Fan Control for nVidia GPUs (v0.5.1)

1. There is no installer. Simply extract all files from gpufancnv.7z to the folder where you want to have easy access to launch the program.

NOTE TO CURRENT USERS UPGRADING FROM A PREVIOUS RELEASE: A gpufancnvgui.pyc file is no longer included in the distribution files. This is the compiled version of the gpufancnvgui.py file. A new one should be compiled the first time you run the revised app.  However, it really doesn't matter whether a .pyc file exists or not, since the gpufancnvgui.py file is accessed whenever the compiled file isn't found or is determined by Python to be outdated.

2. Ensure that gpufancnv.pyw is marked as executable in the file's Properties-->Permissions window.

3. If not already installed, from Package Manager install "python-numpy" (and any additional packages specified by that selection) and "python-qt4" (which should already be installed on Ubuntu 14.04).

4. In order to launch the program with a standard double-click, WITHOUT having to resort to the Terminal (that's the whole point of a GUI, after all), your system must be configured to do so. Verify by right-clicking on gpufancnv.pyw.  If the first option shown at the top of the menu is "Run", you're all set. If not, follow these steps (which should work in Ubuntu, but may be different in other Linux flavors):

    4a. Launch "dconf Editor". (Install with Package Manager if it's not already on your system.)

    4b. Navigate to "org->gnome->nautilus->preferences".

    4c. Set "executable-text-activation" to "launch"

    4d. Close "dconf Editor"

    4e. Close/reopen the file manager, and navigate back to gpufancnv.pyw

5. Verify that you have already applied the "Coolbits" tweak to the NVIDIA X Server Settings. (The Thermal Settings for each GPU will show an "Enable GPU Fan Settings" and "Fan Speed" slider. If not, apply the "Coolbits" now. A restart MAY be necessary afterwards.)

6. Double-click on gpufancnv.pyw to launch the program. (Once the program is running, lock it to the launcher by right-clicking on the launcher icon. Then, only a single click will be necessary to launch the program in the future.)

NOTE: If the program window does not appear within 4-5 seconds, it probably means that an error has occurred and the program isn't smart enough (yet) to trap it.  In this case, you'll need to open a dreaded Terminal, navigate to the folder where the program resides, and enter "./gpufancnv.pyw".  Watch for error messages.  

7. The program no longer comes with a default configuration file. Basic defaults are built into the GUI, except for the GPU count. The app should automatically detect the number of NVIDIA GPUs present on your system.

8. Set temperature ranges for each GPU with the first four sliders. (The fifth one is locked to an upper value of 100+.)  Set a corresponding fan speed for each range. (On first use, it is recommended to set the desired values for all GPUs before actually turning the fan control on for any of them.)

9. Turn on the fan control for each GPU using the "On" button.

10. SAVE YOUR SETTINGS!  They will be saved to a "gpufancnv.cfg" configuration file in the installation directory, then retrieved and applied each time the program is launched. (It wouldn't be a bad idea to make a copy of the configuration file and save it in another folder, just to have a backup on hand in the event of any unforeseen foulup.)

11. The default control interval for checking the temperatures and making any necessary speed adjustments is set to 10 seconds.  You can change that to any value up to 120 seconds.

12. Just let 'er run. You can minimize the application window when you get tired of watching the current temperature and fan speed value as they fluctuate.

