How do you control 3 pin fans on the Asus P6X58D-E?

[Triggaaar]

I'm having trouble controlling the fan speeds on my Asus P6X58D-E (Bios 0303)

The connections are:
4-pin CPU_FAN socket, connected to 3-pin fan for CPU
4-pin CHA_FAN1 socket, connected to 3-pin fan for case cooling
3-pin CHA_FAN2 socket, connected to 3-pin Corsair H70 pump
3-pin CHA_FAN3 socket, connected to 3-pin fan for case cooling
3-pin PWR_FAN socket, connected to the PSU fan

According to the manual, all of these connectors support the Asus Fan Xpert feature, except for the PWR_FAN.

I would like at least the CPU fan to be set depending on the CPU temp, so I have tried Asus AI suite Fan Xpert & also a 3rd party download (SpeedFan).

With both sets of software, I can adjust the speed 3 chassis fan connectors (regardless of whether they are 3 or 4 pin connectors) in a group (all are adjusted, or none), but I cannot adjust the CPU speed at all.

This is with the CPU temp under 40 degrees C, and I've also tried reducing the maximum speed incase the software thought the CPU needed further cooling.

Asus Fan Xpert: This software shows you what rpm your fans will run at for each of the power settings 20% to 100% (power setting set according to chosen profile and CPU temp), but it shows that the CPU fan will be run at 2109 rpm at every setting.


If anyone can help me get around this problem I will be very grateful.

Thanks

 

[Rifter]

I have this motherboard but am currently running all my fans at full speed through 4 pin molex direct to the PSU.

If i have some time later today ill mess around with it i have a few spare 3 pin fans kicking around.


Im interested in hearing the results of this thread.

 

[Triggaaar]

Thanks for the reply.

I've just tried the Beta version of SpeedFan, but it made no difference. I'm not even sure if the problem is related to 3-pin fans, as their (chassis fans) rpm can be controlled, but not individually, and I can't change the CPU fan at all.

EDIT - Going into the Bios, under Power and Hardware, you can enable/disable either chassis or cpu fan control, but this is the same as doing it within Asus Fan Xpert (ie, if I change it in Fan Xpert, the change shows up in the Bios).

Regardless, nothing I do allows me to reduce the CPU speed. If I don't find an answer sooner, I will try and change the connections on the MB and test again (although that might have to removing things from the case).

It is strange that all the chassis fans have to be adjusted together.

 

[Triggaaar]

Update...
I have a quiet PC.

I've just switched the pump & cpu fans around - so the H70 pump is run off the CPU fan (with speed adjustment disabled, just in case) and the CPU radiator fans off the Chassis 2 socket. I can then switch the case and rad fans between profiles (eg, standard, or silent etc), and the lot are adjusted together. It's not exactly ideal that I can't adjust fans individually, but it's a start.

By the way, the 2 corsair fans run at about 2100rpm at full power, and 1500rpm with Asus's standard fan profile, and the difference in CPU temp at idle is about 0 degrees, but the difference in noise is huge.


So, any idea why the CPU connector on the Asus MB doesn't allow fan speed adjustment, even though the bios thinks it does? Maybe the CPU fan has to be 4-pin PWM, even though the Chassis Fan 1 is a 4-pin connection and works with a 3-pin fan?

Thanks

 

[hellotyler]

http://www.nzxt.com/new/products/fan_control/sentry_lx

Could try one of these.

 

[Triggaaar]

Thanks. There are a couple of nice fan controllers - how (and how well) do the temperature probes work? You can't put one on the cpu for example, which is the main thing I want to control the temperature of.

 

[HPDZ]

I just got my system put together a few days ago with the P6X58D-Premium. The CPU is a Core i7 980X (stock cooler so far) and I have a Cooler Master HAF X case, which comes with 4 fans pre-installed.

I have 3 of the fans (top, rear, and front) plugged into the motherboard CHA FAN 1-3. I have the CPU fan plugged into the motherboard CPU FAN connector. The side case fan is plugged into the power supply.

I have the stock CPU cooler switch set to "Performance".

With that configuration, I can use the ASUS Fan XPert program to control the CPU fan speed and the case fans too. The Calibration step gives me different speeds for each "%" value, from 795 at 20% to 2481 at 100%.

I believe the 3-pin connectors vary the fan speed by changing the voltage on the +12V pin, while the 4-pin connectors are designed to vary the fan speed by applying a variable-duty-cycle PWM signal on pin 4, keeping the +12V pin at a constant 12V. So if you plug a 3-pin fan into a 4-pin header, the fan may always run at full speed. I've just started digging into this myself this afternoon, so I'm no expert, but that's what I've been able to come up with. I may be able to try some testing to confirm this later today.

Hope this helps, but it sounds like you found a way to achieve happiness already.

 

[HPDZ]

About the fan speed controllers -- I have an NZXT Sentry LX installed on a different system than the one with the P6X58D, and I like it as a way to set case fan speeds. But I do not think it can be used safely to control CPU fans.

There is no reasonable way to mount any of its little thermal probes in a configuration that will be useful for regulating the CPU temperature. You need to be able to probe the CPU package temperature, so you'd have to stick the probe in between the heat sink and the top of the CPU, and the only way to achieve that is by milling a tiny channel in the CPU head spreader. Probably not something most of us are willing to do.

 

[Bartman39]

Dont know if this will help but I`m running an ASUS M4A79 Deluxe which in the bios has the setting for either a 4 pin PWM or DC fan (3 pin) and it will control either and vary the fan speed if set to the correct fan type your using... Had tried it with an old 4 heatpipe cooler for a dual core that used a 3 pin DC fan...

Figure like HPDZ said about the two... :thumbsup:

 

[Mr_and_Mrs_D]

P6X58D-Premium && CM HAF 932 here. I connected 3 of the 4 HAF fans to the 3-pin connectors of the mobo - including the PWR one - yes it does power up the fan - will connect the remaining one onto the 4-pin connector.

Nice explanations everybody !

EDIT : the PC PROBE II app by ASUS shows a variable CPU fan speed in my case btw

 

[HPDZ]

I've made a few updates to my system since originally building it, and one is particularly relelvant here: I am using the Cooler Master V8 CPU fan. This is probably overkill, I will admit. I'm overclocked to 4.0 GHz and have NOT altered the voltage at all, and the system has been rock-solid stable for nearly a year now doing high-intensity calculations for months at a time. And with this cooler, I have not had the CPU temp get closer than about 20C to TJmax, as measured by RealTempGT, even when using the OCCT most extreme testing settings.