Fans not moving air - is something faulty?

[spyblog]

Have a CM690 and I just replaced the stock fan on the side window and the front of the case. I did so because the stock ones didn't seem to move any air (ie. I'd take the window off and put my hand in front of the fan and feel basically no air moving).

Well, I just put in some medium speed Yate Loons and they feel pretty much exactly the same. Again, can't really feel anything.

This is a pretty new rig, but I'm wondering, could this be a PSU problem? My exhaust fan seems to be moving air and I think the two tops fans as well, but the front and side intakes move almost nothing. All fans but the back exhaust are connected to PSU. I don't know much about fans really, but it doesn't seem right that I feel nothing when I put my hand in front of the fan.

 

[Zepper]

You say the front and side fans are connected directly to a PSU peripheral connector (Molex 4-pin). Is it an ordinary one or one that's marked for fans only? The "Fans Only" connector(s) that are on some PSUs (mainly Antec bundled units) are controlled by the same thermal controller that regulates the fan in the PSU. If that's the case in your system, just connect them to a regular Molex to get full speed. AFAIK, that's the only way to get a problem like yours. Also need to know what fans (make/model) you bought (for front/side to see if there is something that's specific to them.

.bh.

 

[Modelworks]

Take the fan loose from the case, plug it in and see if it is blowing. A common problem is people put grills or filters over the intake and if it is too close to the fan, it can really hurt the fans ability to suck in air. Some cases are even designed that way to look nice, prevent fingers in fans, but it can hurt intake air flow.

 

[spyblog]

Hmm, that could be a possibility. The CM690 does have mesh (small holes) on the side fan and a filter + mesh design on the front. I was thinking of upgrading the case for other reasons, but this might just be another reason to add to the list. My temps really aren't too bad (60-65c load with 9550 @ 3.825), but given that I'm running a GTX 295 and the side intake is producing almost no airflow, that's not all that great. I'll detach the side fan and try it out later by itself just to make sure.

Thanks