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I noticed some issue(s) with the PC Fan Control App on my P870DM :
- If set the GPU fan speed below 92 the fans don't spin at all but the "Current Fan Duties" show that the fans is at 29%-35%
- If the CPU fan speed is set below 103 the fan don't spin at all but the "Current Fan Duties" show that the fan is at 29%-35%
I noticed this because the temps kept on raising even and the fans kicked when the temp was pretty high 60C
Besides the fact that I don't personally like the 0-255 system but probably was implemented because it was needed a more granular approach to setting up the fan speed I am worried when fans don't spin and the app is telling me that they do.
In the ver 1 of the app at the 1% fan speed the fans were running.
Overall it's not a huge deal I can set things to make them work right, but then again I am a techie, I like to fiddle with hardware, settings, software... Other people might encounter difficulties if they rely on the "current fan duties" indicator....
I'll test the behavior on the P870TM and I'll be back with comments
It´s actually easy to understand.
Imagine the 0 - 255 like a rotary switch (a Potentiometer).
That´s the input the EC uses, simple 0 to 255 resolution.
Now remember fans use voltage to run, so 0 to 255 regulates the amount of voltage it goes to the fan.
While some fans (smaller usually) will react to the smallest voltage, others will not.
If i make it in a percentage scale (0% to 100%) you loose resolution, and on systems like N141 with it´s very sensible and small fan, 1% interval might not cut it to get you that fine tuning you want. So by using 0 to 255 you get the full scale and the full control, no matter what system or fans you use.
Not only this, but I suspect some models the fans aren't 12v/15v, but 5V. So even translating the 0 to 255 to a voltage number would be confusing.
Believe me, it's better to have a 0 to 255 knob so you can really fine tune the fans
last 2-3 updates of fan control carried the "critical service is not responding" error. After click yes everything seemed to be ok but earlier updates never triggered this error.
Yeah, the first time you update it will show up.
But then, if you restart your laptop or close fan control and open it again it should not show that message again.
EDIT: OH maybe what you mean is that EVERYTIME you update FanControl / KBLED or Control Station it ALWAYS shows that message right?
That´s by design, because the updater is also updating the background Service that is running to talk with the EC.
The only way to minimize that is using the independent apps installer like reported before.
Have you had a chance to look into the issue with the LED where it is not turning off all the way with the auto dim feature? It dims, but never goes completely out. And it mostly is on the right side of the keyboard. Does no one else have this problem?
Updated Keyboard LED to 0.3.0 - Should have the auto turn-off fixed
- Smoother Fade Out on auto turn-off
- Improved UI response when changing brightness
- Fixed the KBLed start when auto turn-off was selected in the previous use
- Fixed auto turn-off overwriting previous set Brightness
Now a different problem happens. When waking from auto-dim, it turns on really faint for just a moment before dimming down again. In the app, the brightness level stays at 0% when typing.
Yeap i was able to reproduce.
Try it now (updated to 0.3.1).
After this if there´s no more bug we will change version to 1.0
Only thing important missing at this point is the P870 lid LED.
If anyone out there got time for me to do some testing i can try to solve the LID thing now.
Now i have a new one. With auto dim, i cannot choose a brightness level other than 100%. if i change it, it immediately jumps back to 100%. If i turn off auto dim, i can choose any percentage. I have it on 100%, so it's not that big of a deal, but it's a bug.
I am sorry but I think the bug is still present somehow...
I did all the updates needed, the Keyboard app is at v0.3.2 and on my P870TM-G after 10 minutes the center part of the keyboard was again very very dim instead of completely off like the rest (left and right side). After I pressed a key, the left and middle part returned to the white color but right side is purple.
I use a single zone, set to white (chosen from the drop down menu, nothing custom) . Brightness 22%, turn off after 10 minutes.
That will show up every time you update something, it´s the only way i have to triple check that everything is running fine.
You can switch to the individual apps package and it will only show when you update Fan Control.
Hummm weird, i can´t reproduce it now, ill try to reproduce it somehow. KBLED is probably the least developed app so some features might need some more work. And i never actually used the dim option so i guess it needs more work...
BTW someone convinced me to do some videos explaining each app, not in a "marketing" perspective but in a developer perspective and someone who is trying to teach someone how to use it.
Sorry for my really bad English and weirdest accent, but here you go:
Is there any benefit to using the combined package? Or, is there any detriment to using the separate apps if you're using all apps? From a usability standpoint, the frequent updates mean I'm seeing that critical service error quite a bit.
Also, thanks for your work on this. I'm quite happy to have dumped CCC.
I had Clevo Service on disabled startup since I tried the new fan control since I went back to the old gear, but I was getting the same typing lag every now and then (in particular, it was in Twitch tv sites and on Discord) after a few days. I deleted the service and rebooted (I'd rebooted more than once before) and the issue went away again. I don't know what the cause could be since it (to my knowledge) didn't do anything in games, but it was the same issue I had when control station ran.
I don't know if this is useful information or if you could find a fix somewhere, but still reporting it nonetheless.
Is there any software you recommend to show the current temps in a widget or task tray (similar to SpeedFan)? Alternatively, is it possible to implement a Fan Control widget that displays temps and fan speeds?
Yes, I think so. I wonder if, similar to SpeedFan, the tray icon could be modified to display the hottest element (GPU / CPU) instead of the active fan mode.
Alternately, do you know if using Rainmeter to display something similar to the Control Station widget would interfere with Fan Control?
Re: Rainmeter, not necessarily. There are apps that already read and display the information, and I wouldn't ask you to do more specialized app work.
I was more asking about a potential conflict for apps that are accessing the same information because I think I've read earlier in this thread that this has caused performance issues.
The only thing you should avoid at all costs is apps that talk to the EC chip, which to my understanding only HWinfo is doing to query the fan speed.
Everything else usually uses Ring0 methods for CPU stuff and Nvidia API for GPU temp/load, so those should be fine.
this worked great, thanks! I have a backup USB drive now with the latest drivers, so if I ever need a clean install I have 0 need to connect to the internet, thanks John you rock!
Im still experiencing this whenever i change to Manual mode. Seems to work fine on all other modes. For me just shuts down with zero windows warnings.
At the moment i'm stuck using fc2 with ec automatic.
(P870 dm3-g, single graphics card, 7700k cpu upgrade. Prema bios. No CCC installed. Fresh install of Windows 10 Pro. Temps only reaching around 73 degrees C for both CPU and Gfx card on average.)
Problem was only introduced since moving from fc 1.2.6 to any version of fc2
So a while ago, I noticed that I have a current limit throttle problem. Like a real one. I dont have Prema Bios, so Current throttle is pretty normal during say an XTU bench or similar. During gaming or opening say ten tabs in Chrome, while the temps will go up, I usually dont current throttle.
Lately however, after I turn my laptop on, it will run fine at the frequency Ive set (5.0Ghz, with an undervolt of -125 say), but then after a while, and particularly after I run an XTU bench, it will current throttle just at idle, and it will drop right down to 3.8 ish pretty much continuously.
Initially I thought there was something wrong. I uninstalled XTU, and used throttle stop, still got the current throttle. I messed around with various settings, mostly backing down my OC. I reset BIOS and ran it at stock, but it still current throttled. I checked the Mobo, and then I stopped using FC 2, and now it doesnt current throttle. It runs flipping hot, coz Im on stock fan curves, but it wont current throttle.
If I turn FC on, it current throttles. If I turn it off, it current throttles. If I restart and dont turn it on, it doesnt current throttle.
This is on a P870TM with a 8086K. Stock Bios, no delid.
Thoughts? Im not quite done testing, but this is where Im at...
Current throttle at Idle? How are you checking that? By looking where?
None of our systems shutdown and none of our systems add current throttle.
I am not saying it´s impossible for FC to be doing those crazy things, well it makes no sense, but for some reason requesting and sending data to the EC might have some side effects... but indeed i´m not able to reproduce it in a single unit...
I can clearly see that if i flood the EC with data then it get´s hard for the EC to reply to requests, sometimes it even replies with strange values, i did see that by debugging the returns.
But then again, unless there´s any software running like CCC that get´s values from the EC and does something with it, there should be no consequence.
The only way i can cause weirdness like that is by running FC and then also flood the WMI queires for ACPI-EC data.
I´m, not aware of anything else in the system doing that. And i doubt it compromises any BIOS-EC operations, because if it did i would be able to reproduce it in at least one unit.
So my question is what changes from my systems to yours? Maybe a need for an updated BIOS/EC ? Maybe one of the changes we make in our BIOS? Only thing i can remember is we disable platform power limits... not sure maybe those are being triggered by your system?
Could it be a case where BIOS is unable to get a proper reading from the EC and applies throttle? Maybe the shutdown is because the BIOS is getting some stupid high temperature value from the EC? Just me guessing based on my own debugs.
I need to investigate these questions, but it would help a lot if i could reproduce anything... i will try with a stock BIOS for starters.
I would hate to have to go back to ACPI methods... it plains sucks.
And my relation with CLEVO is going sour... to say the least.
Control Station and KBLED are free, we develop it and we give it out without the need to purchasing a license. As a hardware developer CLEVO should be all happy about helping developers, it´s good for them since we create solutions for other resellers and for users who are unhappy and could potential not buy a CLEVO again. Heck it brings value to a product, the bigger the community there is and the bigger eco-system there is (clients/developers/other companies creating stuff/etc).
Updater / Control Station / KBLED are hassle free, while FC made us go in a more "hack" direction.
But can you imagine those clients who are getting Updater out of the box when they purchase a laptop? Drivers / BIOS / EC updates with one click? All easy, frequently updated and tested. We got more then 800 active users at the moment, so there is no doubt people find the software useful in some way.
Control Station and KBLED both got so much potential for growth (if i just did not have to waste all my time with FanControl and EC hack). This makes a HUGE difference in the product you are selling.
The other day i was about to sign a reseller who just wanted to offer Updater + Control Station and KBLED, which was pretty good of a deal for them/us/clients. The only thing missing in Control Station was/is the fact that brightness controls do not work on MSHYBRID mode. So i emailed CLEVO to try to sort that out once and for all.
Well our business model kinda shifted and while we once bought hundreds of CLEVO barebones directly from CLEVO, in the past year we bought less and less and in the last months we bought none... why? We do not need to, we have such a good relation with other EU resellers that we been buying from them, all good, we still ONLY sell CLEVO right? And all good, we assist our friends with tech stuff, website stuff, BIOS doubts, software solutions, all to make them have better products, more happy clients, etc, all good right?
Well... not according to CLEVO as the reply to my email about the brightness was:
"You did not order directly from CLEVO, so we won’t support any technial issue."
This is not the first time i get this from them, and it goes away if i just place an order. But as we start doing more work for other resellers, and as we grow more in the software department we might even stop selling chassis one day and just do software or just do services for other resellers, i would not mind that at all. But well... communication and any kind of help from CLEVO is not easy... Imagine what i could do if they would just open up a communication channel with their R&D....
Doing this stuff is not easy, it could be, but it´s not. Their software will never be good, why? They have poor communication with the clients, they keep known bugs around for YEARS, and they impose what they think is best to Brands. Brands should be able to have more power over the products, but any request you make is either "We do it if you order X amount of units" or it just get´s ignored.
The clear path should be learning how to provide brands with proper tools, share software source code or create drivers/dlls/watever with documented APIs for brands with coders in the team.
This kinda makes me think i´m just wasting my time doing this... if i was developing hardware products and there was companies out there developing software to make my products sell more and to make my clients even more happy i would be so thankful for that and i would help them in any way i could. Not **** on them like i just got.
So guys, please report everything and try to help me out reproduce any problem by stating if you have CCC installed, laptop model and exact steps to reproduce. Sorry for the time it takes to sort some of the stuff, it´s really not easy when i cant even reproduce it! It could be... but it´s not...
I feel like my issue with FC is actually related to a bigger issue with my P870TM.
Very late last night I THINK it did it again on an old version of FC. it throttled anyway.
I am too busy to do more stuff today but perhaps I should DM you with what I’ve got?
I’ve been monitoring through XTU but I can also reproduce the issue using throttlestop.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.
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