Patching your DSDT ProBook 4x30s using MaciASL

[RehabMan]

It does work alright, the fan turns off as usual and all is well, but I've lost all the information the HWMonitor used to show. Like how many seconds it was until a step up, and the average CPU temp.

Was that removed on purpose or is there a newer version of your modified HWMonitor app somewhere?

Thanks!

Removed on purpose from DSDT. That was just for debugging purposes. You will see it commented out if you look at the 04_FanExperimental.txt.

 

[juliopw]

It does work alright, the fan turns off as usual and all is well, but I've lost all the information the HWMonitor used to show. Like how many seconds it was until a step up, and the average CPU temp.

Was that removed on purpose or is there a newer version of your modified HWMonitor app somewhere?

Thanks!

iStat Menus is showing the temperature normally.

 

[RehabMan]

iStat Menus is showing the temperature normally.

He was asking about the "CPU Average" and "Fan Counter" displayed in my version of HWMonitor.app when combined with debug DSDT fan control. Without debug DSDT, you won't be seeing those -- in HWMonitor or anything else.

 

[Joyfult]

He was asking about the "CPU Average" and "Fan Counter" displayed in my version of HWMonitor.app when combined with debug DSDT fan control. Without debug DSDT, you won't be seeing those -- in HWMonitor or anything else.

RM, please explain me the normal behavior of the fan (to give me the possibility to understand and choose).

I mean:

With Windows: CPU temperature and fan RPM? When the fan start? or is always on?
With OS X dsdt (no fan patch): CPU temperature and fan RPM? When the fan start? or is always on?
With OS X dsdt (with fan patch): CPU temperature and fan RPM? When the fan start? or is always on?

Thank you in advance!

 

[RehabMan]

RM, please explain me the normal behavior of the fan (to give me the possibility to understand and choose).

I mean:

With Windows: CPU temperature and fan RPM? When the fan start? or is always on?

In Windows the fan will be on except at temperatures at or below 31C. In addition, if BIOS is set to have fan always on with AC power, fan will always be on if AC power is plugged in. Whenever the fan transitions from off to on, it generally spins at the second to lowest speed (pretty dumb).

With OS X dsdt (no fan patch): CPU temperature and fan RPM? When the fan start? or is always on?
With OS X dsdt (with fan patch): CPU temperature and fan RPM? When the fan start? or is always on?

There are really two fan patches. The one that mac4mat did originally and the one I wrote late summer 2012.

mac4mat's version:
- makes no attempt to force the fan off
- at temps between 35C and 52C (inclusive), will hold the fan at its lowest speed
- at temps less than 32C or greater than 54C, will set the fan to "automatic" mode (Windows mode)

mine:
- my version forces control over the fan by making the EC think the CPU heatsink is 31C
- fan speed is loosely controlled by a DSDT table, FTAB
(default FTAB, from the patch)

// Fan Control Table (pairs of temp, fan control byte)\n
	Name (FTAB, Buffer ()\n
	{\n
		50, 255, 	// 255 is off (really auto, but at low temp it is off)\n
		57, 128, 	// 128 is slowest speed\n
		63, 82,\n
		68, 74,\n
		72, 59,\n
		75, 49,\n
		0xFF, 0 	// last entry must be 0xFF, 0 is max fan speed\n
	})\n

Values in the first "column" are temperatures, values in the second column are fan control values/steps (correspond to speeds). CPU temps below or equal to the number in the first column cause fan to spin at the value specified by the second column. You would have to experiment to discover how each of these values correspond to RPM or read my fan thread... they were probably enumerated somewhere along the way. I don't recall how each of the seven fan control values correspond to fan RPM, but those are the only steps available. 255 is off (or "auto") and 0 is full blast.

I say "loosely controlled" by the FTAB, because changes to the fan speed are also moderated by using averages and timers that keep from having constant changes in fan speed.

Also, with any version, if you set BIOS to have fan always on with AC power connected, fan will never turn off as long as you are running on AC power.

Thus the only way to exercise absolute control over the fan is to uncheck the BIOS fan option, and use my DSDT based fan control solution, with a table to your liking.

There is more information in the fan thread.

 

[Joyfult]

In Windows the fan will be on except at temperatures at or below 31C. In addition, if BIOS is set to have fan always on with AC power, fan will always be on if AC power is plugged in. Whenever the fan transitions from off to on, it generally spins at the second to lowest speed (pretty dumb).



There are really two fan patches. The one that mac4mat did originally and the one I wrote late summer 2012.

mac4mat's version:
- makes no attempt to force the fan off
- at temps between 35C and 52C (inclusive), will hold the fan at its lowest speed
- at temps less than 32C or greater than 54C, will set the fan to "automatic" mode (Windows mode)

mine:
- my version forces control over the fan by making the EC think the CPU heatsink is 31C
- fan speed is loosely controlled by a DSDT table, FTAB
(default FTAB, from the patch)

// Fan Control Table (pairs of temp, fan control byte)\n
	Name (FTAB, Buffer ()\n
	{\n
		50, 255, 	// 255 is off (really auto, but at low temp it is off)\n
		57, 128, 	// 128 is slowest speed\n
		63, 82,\n
		68, 74,\n
		72, 59,\n
		75, 49,\n
		0xFF, 0 	// last entry must be 0xFF, 0 is max fan speed\n
	})\n

Values in the first "column" are temperatures, values in the second column are fan control values/steps (correspond to speeds). CPU temps below or equal to the number in the first column cause fan to spin at the value specified by the second column. You would have to experiment to discover how each of these values correspond to RPM or read my fan thread... they were probably enumerated somewhere along the way. I don't recall how each of the seven fan control values correspond to fan RPM, but those are the only steps available. 255 is off (or "auto") and 0 is full blast.

I say "loosely controlled" by the FTAB, because changes to the fan speed are also moderated by using averages and timers that keep from having constant changes in fan speed.

Also, with any version, if you set BIOS to have fan always on with AC power connected, fan will never turn off as long as you are running on AC power.

Thus the only way to exercise absolute control over the fan is to uncheck the BIOS fan option, and use my DSDT based fan control solution, with a table to your liking.

There is more information in the fan thread.

Thanks RM for the explication, you are really the best!

My probook, using only itunes and chrome, is already at 50-53C.. So, I will never have the possibility to use it with the fan at 0 rpm (I always listen music while I surf the net).
Maybe the best solution for me is the mac4mat's version. I have to patch again my raw dsdt this time choosing the "All (standard screens)" option, right? And in the BIOS I have to check or not the fan always on with AC power connected option?
Thanks Mentor !

 

[RehabMan]

Thanks RM for the explication, you are really the best!

My probook, using only itunes and chrome, is already at 50-53C.. So, I will never have the possibility to use it with the fan at 0 rpm (I always listen music while I surf the net).
Maybe the best solution for me is the mac4mat's version. I have to patch again my raw dsdt this time choosing the "All (standard screens)" option, right? And in the BIOS I have to check or not the fan always on with AC power connected option?
Thanks Mentor !

You can try it, but I think your results are going to be close to the same. Using mine at 50C the fan will be off. But at 51 to 55 (inclusive) fan runs at slowest speed. Of course, eventually the fan turning even at the slowest speed will dip your temps under 51 at which time the fan "think about" turning off. The fan will continue to run for another 40 seconds, probably bringing your temps down into the mid-40s and after the 40-second timeout, the fan will turn off shortly thereafter, at which point the temps will start to climb again. If you want to avoid the fan turning on/off, then check the "fan always on w/ AC power" in BIOS.

Also, you can tweak the FTAB to anything you want, including setting it up so the fan never turns off in any case (even while on battery). It all depends on what you want, and certainly you have much greater control using my solution...

But yeah, try the different solutions and see what you like... It is all personal preference really...

 

[Joyfult]

You can try it, but I think your results are going to be close to the same. Using mine at 50C the fan will be off. But at 51 to 55 (inclusive) fan runs at slowest speed. Of course, eventually the fan turning even at the slowest speed will dip your temps under 51 at which time the fan "think about" turning off. The fan will continue to run for another 40 seconds, probably bringing your temps down into the mid-40s and after the 40-second timeout, the fan will turn off shortly thereafter, at which point the temps will start to climb again. If you want to avoid the fan turning on/off, then check the "fan always on w/ AC power" in BIOS.

Also, you can tweak the FTAB to anything you want, including setting it up so the fan never turns off in any case (even while on battery). It all depends on what you want, and certainly you have much greater control using my solution...

But yeah, try the different solutions and see what you like... It is all personal preference really...

I'm testing your solution with HWMonitor. I noticed that the fan go to 0 rpm for maximum 40-50 secs each 2-3 minutes (sometimes more). So, it's a continuous turning on/off.
How the fan work on your system?
Running your fan patch with the "fan always on w/ AC power" in BIOS checked and the mac4mat's one, is practically the same thing?
Thank you for the patience!

 

[RehabMan]

I'm testing your solution with HWMonitor. I noticed that the fan go to 0 rpm for maximum 40-50 secs each 2-3 minutes (sometimes more). So, it's a continuous turning on/off.
How the fan work on your system?

My fan is off most of the time, but I have an i3 which generates less heat, and I don't use iTunes. It can also depend on the ambient temperature (ie. temperature in the room).

Running your fan patch with the "fan always on w/ AC power" in BIOS checked and the mac4mat's one, is practically the same thing?
Thank you for the patience!

I think it would be very similar behavior, as I explained before...

The difference is the possibility to change the FTAB to change the behavior relatively easily. That is, you have more control.

Some day, I will take my laptop apart (again) and place a resistor inline to the fan circuit in an attempt to make the fan run slower. I'd rather have it on at all times, but moving slower (I'm sure that if it was 900-1000 rpm it would be barely noticeable).

 

[Joyfult]

My fan is off most of the time, but I have an i3 which generates less heat, and I don't use iTunes. It can also depend on the ambient temperature (ie. temperature in the room).



I think it would be very similar behavior, as I explained before...

The difference is the possibility to change the FTAB to change the behavior relatively easily. That is, you have more control.

Some day, I will take my laptop apart (again) and place a resistor inline to the fan circuit in an attempt to make the fan run slower. I'd rather have it on at all times, but moving slower (I'm sure that if it was 900-1000 rpm it would be barely noticeable).

Thanks Mentor! Now I have all the info I need.
For the moment I continue to use your patch and if I see that is not so convenient, I will just check the the "fan always on w/ AC power" in BIOS (to have more or less the same result like the mac4mat's version). Is that correct?

Thanks!