Our computer begins to produce annoying noises or hums, to the point of making it almost impossible to use it without turning up the volume of the speakers. The noise is generated by the fans due to the heat, but in many cases the problem lies in poor maintenance of the PC, in which a large amount of dust accumulates.Whatever our problem is, in this guide we will show you how to change fan speed on windows 10 pc through special programs or via BIOS / UEFI, so that we can adapt the speed to our needs. If after the changes made we see the computer suddenly shut down, the problem is overheating: we will also provide you with suggestions in this regard, so as to increase the cooling and decrease the noise of the fans.
Change PC fan speed from BIOS / UEFI
The first place we can control the fan speed is the BIOS, or rather the computer's UEFI interface. To access this special screen, we repeatedly press the CANC key at startup or a specific key (variable according to the PC and motherboard in use), as described in our guide How to access the BIOS on computers of all brands.In Windows 10 it is important to enable UEFI by converting the disk to GPT as explained in another guide.
Once logged in, we identify the called menus monitor, performance, overclocking or maintenance, so you can access the UEFI section where you can change the fan speed (usually set to CAR o Standard).
We change the entries related to the fans in the computer (usually identified as CPU_FAN and various CHA_FAN), setting the value we want to be applied. At the end of the changes, click on Save and Exit or a similar item, so that the changes can take effect.
WARNING! We do not excessively change the fan speed assigned to the CPU, because in the event of insufficient cooling the processor will overheat and freeze the entire system. If we do not know what value to put for the CPU, it is better to leave everything automatically, acting only on the speed of the fans in the case.
Change Windows 10 fan speeds from programs
In addition to acting from the BIOS / UEFI (extremely effective method), we can also change the fan speed with a Windows program such as SpeedFan.
With this program active we will be able to monitor the temperatures recorded by the computer and also keep under control the speed of the fans. In case the PC gets too noisy or hot, we check the item Automatic fan speed and wait at least 5-10 minutes with the program on (we can also minimize it in the background by pressing the button Minimize). The program should intervene automatically, adjusting the speed of the fans appropriately; if not, remove the check mark on Automatic fan speed and we modify the speed of the fans, acting on the voices Speed01, Speed02 etc.
In this way we will be able to manually decide the speed of each fan on our computer, so as to make them run at maximum only when necessary. Obviously when we make the changes manually, we always keep the temperatures of the internal components under control, to avoid damage or blockages due to overheating.
In this regard, we invite you to read our guide on how Check temperature and heat in the PC.
WARNING! Even using a fan control program we will have to pay close attention to the speed assigned to the CPU, to avoid overheating and blocking problems. If we do not know what value to put for the CPU, it is better to leave everything automatically, acting only on the speed of the fans in the case.
Increase or decrease the fan speed
If even changing the fan speed does not improve the situation, we will have to make some changes at the hardware level, as well as perform an important maintenance!First we turn off the desktop PC, remove the power cable and let the side panel of the case slide, so as to access the inside. If we find clusters of dust, all white fans and similar stuff, we perform a thorough cleaning with a dry cloth and a brush, also helping us with a can of compressed air, like the one available here -> Nilox NXA02061-1 Compressed Air Spray (€ 5).
If even cleaning does not solve the problem of fan noise, perhaps it is time to replace them with new, more efficient and quieter fans.
For the CPU we recommend adopting a new tower cooler with an enhanced fan, such as the ARCTIC Freezer 12 (€ 31) or the ARCTIC Freezer 7 Pro (€ 21).
If we want to change the case fans as well, we can focus on 120mm fans (adaptable on the back of the case and on the front), such as those offered here -> upHere 120mm High Performance Fan (3 pieces, 10 €).
We own a Noisy laptop, with the fan always at maximum? In these cases, we recommend that you use one base with cooling fans (connectable via USB), like the one visible here -> Ewent EW1259 Cooling System Support for Notebook (22 €).
Conclusions
When the PC is noisy, most of the time the fault lies with poor maintenance, with dust accumulating everywhere and preventing the components from cooling adequately. We often clean our PC (at least every 2-3 months), we check the fan speed via BIOS / UEFI or via program and, in the most desperate cases, we change the fans in the PC with new, much more effective and performing solutions.Always remaining on the subject of cleaning and fans, we advise you to read our guides very carefully Manage PC Fans e Clean inside the computer from dust, where we will find other valid tips to thoroughly clean our computer and reduce the noise generated by the fans.
