CNET Editors' review
This free program offers some useful system details to those savvy enough to understand its results. SpeedFan's tabbed interface isn't hard to navigate, but most users won't be able to make head or tail of the data this utility provides. The program's system-tray icon tells you the temperature of your PC's hard drive, and you can receive information on voltage and fan speeds.
The utility can display SMART data and includes a tool for resetting motherboard clocks. Basically, if this review makes no sense to you, SpeedFan is above your head and won't be worth downloading. However, PC technicians and those who like to do their own system maintenance might as well take a look at this application, particularly since it costs nothing.
Publisher's Description
From Almico Software:
SpeedFan monitors voltages, fan speeds, and temperatures in computers with hardware monitor chips. It can even access SMART information for hard disks that support this feature, and show hard-disk temperatures if that's supported. SpeedFan fully supports SCSI disks and can even change the FSB on some hardware (but this should be considered a bonus feature). At the lowest level, SpeedFan is a hardware monitor software that can access temperature sensors, but mainly it can control fan speeds (depending on the capabilities of your sensor chip and your hardware) according to the temperatures inside your PC, thus reducing noise and power consumption.
Version 4.28 may include unspecified updates, enhancements, or bug fixes.
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All versions:
3.8 starsout of 296 votes
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Current version:
3.8 starsout of 76 votes
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My rating:
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"When it works, it works well but it doesn't like Dell's"
Version: SpeedFan 4.28
Pros
I first tried this (v 4.40) on my "homegrown" gaming system and it worked great. It detected all of my components (inc hdds in RAID) and gave very accurate readings on temp, speeds and voltage
Cons
I first tried a Dell Optiplex GX280 and got my gpu,hd1, hd2, core (same readings as the gpu) and ambient, however it didn't register any fan speeds or voltages. On a Dimension 5150 I got a No Supported Chip and on a SX280, only the hdd.
Summary
Well, I went into the Optiplex SX280 and checked the dell support and restarted the computer. The only difference that made was that it now recognized the 2 fans and showed their speed. So I now have fan speed Hdd activity, cpu activity and hdd temp. Not quite enough. Too bad because I have 65 plus Dells and I thought this would be nice to incorporate into my maintenance plan. I haven't tried any other similar programs so I don't know whether this is the norm or not but I do like it on my homegrown, except that it recognizes one set of RAID hdds but not a 2nd set of exactly the same setup. Puzzling.
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"It's a freezer!!!"
Version: SpeedFan 4.28
Pros
Downloads and easy to install
Cons
frooze my epox mother board!!
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"Does Only One Thing--But Well"
Version: SpeedFan 4.28
Pros
Speedfan can be a real energy saver if you run low-resource apps because it allows you to tweak your fan speed in response to temperatures in various locations under "the hood." It also provides diagnostics of various system components, including your hard drive, and allows you to download settings recommended byothers who have the same motherboard you do. I have found no other free utility available to the general user that is anything like Speedfan.
The author makes regular enhancements to the product. (V. 4.33 is downloadable from the author's Web site, as is the latest beta [v.43 beta 51 as of this date]; to compare, download.com only has version 4.28 as of today, a two-year-old release.) He has put together a number of tutorials on his Web site for those who want to understand the basics of the why and how of varying fan speeds. Even if you don't need use or need Speedfan, you can learn a lot about the innards of your PC on the author's Web site.
Cons
The cons of Speedfan are less about it than about who would benefit from using it. For the casual user, Speedfan can be quite imposing. It doesn't work with every motherboard. It doesn't help just to know your computer manufacturer or model--you need to know your motherboard information. A list of compatible motherboards is on the Website.
If you register (free), you can e-mail the author for support, but he's just one person, so unless you have a desperate (unlikely) or really interesting (more likely if you are a very knowledgeable user) problem, it might be awhile before you get a helpful response.
This is not a utility for the novice or the faint of heart.
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"Usefull"
Version: SpeedFan 4.28
Pros
Very usefull program for most PC's. You set how you want your computer fan to run at desired temperatures (C, not F).
Cons
Not extremely user-friendly, Help file is very needed to understand the programs workings.
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"could not get it installed into my os"
Version: SpeedFan 4.28
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"I have to go with the pack on this 1"
Version: SpeedFan 4.28
Pros
works great
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"Super"
Version: SpeedFan 4.28
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"Useless junk"
Version: SpeedFan 4.28
Pros
Not a thing
Cons
Doesn't even support intel branded motherboards. Garbage.
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"Shows temperatures, doen't monitor fabns with some motherboards."
Version: SpeedFan 4.28
Cons
I've used it before and it worked good. With my current motherboard it doesn't do much. Just shows three temperatures, doesn't show fans, can't set anything.
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"Does what it says!"
Version: SpeedFan 4.28
Pros
Since I overclocked my CPU, I was looking for a simple program to monitor the CPU temp. without getting into the Bios. This software does just that and more. Depending on your mother board it will also monitor the temps at different locations as well, such as your hard drive. The automatic fan speed adjustment is another plus. If the temps start to rise it will automatically adjust the RPM of your fans to compensate. Great diagnostic tool using the charts tab.
Cons
Not novice friendly. I strongly urge reading the tutorial before configuring this application.
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