
Is your CPU or GPU overheating, are you experiencing hardware damage, or are you experiencing frequent system crashes/freezing/other stability issues? Or are you simply worried about the constant, loud, and annoying noise your fans make? Then, you need a fan speed controller for your PC to control your computer’s thermal management.
A PC fan controller identifies and interacts with the sensors present in hardware devices. These sensors keep tabs on parameters like GPU and CPU temperature, allowing monitoring of every component for its thermal condition.
It leads to noise reduction, energy efficiency, balanced case airflow, an extended lifespan of hardware, and customizable cooling for various scenarios (for example, quieter fans during low-load situations and more powerful and faster cooling when playing PC games or running resource-intensive applications).
Hence, this article walks you through the best software to control your PC’s fan speed settings, curated after thorough research and evaluation of their features and performance. Let’s begin with them right away to save valuable time.
What Is the Best Fan Speed Controller Software
The best GPU and CPU fan controllers for PC include names like MSI Afterburner, FanControl, SpeedFan, HWiNFO, and Argus Monitor. Let’s review them in detail so that you can choose the correct software for your needs.
1. MSI Afterburner
Meet MSI Afterburner. It is among the best fan speed controllers for PC, owing to its customizable fan curves (allowing you to customize the fan speed by dragging nodes on the fan curve graph), firmware control (permanently saving fan curve settings directly to the graphics card), and the following features.
Key features
- You can use MSI Afterburner for overclocking your processors for maximum performance.
- It performs real-time memory usage, FPS, frequency, GPU voltage, and CPU/GPU temperature monitoring.
- With this software, you can set up to 5 fan speed profiles.
Pros
- Detailed display of various hardware statistics
- Compatible with almost all graphics cards
- Completely free fan speed controller
- Comprehensive control over fan speed
Cons
- Overclocking, monitoring, and fan control capabilities are only available for GPUs
- Beginners may find the learning curve steep

Click here to learn more about MSI Afterburner
Also know: How to Fix “Antimalware Service Executable” Causing High CPU Usage on Windows 11/10
2. FanControl
Next, we have FanControl on our list of the best fan speed testers and controllers. It is a system-wide fan control software for PC that offers customizable, granular control over system fans using different temperature sensors (GPU, CPU, etc.).
Moreover, the most likable feature of this software is its mixed fan curves. It is a unique feature that combines multiple curves into a single logic to balance cooling and noise, in addition to the following delightful features.
Key features
- You can customize the fan speeds according to your preferences or specific cooling requirements.
- It can identify controllable fans and includes fine-tuning fan behavior for calibration, responsive time, and hysteresis.
- This software supports zero RPM mode, ensuring smooth fan operation where fans remain off until a certain temperature is achieved, promoting a silent computer.
Pros
- Detailed and granular fan control
- Unified system cooling
- Light on PC resources
- Compatibility with a wide variety of hardware
- Open-source PC fan controller
Cons
- No detailed hardware monitoring
- Allows only manual adjustments
- Steep learning curve for beginners
Pros
Cons

Click here to learn more about FanControl
3. SpeedFan
Let us introduce you to SpeedFan. It is another free and powerful fan control utility that we would like to recommend for its easy fan speed adjustment for temperature management, detailed hardware monitoring (it monitors all crucial system components, such as CPU, GPU, drivers, fan speeds, and voltages), and the following notable features.
Key features
- It uses SMART or SCSI attributes to check the hard disk status.
- You can create custom events for automatic situation handling.
- It allows you to create custom fan response curves, customizing fan speeds based on various temperature ranges.
Pros
- Highly customizable
- Automatic fan speed adjustments
- Timely temperature alerts
Cons
- Outdated user interface
- Steep learning curve
- Allows only CPU monitoring
Pros
Cons

Click here to learn more about SpeedFan
4. HWiNFO
Here comes HWiNFO on our list of the best CPU and GPU fan controllers. It is a comprehensive analytics tool with automated and customizable fan control functions. Some of its praiseworthy features include graphical visualization of fan speed fluctuations over time (by double-clicking on a fan’s RPM reading) and the following.
Key features
- This software is configurable to report specific sensor values to be used by other apps.
- It boasts external plugin support, making it integrable with other software.
Pros
- Free and portable
- Provides highly accurate fan RPM and sensor data
Cons
- Not beginner-friendly
- Limited features compared to other software
Pros
Cons

Click here to learn more about HWiNFO
Also know: How to Fix Windows Modules Installer Worker Using High CPU
5. Argus Monitor
The list of the best PC fan speed settings controllers cannot be complete without Argus Monitor. It is renowned for its advanced fan and system monitoring, offering custom fan curves based on multi-source (CPU, GPU, HDD, motherboard sensors, etc.) temperature sources, and the following noteworthy features.
Key features
- It boasts advanced control options, such as hysteresis to control rapid fan speed fluctuations, temperature averaging, and creating synthetic temperatures (for instance, CPU and GPU temperature averages).
- Argus Monitor provides detailed information about system sensors, such as temperatures for different components and fan speeds.
- It offers RGB lighting control, managing RGB lighting elements, and promoting control over direction and speed.
Pros
- Customizable and automated fan speed adjustment
- Custom alerts for monitoring unexpected spikes and drops
- Powerful hardware monitoring
- User-friendly interface
Cons
- Learning advanced settings can be challenging for beginners
- Free trial available only for 30 days
Pros
Cons

Click here to learn more about Argus Monitor
Best Fan Speed Controller Software for Windows: The Conclusion
To conclude, the above are some of the best PC fan controllers you can use to prevent issues like overheating and performance throttling. You can compare these programs based on their features, pros, and cons to determine the one that is a perfect fit for your requirements.
If you need further assistance to choose the right CPU or GPU fan controller, have any other questions, or have suggestions/feedback about this article, feel free to get in touch with us using the comments section below.