CPU Fan Control & Monitoring

[stevenrw]

Still more on the noisy fans issue. My old XP machine has a stock Intel (LGA775) noisy CPU fan. I was on the point of buying a new one then realised that Smart Control was not enabled by default on my old Biostar P43-A7 MoBo, so the fan is/has been running flat out all the time, hence the extra noise. I believe the Intel stock fan is a 4 pin job, so it can be controlled via PWM.
However, I'm not altogether happy about switching that feature on because although I am only using the machine for general stuff, not high performance video editing or gaming etc, the Biostar software does not include any widget that enables me to monitor CPU temp & fan speed from within Windows. Nor does there appear to be any alarms to warn of high temps, so I'd be running on blind faith that the mobo was actually switching the fan on/off as necessary.
Does anybody know of a feeware program that will enable me to monitor what the fan is doing from within XP?
While we are on the subject, can anybody please explain what the "Quiet" option in the Smart Fan Management does? Does it just set the fan at the lowest voltage and leave it there irrespective of CPU temp?

[psp83]

I use the following to monitor my system

CPUID HWMonitor
CPUID PerfMonitor2
RealTempGT

Give them a try and see if they do what you want.

[Glenn]

Fan Speed is another that can give you control over the fan.