraid

 

Thanks for checking and for providing the utility. This thing just works great.