Fan Control for Windows 11

It does, and Windows 11 is where most of its users run it today. The app is built on .NET and works on any 64-bit Windows 11 or Windows 10 system. Two editions are published: one for the .NET 8 runtime and one for the older .NET Framework 4.8 that ships with Windows. Either is fine; if you are unsure, the installer edition checks for the runtime and offers to fetch it. Grab the latest build from the download page.

Hardware support comes from LibreHardwareMonitor, so the question is rarely the Windows version and more often the motherboard chip. Recent ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte and ASRock boards are widely covered; niche or brand-new boards may need an update before their headers show up.

Every fan header on a motherboard is driven by a Super I/O chip, and every graphics card has its own fan controller in the GPU firmware. Windows exposes none of this directly. Fan Control loads a small signed driver that can talk to those chips, reads the tachometer signal from each fan and the temperature from each sensor, and then writes a new duty cycle several times a second according to the curve you defined.

The app deliberately does not touch the BIOS. Your BIOS fan profile still applies before Windows starts; once Fan Control is running it takes over, and if you close the app it hands control back. That makes experimenting safe: worst case, you quit and the fans return to their firmware defaults.

1. Extract the ZIP or run the installer, then launch FanControl.exe and approve the administrator prompt.
2. Accept the offer to run the assisted setup. It pairs each control with the RPM sensor that changes when it does, which is the step most people skip and later regret.
3. Run calibration on your case fans. It takes a minute per fan and records the start percentage, stop percentage and the percent-to-RPM map used for RPM mode.
4. Create a fan curve. A Linear curve tied to the CPU package temperature is a good start for CPU fans; a Graph curve gives finer control later.
5. Assign the curve to a control from the dropdown on its card, then watch the live RPM readout to confirm the fan follows.
6. Save the configuration and enable Start with Windows so the profile loads at sign-in.

The documentation describes each curve type and every parameter in detail.

CPU coolers and case fans plug into motherboard headers and can be controlled freely, down to 0 RPM on headers that allow it. Graphics cards are different: both NVIDIA and AMD drivers enforce a minimum duty cycle, usually around 30%, and manage their own fan-stop behavior below a firmware temperature. Fan Control respects those limits and releases the GPU fans back to the driver when a curve asks for zero. See the CPU fan control and GPU fan control guides for curve suggestions that work with each.

Four-pin PWM fans receive a control signal and keep a steady 12 V supply, so they can run very slowly without stalling. Three-pin DC fans are slowed by dropping the voltage and usually stop somewhere around 30 to 40 percent. Fan Control does not care which type you use, but the header mode in the BIOS must match the fan. If a fan ignores your curve and runs flat out, that setting is the first thing to check. The PWM fan control guide explains the difference in depth.

• Keep one configuration per use case, for example Quiet and Gaming, and switch with the -c command-line argument or from the tray menu.
• Set a sensible Step down value so fans ramp down slowly after a load spike instead of pulsing.
• Use a Time Average custom sensor on the CPU temperature if brief boost spikes keep waking your fans.
• Enable temperature tray icons for the CPU and GPU so you can glance at thermals without opening the window.

When a fan or sensor is missing, work through this list in order:

• Vendor software is holding the headers. Armoury Crate, MSI Center, Dragon Center, Gigabyte Control Center and similar tools poll the same chip. Close or uninstall them and reboot.
• Not running elevated. Without administrator rights the sensor driver cannot load. Right-click and choose Run as administrator once to confirm.
• Memory Integrity blocked the driver. Check Windows Security > Device security > Core isolation for a warning about an incompatible driver.
• Unsupported motherboard chip. Search the LibreHardwareMonitor issue tracker for your board model; support is added regularly.
• Fan on a controller hub. Fans attached to an RGB or fan hub are only visible if the hub itself is supported or a plugin exists for it.

• Download Fan Control for Windows
• How to control PC fan speed in Windows
• Fan control on Windows laptops