This file briefly describes the fan control registers and some others of the embedded controller (EC) of the Gigabyte Aero 15 Laptop (tested on Classic model, untested on v9 and all models after Classic).
ALL OF THIS INFORMATION IS UNOFFICIAl AND WITHOUT WARRANTY.
Most of this information is based on the work of Jason Ertel for an older Gigabyte model which I checked against the Aero 15 Classic.
The fan information is also based on what I understood by analyzing the EC registers.
None of this official information and I ask you to please be careful when manipulating EC register values, especially before applying these values to other laptop models.
The register explanations below have the following format: RR.B = value
- RR: stands for the register address of the EC - for example 0C
- .B: stands for one bit in this register, counting the bits from 0 to 7. If the bit reference is missing then the value refers to the whole byte and not just to a single bit
- value: stands for the value. If the address is for a single bit then the value can of course only be 0 or 1, if the address is for a whole byte then the value can be from 00 to FF.
All numbers are hex numbers, e.g. 0C stands for register 0x0C.
This is the default fan mode, where the speed and noise level are supposedly balanced.
Register states for normal mode:
08.6=0 (quiet mode off)
0C.4=0 (gaming mode off)
0D.0=0 (custom mode off)
In this mode, the fans will run at a reduced speed to minimize noise. Important: This mode will also reduce CPU speed by preventing the CPU from using turbo frequencies, whereby the CPU will be much cooler but also slower.
Register states for quiet mode:
08.6=1 (quiet mode on)
0C.4=0 (gaming mode off)
0D.0=0 (custom mode off)
In this mode, the fans will run at a faster speed and produce more noise. This should be used when the CPU and GPU are under intense workloads.
Register states for gaming mode:
08.6=0 (quiet mode off)
0C.4=1 (gaming mode on)
0D.0=0 (custom mode off)
In this mode the fan is always spinning at minimum speed even if the CPU and GPU have low temperatures. If there are higher temperatures then the fan will not go above a certain maximum speed (instead, the components will be hotter and will eventually do thermal throttling).
Register states for custom auto-maximum mode:
06.4=0 (custom mode type: auto-maximum)
08.6=0 (quiet mode off)
0C.4=0 (gaming mode off)
0D.0=1 (custom mode on)
The registers B0 and B1 contain the maximum speed for the fan. Both registers must be set to identical values.
The mapping between hex values for the registers and percent in fan speed are as follows:
- 44 -> 30%
- 50 -> 35%
- 5B -> 40%
- 67 -> 45%
- 72 -> 50%
- 7D -> 55%
- 89 -> 60%
- 94 -> 65%
- A0 -> 70%
- AB -> 75%
- B7 -> 80%
- C2 -> 85%
- CE -> 90%
- D9 -> 95%
- E5 -> 100%
So to set the fan to 50% maximum speed one would have to set the following register values:
06.4=0
08.6=0
0C.4=0
0D.0=1
B0=72
B1=72
Warning: do not set values below 30%! The fan-speeds seem to be controlled with pulse-width modulation; it is not safe to use values below 30%!
This mode sets the fans to a constant speed, independent of the temperature.
Register states for custom fixed maximum mode:
06.4=1 (custom mode type: fixed speed)
08.6=0 (quiet mode off)
0C.4=0 (gaming mode off)
0D.0=1 (custom mode on)
As for the previous mode, the fan speed is controlled with registers B0 and B1. Again, it is dangerous to use values below 30%.
The value 00 is accepted and turns the fans off completely but this may not be safe because your hardware could overheat so it seems like a very bad idea unless someone writes some kind of thermal monitor that controls the fans directly by regularly updating the fixed fan speed based on its own temperature curve.
To set the fan to 50% fixed speed one would have to set the following register values
06.4=1
08.6=0
0C.4=0
0D.0=1
B0=72
B1=72
The Gigabyte Smart Manager software also has a "deep control" mode where one can draw a fan speed curve to set the desired fan speeds in relation to different temperatures.
This mode seems to be controlled through bit 0D.7
The register flags which activate this mode are as follows:
06.4=1 (not sure if the value of this bit matters or not if 0D.7 is set to 1)
08.6=0 (quiet mode off)
0C.4=0 (gaming mode off)
0D.0=1 (custom mode on)
0D.7=1 (deep control mode on)
It is not clear how and where the custom fan control curve is stored.
The current fan speed can be read from register 0xFC (current speed of the CPU fan) and register 0xFE (current speed of the GPU fan). Both registers have a value range from 0 if the fan is standing still up to 22 if the fan is running at maximum speed.
It is unclear which register controls this, but FN+Space can still toggle it.
On the Aero 14, it was controlled by register 0xD7, and had three possible values:
- 00 -> Backlight off
- 01 -> Backlight level 1
- 02 -> Backlight level 2 (bright)
This should be the case on the Aero 15, but on a different register.
No registers appear to be able to control this (although Wi-Fi can be toggled with a function key, which does not work on Linux).
No registers appear to be able to control this. The function key does not work on Linux.
No registers appear to be able to control this. The function key does not work on Linux.
No registers appear to be able to control this, nor is there a function key.
There are two different charging modes: Default and custom.
Default mode is enabled by setting the following register values:
0F.2=0 (toggle set to default)
C6.0=0 (custom mode off)
A9=0x61 (maximum 97%)
Express Charge Mode seems to be enabled by setting the following register values (not sure if additional register values are needed):
0F.2=1 (toggle set to custom)
C6.0=0 (custom mode on)
A9=0x61 (maximum 97%)
Custom mode is enabled by setting the following registers:
- 0F.2 = 1
- C6.0 = 1
- A9 = [Maximum value up to which to charge]. Register A9 must be set to the maximum percent value up to which the charging should be done. The value is encoded as hex value, e.g.: 0x64 -> 100%, 0x5A -> 90%, 0x55 -> 85%, 0x50 -> 80%, 0x46 -> 70%, 0x3C -> 60%
Custom mode limits the maximum amount up to which the battery should be charged. By charging the battery to less than 100% the battery will not age as quickly because with Lithium-Ion batteries, the last few percent of the charge will cause stronger wear than the earlier portion of the charge.