motherboard fan necessary?

[TheShiz]

I've just put together a pretty quiet system and the loudest thing is the motherboard fan (on the southbridge chip or whatever it is) and I'm wondering if this fan is necessary? The heatsink on there looks pretty good (i'm using an albatron PX865PE Pro II) so I figured I could just unplug it, or should i get one of those fan regulators to make the fan spin slower?

Its hard to believe how quiet my system is now with the antec sonata case and some zalman CPU/GPU coolers. thanks for any help.

 

[HardWarrior]

Try unplugging it an closely monitoring how warm it gets to the touch. If you can, stoke-up something demanding that'll stress the mobo and see if your box gets squirly.

 

[mrwxyz]

u can almost definatly do without the fan
if the temps get too high, get a better heatsink and no need for the fan

 

[TheShiz]

i read somewhere that the fan on this mobo is pretty weak, 6 cfm, so I'm guessing that it really is not necessary, I'll see how warm it gets after running some things. Thanks for the help.

 

[Zim Hosein]

Zalman makes some nice all-copper HS for MB chip-sets, considering you have their CPU/GPU coolers, I know you're familiar w/ their quality, I hope this helps

 

[Operandi]

This should do the job if the stock HS isn't cutting it without the fan.

 

[CidHighwind]

What particular CPU are you using? Newer P4s tend to operate VERY hot and need their CPU fans.

Also, the very fact that your CPU fan is running (some only turn on at high temp, like mine) almost denotes that it needs one.

Also, try cruising NewEgg or similar places to see if you can find a compatible Fan/Heatsink with a lower Db (decibel).

 

[Degrador]

Originally posted by: CidHighwind
What particular CPU are you using? Newer P4s tend to operate VERY hot and need their CPU fans.

Also, the very fact that your CPU fan is running (some only turn on at high temp, like mine) almost denotes that it needs one.

Also, try cruising NewEgg or similar places to see if you can find a compatible Fan/Heatsink with a lower Db (decibel).

I think you'll find he was talking about northbridge cooler fans... Anyway, I think you'll be fine without the fan - as long you've got a case fan or two, that'd be enough airflow to pass the heatsink.