Controlling PC video card fan speed in Mac OS

[vstep]

I've been considering getting a Mac Radeon 5770 for Mac OS and a cheaper PC Radeon 5770 exclusively for CrossFire in Windows on my 2006 Mac Pro, but I've read that any PC card may have its fan speed operate at 100% (noisy!) when operating in Mac OS.

Does anyone know if this is true? And if so, is there some way to disable it or control the fan speed?

 

[Cindori]

At rare cases, yes. It depends on card manufacturer and model. A few cards may have special thermosensors that OSX can't read, and will blast 100% to ensure safety.

Note that crossfire in 2006 will give only 8x / 8x PCI 1.0, and thus you will lose about 5-15% performance with that setup. A single 5870 would give you better speed and less temperature overall.

 

[vstep]

Thanks for the quick reply Cindori.

I think I'll wait for the 5870 then. It'll cost a little more but I'd definitely prefer a solution that's quieter, faster, and doesn't present as much hassle overall.