MacPro 2.93 Mhz Fan Control Apps ....

vja4Him

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I just downloaded two apps for controlling fan speed on my MacPro 2.93 Mhz. Not sure if I even need the apps, but I thought I'd give them a try ....

I installed Fan Control which only allows me to control the Left Fan (PCI) and Right Fan (PS). I have no idea what PCI and PS means ...

smcFanControl allows me to control all five fans, with a Menu Pull Down Read-out showing speeds of all five fans.

I think this could really come in handy during the hot weather. My bedroom gets up to 100 Degrees F. (37.7 Degrees C.). I've seen computer temperatures over 170 Degrees F. (76.6 Degrees C.) in the summer.

Are there any other Fan Control Apps that would work on my MacPro 2.93 Mhz?
 
PCI would be your expansion slot area fan.
PS would be the Power Supply fan (which I don't think you can actually vary the speed on that one, but I could be wrong)
Anyway, the power supply is not the primary heat producing area in your MacPro.
So, I conclude that the Fan Control app is mis-identifying your fans, and probably a good choice to _not_ use that one...
Good thing, too, because I like the smcFanControl.

And, I think you need to balance the cooling with the extra noise from the fans running at higher than normal speeds. If you are OK with that, then go for it!
 
PCI would be your expansion slot area fan.
PS would be the Power Supply fan (which I don't think you can actually vary the speed on that one, but I could be wrong)
Anyway, the power supply is not the primary heat producing area in your MacPro.
So, I conclude that the Fan Control app is mis-identifying your fans, and probably a good choice to _not_ use that one...
Good thing, too, because I like the smcFanControl.

And, I think you need to balance the cooling with the extra noise from the fans running at higher than normal speeds. If you are OK with that, then go for it!

I don't see any way to disable Fan Control .....
 
You will probably have better results if you don't try to disable that software, but simply uninstall it.
Go to the support page for that software if you are not sure how to do that...
http://www.lobotomo.com/products/FanControl/
It tells you on that page exactly what folders to delete.
Don't ignore the step 3 to reset the SMC...
 
I don't see any way to disable Fan Control .....

Ok, I figured out how to disable Fan Control.

Now I only have smcFanControl installed. I can hear the fans running all the time now. Before I could rarely ever hear the fans, even during the hot summer.

I have the slider controls set to the minimum, but the fans still run constantly, and my room is in the 50s F.

I really don't think the fans should be running all the time. The only way I can find to stop this, is to delete smcFanControl.

Is there any other FanControl apps that will allow you to adjust the fan speeds so the fans will not run all the time?
 
Even with no fan utility, your fans run all the time. That's part of the hardware - the fans never stop.
The fact that you HEAR the fans, is because you have the fans set too fast.
In normal defaults, you should expect to not hear the fans, unless you system is under heavy load.
Or, the SMC is still out of sync.
Open the smcFanControl prefs - it's in the menu bar control, and change the Active Setting to defaults, and wait a couple of minutes for the fans to return to normal. This is not instantaneous, and shouldn't be. Then, you can quit smcFanControl.
Personally, I don't leave smcFanControl running, unless I am actually doing some intense task. Don't forget, if you change the preference settings in sFC, nothing happens until you hit the Apply button, and fan speed changes gradually, but will usually be settled in to the change within a minute or two at most. Don't forget to press the Apply button each time you change the fan speed slider.
My suggestion is that you can change the max speed for one individual fan, Apply that setting, so that you know which fan is at highest speed, then set that fan back to minimum. Do that in turn for each fan. You might find out that one fan doesn't respond to return to idle. reset your SMC again to try to get that fan under control.
You then need to determine what is a normal idle speed for each fan, and the normal range of temps in your MacPro (assuming a normal ambient temp - that's the temp measured in your room!) You should expect that a high ambient temp (above 85F) will in turn result a higher average temp inside your MacPro.
100 F ambient temp is a terrible way to treat your Mac. Just so you know, the older PowerMac G5 had a processor calibration procedure, to calibrate the action of temp sensors, etc on those G5 processors. The ambient temp needed to be maintained at a constant level for a valid test, at less than 77 F. or 25 C
 
Even with no fan utility, your fans run all the time. That's part of the hardware - the fans never stop.
The fact that you HEAR the fans, is because you have the fans set too fast.
In normal defaults, you should expect to not hear the fans, unless you system is under heavy load.
Or, the SMC is still out of sync.
Open the smcFanControl prefs - it's in the menu bar control, and change the Active Setting to defaults, and wait a couple of minutes for the fans to return to normal. This is not instantaneous, and shouldn't be. Then, you can quit smcFanControl.
Personally, I don't leave smcFanControl running, unless I am actually doing some intense task. Don't forget, if you change the preference settings in sFC, nothing happens until you hit the Apply button, and fan speed changes gradually, but will usually be settled in to the change within a minute or two at most. Don't forget to press the Apply button each time you change the fan speed slider.
My suggestion is that you can change the max speed for one individual fan, Apply that setting, so that you know which fan is at highest speed, then set that fan back to minimum. Do that in turn for each fan. You might find out that one fan doesn't respond to return to idle. reset your SMC again to try to get that fan under control.
You then need to determine what is a normal idle speed for each fan, and the normal range of temps in your MacPro (assuming a normal ambient temp - that's the temp measured in your room!) You should expect that a high ambient temp (above 85F) will in turn result a higher average temp inside your MacPro.
100 F ambient temp is a terrible way to treat your Mac. Just so you know, the older PowerMac G5 had a processor calibration procedure, to calibrate the action of temp sensors, etc on those G5 processors. The ambient temp needed to be maintained at a constant level for a valid test, at less than 77 F. or 25 C

smcFanControl was already set for Default. I tried clicking on Default and saving for each slider, but nothing has changed.

PCI and PS Fans are still running at 1100. When I first got my MacPro, I never heard the fans. In fact, I only heard the fans for the first time in almost three years yesterday when I installed FanControl and smcFanControl.

The other three fans are running between 600 and 856rpm.

I think I'll try deleting smcFanControl and see what happens .....
 
iStat shows the same fan speed readings for all five fans as smcFanControl.

I've waited about five minutes or longer, and the PCI and PS fans are not slowing down.
 
The speeds that you describe would be correct idle speeds from your fans. They can't go slower than that idle speed, unless you turn your Mac power off. That's the only time when the fans will be off, when there's no power.
You wouldn't hear the fans running at idle, unless you were listening carefully.
Your MacPro is just not dead-silent, there is always fan noise, and you've apparently not paid attention to that before.
I suspect that you are simply hearing the normal noise of the fans idling, which is completely normal, and always there, yet quite faint.
So, nothing new, just you paying close attention, and the noise in reality is actually no more than usual.
The only way to know this for sure, is if you have a high quality recording of your ambient noise in your room from before, and after.

Of course, it's also possible that you do NOW have a real noise, because of a fan mechanical problem, and the fan controlling software is a pure coincidence.
Use your smcFanControl, and run each fan up speed, one at a time, then back to idle.
Then, adjust the controls so ALL fans run at maximum, then set back to idle. Don't forget to click the Apply each time you change the sliders, otherwise nothing changes.
You will then hear what the real fan noise is, and also know for sure what an idle fan sounds like.
 
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