Alienware M17x 1st Generation M5870 no fan control

So I recently transplanted 2 ATI m5870 in my first generation Alienware M17x laptop. I've worked out most of the bugs but am running into an issue in which the BIOS is unable to control the GPU fans automatically (GPU fans are plugged into the motherboard not GPU cards themselves), and trying to force the 3 fans to 100% only results in the CPU fan spinning up to 4000 rpm.
I'm running into situations in which one video card gets to 99C and this will eventually damage the cards beyond usability. I was directed to try this program but the latest version does not spin up the fans.
Is there some way that the devs could work with me or perhaps point me in the right direction?
 
Do you see the Fan Control icon and are you able to access the Fan Control window in HWiNFO ?
Please also submit a HWiNFO Report File of your machine.
 
Martin said:
Do you see the Fan Control icon and are you able to access the Fan Control window in HWiNFO ?
Please also submit a HWiNFO Report File of your machine.

Thank you for your response, this is what I see in my fan control window:

http://i947.photobucket.com/albums/ad313/AluminumHaste/fancontrol.png

When setting the fan speed to manual and 4000 rpm, only the CPU fan is speeding up.


Also how can I upload a report file? I cannot attach the .log or .html file to this board, and I can't copy and paste the text as the thread is too long.
 
So changing the CPU fan speed works properly, but it doesn't affect the GPU fan ?
Could you please also attach a screenshot of the Sensors window where I can see all the "Alienware M17X-R1" values reported ?

You can try to pack the report file (ZIP, RAR) and then attach it.
 

Attachments

  • NATHAN-WIN7-2.zip
    13.6 KB · Views: 4
Thanks for the additional data.
Please try this build www.hwinfo.com/beta/hw64_402_1702.zip

First check if you (maybe) can control the 2nd fan with that build.

If it still doesn't work, then close HWiNFO, launch again, but before starting the scan go to Configure ->Safety and disable the "EC Support" option.
Then continue as normal and now you should see a "DELL EC" sensor instead of the "Alienware M17x-R1" with temperatures and fan speed reported. Then try fan control again.

If neither of these methods works, then I'm sorry, but I can't control that fan.
Let me know the results...
 
Martin said:
Thanks for the additional data.
Please try this build www.hwinfo.com/beta/hw64_402_1702.zip

First check if you (maybe) can control the 2nd fan with that build.

If it still doesn't work, then close HWiNFO, launch again, but before starting the scan go to Configure ->Safety and disable the "EC Support" option.
Then continue as normal and now you should see a "DELL EC" sensor instead of the "Alienware M17x-R1" with temperatures and fan speed reported. Then try fan control again.

If neither of these methods works, then I'm sorry, but I can't control that fan.
Let me know the results...

Wow thank you for that :)
Well before I try that version I installed the Alienware OSD application which flashes the EC with updated firmware. This seems to have fixed the second fan which now shows up in version 4.02.

[attachment=388]

Here's the screenshot:

http://i947.photobucket.com/albums/ad313/AluminumHaste/fans.png


What I find very interesting is if I open the fan control, set the two fans to max, then close the window, after about 30 seconds to 1 minute the fans on the GPU go to high for 15 seconds or so before going back to normal.


Martin said:
If it still doesn't work, then close HWiNFO, launch again, but before starting the scan go to Configure ->Safety and disable the "EC Support" option.
Then continue as normal and now you should see a "DELL EC" sensor instead of the "Alienware M17x-R1" with temperatures and fan speed reported. Then try fan control again.

Okay I unchecked EC Support and ran like that. But under the sensors table, I still have Alienware M17x-R1 EC.


Strange, with that option unchecked when I force Fan 0 to 4000 RPM I can hear the fans trying to spin up, but something is interrupting it and stops the fans, so they spin up a bit then slow down, then spin back up then slow down etc. It doesn't sound good.
 

Attachments

  • ALWareM17xReport.zip
    59.1 KB · Views: 1
Sorry, but I can't see the 2nd fan in the screenshot you attached.
So does it mean that fan speed reporting and control works now for the 2nd fan too? Is did the new EC version fix your problem with GPU fan?
 
Martin said:
Sorry, but I can't see the 2nd fan in the screenshot you attached.
So does it mean that fan speed reporting and control works now for the 2nd fan too? Is did the new EC version fix your problem with GPU fan?

No unfortunately it's still not working, thank you for trying though my friend.
 
Try to change the "Respin period" to different values. This is the time when HWiNFO tries to force the fan to the requested speed in case the system tries to override it.
 
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