MP 1,1-5,1 Mac Pro (4.1/5.1) aftermarket fans WITH automatic SMC control

[RhodesRoads]

Hello everyone!

I've read through this entire thread at least twice, not to mention occasional lookups into certain parts and I'm incredibly grateful for all the invaluable information gathered here by our mighty contributors!

I consider myself quite handy with electronics & DIY, along my experience in general PC hardware as former HP tech support trainer and mentor, so I hope I'll be able to contribute as well, since my Cheesegrater arrived couple of days ago 🙂

I'll be testing out several very interesting fan options, which could rival the Noctuas in performance at extremely competitive prices and share the results here.

In order to do that, I'd need a bit of help/advice with SMC, as I'm relatively new to Macs, despite using them for recording for couple of years now.

I read about the different fan profiles set up by OP and found 2 tools to achieve this goal: smc-command and smckit. What are your experiences with these and which one would be more convenient for frequent changes of the SMC for my test bench? Alternatively if someone would like to share any templates or scripts for this purpose, I'd be very grateful as well 🙂

 

[haralds]

This is thread odd to me. My CMPro 5,1 with Dual 6 Core 3.4GHz and RX-580 Sapphire 8GB OC is essentially inaudible except right after boot settling down and under heavy game load, when I can hear the GPU fan a little.

 

[RhodesRoads]

This is thread odd to me. My CMPro 5,1 with Dual 6 Core 3.4GHz and RX-580 Sapphire 8GB OC is essentially inaudible except right after boot settling down and under heavy game load, when I can here the GPU fan a little.

I agree, it's quite silent right out of the box, but in a recording studio even a couple dB make a huge difference. So apart from replacing the fans, I'm probably still gonna need to build an iso-box for it, which will need to be huge and expensive even if DIYed :c

 

[Minimum91]

I agree, it's quite silent right out of the box, but in a recording studio even a couple dB make a huge difference. So apart from replacing the fans, I'm probably still gonna need to build an iso-box for it, which will need to be huge and expensive even if DIYed :c

The config I made did make a huge difference. The stock were all-right, but with the current setup I never hear it, even at full load, except if I lie down next to it.

 

[Ar0undth3fur]

So, has anyone come up with an “easier” (more straight forward) method for upgrading to Noctua fans (or contemporaries) in such a way that they work with the computers built in fan controls? I’ve perused this thread a few times trying to glean info and get to the nitty gritty, and I wasn’t able to find a definitive answer to that.

I’ve seen people mention external fan controllers (ick), wiring in resistors and such to hopefully get the fans and machine to cooperate (meh, but ok), and I’ve seen a “pin swap” mentioned to facilitate this very goal (yes please).

I am looking for the best solution for more/better cooling with sound level being secondary, while most of all being something that plays nice with the built in cooling system/protocol the computer already has (and ideally not too crazy to make happen on the install side). What has been come up with (if anything) that fits this criteria? This is the last upgrade to check off for my machines final form.

 

[Minimum91]

So, has anyone come up with an “easier” (more straight forward) method for upgrading to Noctua fans (or contemporaries) in such a way that they work with the computers built in fan controls? I’ve perused this thread a few times trying to glean info and get to the nitty gritty, and I wasn’t able to find a definitive answer to that.

I’ve seen people mention external fan controllers (ick), wiring in resistors and such to hopefully get the fans and machine to cooperate (meh, but ok), and I’ve seen a “pin swap” mentioned to facilitate this very goal (yes please).

I am looking for the best solution for more/better cooling with sound level being secondary, while most of all being something that plays nice with the built in cooling system/protocol the computer already has (and ideally not too crazy to make happen on the install side). What has been come up with (if anything) that fits this criteria? This is the last upgrade to check off for my machines final form.

My fan setup is controlled by the Mac itself. Take a stroll through my posts one more time, but I can totally see how you might have missed it. It usually takes me reading each and every single post in a thread to find what I am looking for.

 

[Champagne_5S]

For what it’s worth, I have used the pin swap method to install two Noctua NF-A12x25 ULN in the CPU area, and a NF-A9 FLX in the PCIe bay and it works about as well as you could ask for.

The NF-A12x25 ULN support slower speeds, so they will not stall at 600 rpm (the idle speed in the Mac’s SMC). The NF-A12x25 FLX models will most likely stall and therefore if left unregulated turn on and off constantly.

The Noctuas are amazingly quiet, but they do move a little less air rpm-for-rpm, so to keep the northbridge temperature under control I upped the speed of the BOOST-A fan (there is quite a bit of headroom before it becomes audible).

The max. speed of the NF-A12x25 ULN is quite low though, about 1200 rpm, so in warm ambient environments (>28ºC) there is little cooling headroom. I have made a separate preset for ‘hot weather’ that kicks the booster fans a little higher (more audible, but still quieter overall than a stock configuration).

If you’re interested, I would gladly share my Macs Fan Control presets for my system (dual X5675s, 6*16GB RAM).

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That said, if you’re looking for a better-cooling solution at the cost of silence, I am not sure if there is anything significantly better than the stock fans, to be honest. They can move a lot of air, even at 800 rpm. As long as Macs Fan Control cannot set a curve with simultaneously a minimum rpm (± 850 for the FLX), the regular NF-A12x25 FLX are not really practical.

 

[cmphal]

If you’re interested, I would gladly share my Macs Fan Control presets for my system (dual X5675s, 6*16GB RAM).

@Champagne_5S, yes would you please share your Macs Fan Control settings. Also, you don't mention the PowerSupply area fan. Have you swapped that our left as stock?