Grid Control is a free and open source alternative to the CAM application from NZXT.
- Simple to use and resource efficient
- Written in Python 3 using QT5 for the user interface
- Uses OpenHardwareMonitor to read sensor values
- Individual fan control (manual or automatic with control points)
- Support the Grid+ V2 device
NZXT is not involved in this project, do not contact them if your device is damaged while using this software.
Also, while it doesn't seem like the hardware could be damaged by silly USB messages (apart from overheating), I do NOT take any responsibility for any damage done to your cooler (applies to the Kraken watercooler, currently disabled).
Release 1.0.3 adds experimental support for the Kraken X61 cooler. This requires the LibUSB library to be installed, see next chapter.
- To be able to communicate with the Kraken X61 USB device, you need to download pre-compiled LibUSB DLL's from here
- Unzip the archive
- Assuming you are using a 64 bit version of Windows:
- Copy ...\libusb-1.0.20\MS32\dll\libusb-1.0.dll to C:\Windows\SysWOW64
- Copy ...\libusb-1.0.20\MS64\dll\libusb-1.0.dll to C:\Windows\System32
- Yes, the 64-bit DLL should be copied to "System32", and the 32-bit version to "SysWOW64" :-)
Grid Control is available as a stand-alone application (Python does not need to be installed):
- Download the latest release from Releases
- Unzip file
- Run "gridcontrol.exe"
Grid Control uses OpenHardwareMonitor to get temperature information from the available sensors in the system.
- Download latest release of OpenHardwareMonitor here
The Grid uses a MCP2200 USB-to-UART serial converter from Microchip.
Driver installation:
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Windows 10
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No driver is needed, Windows 10 will detect the Grid device automatically and add a "USB Serial Device" in Device Manager
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Windows 7
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A driver is needed, see "MCP2200/MCP2221 Windows Driver & Installer" on the product page
Assuming you have Python 3 installed, the following additional modules are required (can be installed with "pip").
- pip install pyserial
- pip install wmi
- pip install pypiwin32
- pip install pyqt5
QT Creator (including QT Designer for UI design) can be downloaded here.
For troubleshooting, or if you would like to run Grid Control without a Grid device, please have a look at my grid simulator available here.
I would like to thank the authors of the following projects that have been helpful in understanding the communication protocol the Grid and Kraken X61 uses.