Need a program to help you gain more control over the fans in your computer? In this post, we’ve highlighted some top fan control programs to help you find the right option for your needs.
Whether you’ve just built a new PC and you want an easy way to set curves for your fans, or you have an existing system and you need to get control over loud fans or improve your CPU or GPU’s temperatures, and you DON’T want to use your system’s BIOS to do so, there are a number of Windows-based programs that will allow you to do so.
In this article, I’ve covered a handful of software tools that help you manage your fan speeds. Some of the programs have other features as well, including system monitoring, warnings for failing drives, and even overclocking tools, to name a few.
Let’s get into these programs…
1. Fan Control
Fan Control hasn’t been around as long as some of the other options on this list, but it is far and away considered to be the best fan control program currently available. Fan Control was created by an independent developer is one of the more robust and intuitive applications for controlling your system’s fans.
With fan control, you can track your CPU, GPU, motherboard, and storage device temperatures, fully control all of the fans in your system (including the individual fans on your graphics card), and, of course, create custom fan curves.
Fan Control is based on LibreHardwareMonitor, which is an open source fork of OpenHardwareMonitor, and it has a plugin system that will allow you to expand its capabilities.
The software is completely free to use but the developer (Rem0o on GitHub) does accept donations. And, considering that Rem0o was able to create a truly all-in-one fan control program where many other professional developers have come up short, it wouldn’t hurt to throw a donation their way.
Note: Some users have run into issues getting certain AMD GPUs to work with Fan Control in the past, so if you do have an AMD GPU, just note that you may not be able to control its fans with Fan Control.
2. Argus Monitor
If you’re looking for a lightweight fan control program, Argus Monitor is probably your best bet. It has a small memory footprint and gives you full control over your fans’ speed, and it also monitors the temperature and health of your CPU and hard drives and SSDs.
It sounds like a lot of features to get from a program that runs as a background task. But that’s what makes Argus stand out. In addition, this tool displays and controls the fan speed of modern NVIDIA and AMD graphics cards, which will be a very useful feature for gamers.
Argus Monitor can also help you identify if there are early warning signs that your hard drive or SSD is failing. The program warns you (with 70 percent accuracy) that your drive is failing. This gives you ample time to get a new one and transfer all your important files from the old drive.
With an easy to configure interface, this is a tool that has all the features you need to run your PC smoothly. The only drawback is that it’s only free to try for 30 days. If you want to keep using it after 30 days, you’ll need to purchase a license, which costs ~$14/year.
That’s not too bad of a cost in the grand scheme of things, but consider Fan Control is free, it is difficult to justify choosing Argus over Fan Control unless you are a serious system builder.
You can get Argus Monitor here.
3. HWMonitor
HWMonitor is another program that has been around for quite a while. And during that time, it has distinguished itself and cultivated a userbase that keeps growing. HWMonitor does everything the other programs do and then some.
Once installed, it monitors your system’s main sensors. This includes voltages, temperatures, and fan speeds. It also reads your drive’s S.M.A.R.T. vital stats and even keeps a watchful eye over your video card.
The program provides a straightforward way to control your system’s fans (including your CPU cooler’s fan). And if you want to keep track of your PC’s power usage, this tool logs the motherboard’s voltage and CPU voltage, as well as the overall system’s power consumption in watts.
The one downside of HWMonitor, though, is that the user interface is a bit clunky. It might take you a while to get familiar with the columns of numbers in front of you. But once you know your way around, you’ll never want to use another application.
4. Zotac FIRESTORM
Zotac’s FIRESTORM is yet another handy program that can serve as a fan speed controller and overclocking utility. Zotac is no stranger to the industry, as they sell both gaming desktops and graphics cards.
Perhaps the standout feature of FIRESTORM is its simple and easy-to-use interface. With FIRESTORM you can overclock your GPU, set custom fan curves, change your graphics card’s RGB lights, and monitor its performance.
It’s important to note, though, that FIRESTORM will not give you CPU fan control. It will only give you control over your graphics card and its fans.
But, if you need to control the fan speed of your graphics card, this is an excellent program to get.
You can get Zotac FIRESTORM here.
5. MSI Afterburner
MSI Afterburner is an application that offers a number of capabilities, including hardware monitoring, GPU overclocking, and benchmarking. However, you can also use it to create custom fan profiles.
Also Read: Best Tools to Stress Test & Benchmark You PC
The downside of MSI Afterburner, though, is that it cannot be used to adjust the speed of your case fans. It can only be used to alter your GPU’s fan(s). So, if you’re looking for a more robust fan control program, then MSI Afterburner likely isn’t for you. However, if you need a multi-feature GPU control program to help you overclock and control your GPUs fans, then MSI Afterburner is worth considering.
While there are a ton of different CPU temperature monitor programs out there as well as plenty of other hardware monitoring applications, there aren’t nearly as many options for fan control software. However, the six options listed above will help you gain better control over the fans in your system so that you can reduce noise levels and improve temperatures.
