Like many others, I have found that the fan curves of various ThinkPads are not ideally chosen. In less powerful models (such as our T440s with a 15-watt CPU and no dedicated GPU), this is tolerable, but even these models run at higher speeds than necessary more often than not.
On devices with decent power consumption and output, such as our W540 with a 47-watt CPU and 55-watt GPU, this behavior is less tolerable—the fan runs at low speed for a long time until it can’t go any slower, then revs up repeatedly to quickly cool down the heat generated, only to slow down again a few seconds later. This cycle repeats itself endlessly.
With modern Windows versions such as 10 or 11, the fan often revs up because background processes such as Defender generate short load peaks, which in turn cause heat and thus fan speed peaks. With Windows 7, this behavior is far less pronounced.
TPFanControl
Many ThinkPad users are tech-savvy, and the devices are known for being robust, repairable, expandable, and powerful. You could also call them the “MacBook Pro for practical users”.
As a result, software was developed to control fan behavior very precisely via the energy management EC registers in the devices. The first version was developed by shimodax until 2009, and the second version was then developed by troubadix until 2015. Later, a third iteration by Shuzhengz was added.
The first and second versions of the program are no longer being developed, but the existing versions still run on the supported models. On my W540 running Windows 11 Professional 25H2, the second version from troubadix has been running without any problems and to my satisfaction so far.
Links and instructions
The first version is available at SourceForge:
Thinkpad Fan Controller (tpfancontrol)
by shimodax, troubadix
Click here for the repository
The second variant, which I and many others have successfully used as an alternative in ThinkWiki:
TPFanControl
by troubadix
Click here to visit the website
Good, detailed instructions can be found in ThinkWiki
And finally, the newcomer on GitHub:
TPFanCtrl2
by Shuzhengz
Click here for the repository