new build complete - fan/cooling questions

[poisonthewell]

Hi everyone,

I have completed my first build. Excuse my newbishness but I've always owned laptops and don't quite know what to expect from some of the hardware I've just assembled. A couple of observations/questions:

1) I just installed XP Home. The stock fan on my Sempron spins until the OS has fully loaded, after which it "twitches" on occassion but will not spin. Is this normal? I assumed this would be on at all times, but perhaps it shuts off when the cpu isn't working hard?

2) There are two fans on my power supply - the one toward the front of the case works but the one on the rear does not appear to function. I have an Antec case and the PS came with it (350W Smart Power). The PS is cold to the touch. Does the rear fan only turn on when the PS warms up?

The stock case fan located in the back works at all times (which is why I'm wondering about the other two). The computer hasn't unexpectedly shut down or done anything out of the ordinary, but then again I haven't done much other than load the OS for fear that I might fry some hardware.

Thanks in advance for any insight.

 

[poisonthewell]

bump for the am crew

 

[shiranai]

System specs would be nice.

1) AFAIK, the CPU fan should always be spinning, unless there's an option in your BIOS that causes the fan to turn off when core temps are below a certain level. Many mobos can regulate fan speed based on temperatures, but I don't think they ever turn the fan off entirely.

2) Check Antec's website: http://www.antec.com/us/#

Relevant info quoted:
"One of the fans in my new SmartPower 2.0 unit is not spinning. Is that right?

YES! SmartPower 2.0 features Antec's unique Dual Fan Technology: the exhaust fan only starts to spin when the power supply reaches a certain temperature. The rest of the time it stays off for maximum quiet operation. (And don't worry about that, either: the second fan, inside the case, spins on power up for constant quiet ventilation.)"

 

[CreativeTom]

I would pray for your CPU if you are using it without a fan, I don't think this is normal at all...you want to make sure that your processor fan is working at all times.

 

[poisonthewell]

system specs:

antec slk1650b w/350w ps
sempron 2800+ (retail fan)
dfi lanparty nf3
corsair vs pc3200 2x512

I bought all these items new.

shiranai - I'll check the bios, but I haven't adjusted anything there

 

[Severian]

the Nforce3 chipset has a feature called "Cool-n-Quiet", which alters the speed of the cpu fan based on real-time readings of the cpu core temp. It will, in fact, completely turn off the fan if the cpu temp falls below a certain point. You can either disable Cool-n-Quiet in the system BIOS, or simly plug the HSF into a different fan header. Cool-n-Quiet generally only works on the fan plugged into CPU1 fan header.

 

[poisonthewell]

severian - Thanks much for the info!

I've seen threads where people mention CnQ but wasn't entirely clear as to what they were speaking of. Will check into this later today.