What are my Aspire TC-895 Fan Control Options

Noxid47

Aspire TC-895 Fan Control Options

HARDWARE INFORMATION: 

Acer Aspire TC-895

Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-10400 CPU @ 2.90GHz

32GB of Crucial DDR4-2666 2x16 (CT16G4DFRA266.C8FB) <- Upgrade

ZOTAC GAMING GeForce GTX 1650 Low Profile 4GB GDDR6 <- Upgrade

WD Black SN750 NVMe SSD 500GB <- Upgrade - boot drive

TOSHIBA DT01ACA100 1TB 7200RPM Stock drive repurposed as Windows data drive

Noctua NF-A9 PWM added to the rear exhaust location

Magnetic Mesh Dust Filter added to side panel intake 0.9mm aperture 

BIOS VERSION: R01-A0

EC VERSION: 1.01

HOST OS: Windows 10 Pro Version 2004 (19041.546)

ISSUE: NF-A9 added to case exhaust location, connected to system fan header. 

Bios fan controls are minimal, "Smart Fan" enable or disable.

With Smart Fan disabled both CPU and NF-A9 run at full speed, but incorrectly report in HWINFO64, they are swapped, CPU reports as Chassis with a max RPM of 4500, and the NF-A9 reports as the CPU with the max RPM of 2000. (Both report correctly in the bios)

With Smart Fan enabled both work as intended raising and lowering RPM based on load, though the system fan header does not start the fan until temps in the case have already risen substantially. Additionally when Smart Fan is enabled there is no reported CPU fan, the Chassis fan is not reported, and the CPU fan is incorrectly reported as the Chassis fan but with its correct (CPU fan) RPM.

I’ve tried the usual options for controlling fan speed from within windows, (with smart fan disabled/enabled) none of the available software detects either fan. 

This machine will be left running continuously as a backup, file, and plex server for the family.
I’m also using it to host a few miscellaneous VMs and Dockers. 

My concern is with the dust filter I’ve added, if the exhaust fan is off most of the time, then the case will breath in through the exhaust defeating the purpose of the dust filter. Setting a minimum duty cycle for the exhaust fan would solve this I expect. Noise is not a concern, though it seems unnecessary to bruteforce the fans at full speed all the time as a solution to this software issue. 

I’ve considered adding the Noctua NA-FC1 and setting a constant speed that way, but again that’s a hardware solution to a software issue. 

Any ideas? Does this sort of thing warrant a support ticket? 

Surely a bios update could expose a few standard fan control options. 

Thanks for your time and ideas. 

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Edited the content to hide Personal Information

Acer-Erick

ttttt

@Noxid47,
Somehow I think some Acer motherboards have "Pseudo PWM " fan control. Some Noctua fans are just not that compatible with these Acer motherboards. I have some problems with that too.
Read this link:
https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/610419/noctua-nb-b9-fan-and-aspire-tc-885-problem#latest
Hopefully you can resolve the problem using software.

Noxid47

@ttttt
Thank you for the recommendation, I've installed the trial of the Argus Monitor software suggested in the link you've provided, unfortunately it reports that there are "No supported monitoring chip found".

I've also tried SpeedFan, FanControl, and the fan controller in HWINFO64, none of which can detect either fan, with Smart Fan enabled or disabled. 

I suppose I'll create a support ticket, if this can't / won't be resolved then it is cause enough for me to get my money back.

ttttt

@Noxid47,
I can see your TC-895 has a similar case and design like my TC-885. Where did you put the mesh filter?  Do you mean the case fan  below the power supply being the "exhaust fan" ? Or just the PSU outlet exhaust?  Original setup for my TC-885 is that the  PC intakes from the side panel without case fan. Your TC-895 with GPU and case fan will also intakes from side panel too (is it where the mesh filter is?). Oh!, try to use a piece of tissue paper to test the case fan outlet and the side panel to determine it.

Noxid47

@ttttt Yes the case has a similar design to the 885, this Mesh filter has been added over the openings on the left side panel of the case. The exhaust fan is located just below the PSU, which has its own fan. With smart fan disabled and the fans running at 100% a facial tissue is attracted to and held firmly against the mesh filter, confirming good ingress through the mesh filter. With Smart fan enabled, the exhaust fan is stationary most of the time, only when I've given it a task or a scheduled transcoding of security cam footage has it spun up the exhaust fan on its own. I'll test shortly with tissue paper to see the effectiveness of both the intake proper and the exhaust with smart fan enabled. 

Thanks for your help

KhaJo

@Noxid47,

I am having the same issue as well with but with a NF-P12 fan. it rarely ever works(at one point the cpu reach 100C, yet the fan didn't even turn). Has there been an update to your issue from the support team? if so how can I resolve this issue?

Noxid47

@Khajo There was a bios update not long ago, taking it to Version: R01-A1 Dated: 2020/11/26

I'm not certain it did anything but I feel as if it did, I hear the fans ramp up more actively and often, but that could just be confirmation bias, could also be do to the fact that it is now winter where I live and windows in the room where this computer is running 24/7 are rarely opened this time of year. So the temperature is a few degrees warmer on average. 

The room stays about 18°C to 20°C  | 64.4°F to 68.0°F

The CPU Package over the last 90 hours, was an average of 44°C (111.2°F), with a maximum of 74°C (165.2°F), and a minimum of 36°C (96.8°F)
Workload during that time was below average, handful of transcoding sessions, with basically constant direct streaming of content to other devices.
The CPU usage hit a maximum of 66.6% and had an average of 3.8%

The GPU was an average of 46°C (114.8°F) with a maximum of 81°C (177.8°F)
The GPU load maxed out at 100% at some point in that 90 hour time span, with an average load of 6.1%

There are 4 sensors reporting from the motherboard, only 3 of which are useful.
3 of the sensors report reasonable temps and the 4th sensor always reports -120°C (-184°F)

I've had no direct contact with Acer for support on this issue as of yet. 

It's frustrating because I have another Acer machine (N50-600) which came with their NitroSense software to manage the fans from within windows. Both machines are used the same way, self-hosting services for my family and our buildings. (I tried installing NitroSense on this machine when I first got it and it didn't work, I will try again though)

If I could set a minimum duty cycle in the bios, or even basic profiles, like one for default behaviour and another for a more aggressive fan curve I'd be very happy. 

To be fair, the temps I'm seeing are reasonable. 

The columns on the right side in the images below are: Current | Minimum | Maximum | Average
HWiNFO64 v6.40-4330

Noxid47

CPU and Chassis fan speeds with Smartfan enabled report incorrectly, basically swapping names.
I can confirm they're plugged into the correct headers on the motherboard, and the RPM values clearly show the Chassis reaching 2,537 RPM which is faster than the Noctua can go.

Assuming the information reported is swapped in this image and is of any value, it shows that the case fan is barely hitting 50% duty cycle and is usually off.

The CPU fan isn't even using its full potential, only hitting 56% duty cycle (2537 RPM / 4500 RPM) over that 90 hour period, when it reached 74°C (165.2°F) at 66.6% load.


The fans are correctly labeled with the correct RPM in the BIOS.

ttttt

Hey guys,
I think people should not use a Nocuta case fan for their Acer PC, as it maybe just incompatible with the Acer TC-885 / TC-895 (or even more others) motherboard " PWM SYS FAN" .

I don't have a solution, but in the summer I just set the Smart Fan Control "Disabled" (just let the case fan run at full speed). In cooler weather condition I have the Smart Fan "Enabled", so the case fan runs intermittently . Since I am not a heavy gamer and I 've already bought this Nocuta fan, that's the way how I use mine.

DANeighty6

Shocking a bios update could fix this, i guess acer cba since it has already been sold. Either bios fan control or the ability to use fancontrol programs etc would be great. Ill stick to another brand next time.