{
  "id": 15600138,
  "title": "I use my keyboard knob to control my PC fans, and it's more practical than you think",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/i-use-my-keyboard-knob-to-control-my-pc-fans-and-its-more-practical",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-19T11:00:20.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "XDA Developers",
    "slug": "xda-developers",
    "url": "https://www.xda-developers.com/i-use-my-keyboard-knob-to-control-my-pc-fans-and-its-more-practical-than-you-think/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Every fan curve built by the author has the same limitation: it knows the temperature of the PC but has no awareness of the user's upcoming actions. When starting a long render, the author prefers the fans to run at high speed before temperatures increase, rather than responding after. Similarly, when recording audio, the author desires silence immediately, which a typical fan curve cannot provide. Manual intervention is necessary, but fortunately, it's not overly complicated to configure, especially on Linux. The author utilized the large knob of Lenovo’s Yoga Creative Keyboard AngryMiao Edition for this purpose, and after a week, found it irreplaceable. A fan curve essentially functions as a lookup table based on temperature, reading the temperature of a specific component and adjusting the fan speed. For most activities like gaming, browsing, and light work, the curve handles everything adequately, particularly because it has been tuned to avoid excessive noise during normal operation. However, there are two scenarios that require special attention. The first is productivity-related tasks like long renders or encodes through software such as Premiere Pro, where the curve only ramps up as temperatures rise, causing the case to gradually heat up while the fans lag behind. This is acceptable when staying at the desk, but not when getting up and leaving. The second scenario is audio recording or voiceover, where the curve is unaware of the goal to minimize ambient noise. In a well-ventilated case like the Fractal Torrent, large intake fans can produce noise that might affect the Shure SM7B microphone. The author found that using a physical knob for control was more practical than configuring it manually through fan software. The Yoga Creative Keyboard AngryMiao Edition's knob, originally designed to scrub timelines and scroll pages, proved most useful for controlling the case fans. Out of the box, the knob controls volume, but with a three-position switch, it can be remapped to a different function. On the author's CachyOS Linux system, a tool called keyd watches for Ctrl being held while turning the knob, running a script instead of changing the volume. This script adjusts a value stored in a file, which CoolerControl interprets as a temperature sensor. By setting the dial to 60, CoolerControl perceives a 60-degree reading, translating it into 60% fan speed. This allows the author to maintain the core functions of the knob while adding a fourth function. The author holds Ctrl and turns the knob right to activate the fans quickly, and left to return to a quieter state. A well-tuned curve with sensible hysteresis ensures the fans require no manual adjustment. However, manual control brings back a critical aspect of any cooling system: human oversight. The author turns the dial down for recordings and starts heavy jobs afterward, ensuring the PC doesn't run hotter than necessary. The setup requires some configuration, including a daemon executing commands as root, a shell script, and a fake temperature sensor to replace a mode switch that was just two clicks away. Additionally, a safety mechanism was implemented: the dial only controls the case fans, leaving the CPU and GPU fans on their automatic curves. The dial also cannot run the case fans independently; it must be combined with a backstop curve that activates when the CPU or GPU temperature exceeds 75 degrees. The backstop ensures the case fans ramp up quickly when needed, while remaining silent otherwise. Upon reboot, the dial's setting resets, preventing any misconfigured settings from persisting. While the knob doesn't replace the fan curve, it effectively covers two scenarios where such curves were never intended to operate. The author emphasizes that fan curves handle most of the cooling work, and the knob should complement this by addressing the two unique situations it was designed for.",
  "summary": "Bringing back old-school fan controls isn't as crazy as it sounds",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}