Case Fans for Dummies Questions

[donfm]

I have an older Antec 1080 Case with 3-80mm case fans. They were adequate with my last build for P3 and P4 processors with older GPU cards. But as we all know stuff runs hotter now when you overclock etc.

My case has 2-rear 80mm antec fans and 1 front 80mm antec fans. There are provisions for 1 more front fan and one more side cover fan for a total of 5-80mm fans. I was looking to get a bit more air flow and add 2 more case fans. Here in lies the problem.

My mobo has connections for 2 mobo controlled fans. Should I run the extra fans off the mobo or just let them run wide open like the present case fans which are not speed controlled? I am thinking my original fans don't really move all that much air like some of the new ones do.

I am looking for some advice on fan configuration and type. There seems to be a lot of different types of fans out there and that is confusing to someone like me. I have no clue what I need or should buy. I have no idea if I should control the fans off the mobo or get some external control system.

Can anyone shed some light on fan setup and type for me? Specific fan suggestions would be appreciated as well. Thanks in advance.

Is there a good place to purchase case fans at a discount. I checked the Egg but their shipping costs were like 3X higher than the cost of some highly rated fans.

 

[donfm]

Guess I posted in the wrong forum category......

 

[zagood]

chill. it's friday.

1. If you're good with a dremel or other cutting device, cut out larger holes and drill new fan mounts. I don't know that case offhand but you can probably do 92mm in some of them, and definitely 120mm for in the side cover. If you do that you can a) have more airflow than 5x80mm and/or b) have the same airflow but much quieter.

Fan hole templates here (page is loading slow for me though):
http://www.mnpctech.com/Fan_Grill_Templates.html

2. Buy a fan controller like the Sunbeam Rheobus (around $15 and very highly regarded). Depending on what controller you get, you can control anywhere from 3-8 fans from a front bay device.

http://www.google.com/products...roup&resnum=1&ct=title

3. Recommedations:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article63-page1.html

 

[donfm]

I have to ask a noob question since I never had fans that connect to the mobo before. Does the mobo 3 and 4 pin pin connectors simply monitor the fan speed or does it control the fan speed as well? I am a little confused on that point.

My Gigabyte mobo has a 3 pin and a 4 pin headers listed as system fan 1 and system fan 2. The 4 pin header pinout says one is for speed control. Can anyone explain how they work because the owners manual doesn't explain squat.

It seems that in order to control the fan speed according to case temp you either do it manually, use a zener diode or a rheostat.

Oh and Zagood I am chillin like a villain dude......lol

 

[donfm]

Anyone else have any advice on what type of case fans to get?

 

[Zepper]

Most mobos can both monitor and control the speed of at least the CPU fan. Up to you to find out what your mobo can do. If you have a 4-pin fan connector then it's for a PWM fan which definitely can be controlled by the mobo. 3-pin fan connectors may be controlled in one or two voltage steps or they may not. If fan control is available it can be enabled or disabled thru the BIOS and/or the health monitor utility that should have come on the CD with the mobo.
. 80mm fans are old school, either can't move much air or are too noisy for what they deliver. Time for a case upgrade for a modern box with at least 120mm fans front and rear.

.bh.

 

[donfm]

Originally posted by: Zepper
Most mobos can both monitor and control the speed of at least the CPU fan. Up to you to find out what your mobo can do. If you have a 4-pin fan connector then it's for a PWM fan which definitely can be controlled by the mobo. 3-pin fan connectors may be controlled in one or two voltage steps or they may not. If fan control is available it can be enabled or disabled thru the BIOS and/or the health monitor utility that should have come on the CD with the mobo.
. 80mm fans are old school, either can't move much air or are too noisy for what they deliver. Time for a case upgrade for a modern box with at least 120mm fans front and rear.

.bh.

Well I would find out what my mobo "can do" if the manual told you anything about the fan headers other than the pinouts. I have one 4 pin fan header and one 3 pin fan header on my Gigabyte GA-EP45-UP3P board. I have never had a board that had fan control on it so I don't know what or how to use it sorry to say. That is why I asked the question here hoping some knowledgeable people with that board could help.

And even if it does have fan control...does it slow down and speed up as ambient case temps change or can you just control the max speed of the fan? Seriously I would look this stuff up if I had a clue where to look. Gigabyte is pretty much useless when it comes to operational information about the board.

 

[zagood]

I have the same motherboard.

CPU fan and I believe SYS 1 are controllable by the motherboard. Options are found in hardware monitoring in the BIOS.

For speed control you can choose between PWM and voltage control. 4-pin fans should use PWM, 3-pin use voltage.

Speed settings through the BIOS are based on CPU temps.

The mobo manual actually goes through a lot of this, you may just be missing that part.

You can also try a software program like speedfan to control your fan speed. Works well with some motherboards, not in others. I haven't tested with this one. You'll be able to configure your fan speeds based on different temperatures, have a wider funtionality range, etc. (if it works).

http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php

-z

 

[donfm]

Originally posted by: zagood


The mobo manual actually goes through a lot of this, you may just be missing that part.

Granted I am still becoming familiar with the manual. Perhaps the section that explained the fan headers was not the only information on this in the mobo manual. I will explore this further to see if there is an explanation of fan control functionality as you say.

I am running CPUID Hardware monitor and it says the CPU temp is 33C and both core temps are running at 40C. Perhaps I don't even need any more cooling.