Installed Corsair HX520W PSU, question about case fan

[Muse]

I upgraded my main PC lately, putting in these new components:

MSI K8N Neo v2.0 FSR mainboard
AMD 64 Venice 2.2 GHz CPU
500 GB16/MB Samsung SATA HD
Corsair HX520W PSU

There's 3 IDE HDs in the system, also a very quiet BFG 6600GT AGP card.

I replaced my Antec 430True PSU with the Corsair yesterday. Right now, the biggest contributor to noise is the 80mm Vantec Stealth exhausting case fan at the rear of my generic midtower ATX case.

When I had the Antec 430True PSU in there I had that fan connected to a fan-only power connector from the PSU. The Antec PSU generally had that fan running pretty slowly and it didn't make much noise AFAIK. Whenever I opened the case, I could see that the fan wasn't going very fast. Yesterday when I installed the Corsair PSU I initially had that case fan connected to a fan-only power feed that connected to a regular peripherals 12v power cable. Then I had the idea that it would be better to connect it to one of the s-fan connectors on the motherboard. I didn't even test the first connection, before plugging the case fan into the motherboard's s-fan1 connector. There's s-fan1 and s-fan2 on the motherboard, both 3 pin connectors, and the connector on the fan's cable is also 3 pin. The fan-only cable from the PSU only had 2 connections, and I figured I wouldn't get any fans speed readings or voltage control coming from the power supply. I think the Antec takes care of this by dedicating the two wires to fan-only, and making its voltage adjustments accordingly. With the Corsair, it doesn't have fan only voltage supply, it only has a fan-only Y connector that attaches to a regular 12v peripheral power cable. So, I presume, I would get no control at all using the Corsair's fan-only Y connector.

Well, I figure there must be some way to not only monitor the fan speed of this case fan but to regulate the speed, maybe with Speed Fan or some other utility. However, I've so far found nothing either in the BIOS, Core Center (MSI's utility, or one of them), or Motherboard Monitor 5. None of these even display the fan's speed.

I'm thinking I want to either find a utility that will give me some control or maybe replace the 80mm fan with a side 120mm fan, either blowing in or out. What do you think?

 

[hyprxtension]

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=495419

You are correct, the Antec regulated the power on its fan-only connectors according to its readings from the mobo. Corsair HX520 gives a full 12V to it at all times.
Rather than invest in a controller, I found that the HX520's modular fan only connectors fit pretty well into a molex upside down, letting me run my fans at 5V.

 

[Zepper]

final solution: OutsideTheBox Remove (cut if necessary) any restrictive grill that may be in the way of the 80mm fan hole.

.bh.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: hyprxtension
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=495419

You are correct, the Antec regulated the power on its fan-only connectors according to its readings from the mobo. Corsair HX520 gives a full 12V to it at all times.
Rather than invest in a controller, I found that the HX520's modular fan only connectors fit pretty well into a molex upside down, letting me run my fans at 5V.

Uh huh... you mean flip that thing over and it will work, at at 5 v. I figured this might be a way to run things. It would be nice if I had a temperature controlled voltage to the fan in case faster is needed on a hot day. Temperatures in the room vary widely. I suppose it's no biggie.

I even thought of rewiring connectors. I've done a bit of that. I really would like to quiet that thing down.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Zepper
final solution: OutsideTheBox Remove (cut if necessary) any restrictive grill that may be in the way of the 80mm fan hole.

.bh.

Yeah, actually I cut the grill away entirely from that fan at least two years ago. I can stick my finger right in it. That's how I know how loud it is! :Q