Better PC cooling with Python and Grafana
calbryant.uk
Better PC cooling with Python and Grafana
1–10 of 164 posts
Re: Better PC cooling with Python and Grafana
#2I got annoyed at my fan speeds so decided to experiment with controlling my fans with Python and measuring the results.
Re: Better PC cooling with Python and Grafana
#3Please do some measuring of core temperature response to load before and after re-pasting / upgrading the thermal compound. Something between a large grain of rice and a pea, and I like to clean the CPU and cooler cold plate completely, paste the CPU, then press and smear around the cooler onto the CPU before mounting it, to ensure full surface area coverage with a thin layer of compound.
Re: Better PC cooling with Python and Grafana
#4For people that want to do something similar on Windows, I can wholeheartedly recommend FanControl [1]. It's sadly not open-source, but it works great, and is quite pleasant to interact with.
Re: Better PC cooling with Python and Grafana
#5I got annoyed at my fan speeds so decided to experiment with controlling my fans with Python and measuring the results.
You likely have a setting for fan ramp time in your bios, usually in seconds. So setting your pump to always run at 100% and your fans to ramp slowly, say 10 seconds or longer, and using a minimum fan speed that is as high as tolerable would likely work as a no-additional-code solution.
Re: Better PC cooling with Python and Grafana
#6Please do some measuring of core temperature response to load before and after re-pasting / upgrading the thermal compound. Something between a large grain of rice and a pea, and I like to clean the CPU and cooler cold plate completely, paste the CPU, then press and smear around the cooler onto the CPU before mounting it, to ensure full surface area coverage with a thin layer of compound.
Genuine question: I've known the law of "pea sized amount" for thermal paste for 20 years or so. Does it still hold true for modern (and larger) CPU dies? I haven't upgraded in a long time so genuinely don't know, but also wouldn't want to use outdated knowledge!
Re: Better PC cooling with Python and Grafana
#7Another thing I've had great success with on my AMD 7700X is to use AMD Ryzen Master to reduce the TDP.
The chip comes to consumers overclocked by default with a TDP of 105W. I suspect this is the case so that it can beat Intel on benchmarks on "default" settings.
You can set it to "eco mode" and have it run at 65W or 45W TDP. Under load, this only results in like a 5% reduction in performance for a dramatic reduction in electricity consumption, fan speed, heat, etc.
Not sure if the 5500x series chips are overclocked but using eco mode could be a good approach.
Re: Better PC cooling with Python and Grafana
#8I got annoyed at my fan speeds so decided to experiment with controlling my fans with Python and measuring the results.
Looks pretty cool, the self-calibration routine is very nice too.
My only worry is that rapid changes in pump speed might cause extra mechanical stress or wear on the pump, but I have no data to back that up. I've just heard that water pumps sometimes behave in counter-intuitive ways - e.g: sometimes running at a higher speed is better for longevity than a lower one.
Re: Better PC cooling with Python and Grafana
#9Please do some measuring of core temperature response to load before and after re-pasting / upgrading the thermal compound. Something between a large grain of rice and a pea, and I like to clean the CPU and cooler cold plate completely, paste the CPU, then press and smear around the cooler onto the CPU before mounting it, to ensure full surface area coverage with a thin layer of compound.
Genuine question: I've known the law of "pea sized amount" for thermal paste for 20 years or so. Does it still hold true for modern (and larger) CPU dies? I haven't upgraded in a long time so genuinely don't know, but also wouldn't want to use outdated knowledge!
You want to use as little paste as possible while fully covering the heat spreader.
Most modern coolers will provide sufficient pressure to spread a pea sized amount of thermal paste to cover the whole cooler.
There are also thermal pads, both reusable and single use, that perfom well and don't require any guesswork.
If you want to paste, noctua has the best paste in terms of thermal resistance, but mx4 or mx5 both perform well, as does cryorig and a bunch of others.
Re: Better PC cooling with Python and Grafana
#10Please do some measuring of core temperature response to load before and after re-pasting / upgrading the thermal compound. Something between a large grain of rice and a pea, and I like to clean the CPU and cooler cold plate completely, paste the CPU, then press and smear around the cooler onto the CPU before mounting it, to ensure full surface area coverage with a thin layer of compound.
Genuine question: I've known the law of "pea sized amount" for thermal paste for 20 years or so. Does it still hold true for modern (and larger) CPU dies? I haven't upgraded in a long time so genuinely don't know, but also wouldn't want to use outdated knowledge!
Video with spread patterns under transparent plate: