MSI Global English Forum (2024)

Hello, I was wondering what the best method was for controlling system fans on the MSI Pro Z690-A DDR4 ATX. Trying through the BIOS doesn't seem to influence the speed of the System or Case Fans. Even when setting the values to 0 the fans appear to be running at 100%. The RPM reading is '0' for these fans as well, but I've read this is due to them being passed through a fan controller.

In addition to the BIOS so far I've also tried: MSI Afterburner and MSI Center - FROZR AI Cooing. I'm about to try MSI Dragon Center. Apparently the Motherboard is too new to be compatible with Speed Fan.

Is there a recommended bios or software solution to controlling fan speeds?

Thanks for your help and sorry in advance for any of my unfamiliarity!

Edit: This is on a Windows 11 system.

You have to plug the fans directly to the fan headers on the board if you want them to be properly controlled by the board.

Then, i always set the fan curves in the BIOS. This is how to do it: Guide: How to set up a fan curve in the BIOS

Thank you for your reply. Sorry again for the unfamiliarity, I purchased this pc prebuilt and it's been a while since I built my last one so I'm being a bit cautious with things.

After reading up on the topic it's my understanding that fans generally plug into either: A.) the motherboard, B.) the PSU, or C.) a fan hub/controller which then plugs into the motherboard.

As the SYS_FAN headers on the motherboard are empty, I have to assume mine is using solution B. With solution B there is no speed control available and the fans run at 100% all the time, correct?

It appears that the z690-a has 5 SYS_FAN headers. If I have six fans outside those on the GPU, two of which are mounted on the radiator of the AIO cooler (I believe the AIO's pump and AIO radiator fans occupy their own headers, correct?), does this mean that I will need to purchase a fan controller in order to control the speed of all six?

I don't mean to exceed the scope of this forum and I'll keep on the topic of MSI Intel Motherboards here, but I thought I'd organize my thoughts a bit and ask a few questions that you might be able to answer.

Thanks again!

On your board model, you have a total of 8 fan headers. I marked them for you:

CPU_FAN1 and PUMP_FAN1 default to PWM control mode, the SYS fans default to DC control mode. I explain that in the thread that i linked before.

On the PUMP_FAN1 header, you want to put your water pump, cause it draws the most current and that header can provide the most current. The others you can put on the other headers.

Consult the manual of your water cooler as to what's the best way, or read reviews of the cooler to see how others have done it. I'm not using a water cooler so i can't say for sure what the best way is, especially if it bundles some sort of fan controller to use with it. Often times that's so that you can use the water cooler manufacturer's own tool to control everything about the cooler and its fans.

Ah, I missed SYS_FAN6 when I first looked. Thanks for the diagram, that's much clearer.

If I plug each of the six fans (either 90mm DC or 120mm PWM) in my case into the individual SYS_FAN headers available on the motherboard, I won't risk overloading anything, correct?

Edit: two 90mm DC, two 120mm PWM, two 140mm PWM.

This is all great information. It seems that my AIO's fans as described in section six of this manual (It's the '240 MP' version) have been daisy chained together with the provided PWM extension cable.

These are the specs for the fans included with the AIO:

Is there sufficient information there to determine if two daisy chained fans of this type could connect safely to a single SYS_FAN Header via the PWM extension cable?