[SOLVED] Case fan Making Loud noise on boot help!!!!

[ReaDHere]

Hey Guys need help plz!!
i have a ZALMAN Z11 PLUS, the top fan is making a weird noise , i cleaned it but nothing changed so i bought a new one still making the same noise,
my motherboard is ASROCK Z97 ANNIVERSARY, i connected the fan to PWR FAN than i changed it to CHASS FAN 1 but still making noise .
thanks in advance
AUDIO NOISE REC

 

[Paperdoc]

The problem is that the fan you have is a 3-pin type, and its speed can be controlled only by a header that uses the older Voltage Control Mode. Most of the fan headers you have use the newer PWM Mode which cannot control this fan design. In either case, you can NOT use the PWR_FAN header because it has NO ability to control fan speeds.

However, you do have one reasonable option. See your manual p. 6, item 25 just below the CPU socket. It is a 3-pin fan header labelled CPU_FAN2. This is the ONLY mobo fan header that uses the older Voltage Control Mode and thus CAN control the speed of 3-pin fans. The very slight disadvantage of this header is that its guide is the temperature measured inside the CPU chip. Although that is not quite ideal for a case ventilation fans, it is still a good option. So plug your 3-pin case fan in there and the speed will be controlled automatically.

Now, as I read the case manual, it has other fans also of the 3-pin variety. If they are also plugged into mobo 4-pin headers (and the manual says those all use only the PWM Mode), then those fans also will be running full speed always. If you want them to be speed-controlled, too, then you need a simple Splitter to connect all three case fans to that one CPU_FAN2 header.

 

[digitalgriffin]

If it's only on boot, and slows down once in windows, this might be expected behavior.

Go into your UEFI BIOS and check out the fans section and see if it has a fan profile and change it.

On my ASRock, it defaults to full speed on reboot. It wasn't until it got into windows with the ASRock Motherboard Utility did the fans slow down to their programmed profile.

As I recently found out when a motherboard has chassis fan connectors, whether be it 4 or 3, they usually act like 3 pin headers and alter the supply voltage, ignoring the 4th pin.

HOWEVER There are a few models which allow you to select between 4 pin PWM and 3 pin Voltage regulation speed control in the BIOS. But they are more the exception than the rule, and only on newer boards.

 

[ReaDHere]

The problem is that the fan you have is a 3-pin type, and its speed can be controlled only by a header that uses the older Voltage Control Mode. Most of the fan headers you have use the newer PWM Mode which cannot control this fan design. In either case, you can NOT use the PWR_FAN header because it has NO ability to control fan speeds.

However, you do have one reasonable option. See your manual p. 6, item 25 just below the CPU socket. It is a 3-pin fan header labelled CPU_FAN2. This is the ONLY mobo fan header that uses the older Voltage Control Mode and thus CAN control the speed of 3-pin fans. The very slight disadvantage of this header is that its guide is the temperature measured inside the CPU chip. Although that is not quite ideal for a case ventilation fans, it is still a good option. So plug your 3-pin case fan in there and the speed will be controlled automatically.

Now, as I read the case manual, it has other fans also of the 3-pin variety. If they are also plugged into mobo 4-pin headers (and the manual says those all use only the PWM Mode), then those fans also will be running full speed always. If you want them to be speed-controlled, too, then you need a simple Splitter to connect all three case fans to that one CPU_FAN2 header.

thanks for replying but CPU_FAN1 is connected to the CPU fan & CPU_FAN2 is already connected to the rear fan so the only available options are PWR FAN or CHASS FAN1 OR 2,
also this issue happened after(1 month give or take) i updated the BIOS to 2.10, it was working all smooth before and i noticed that the noise is happening because the fan is spinning at a low RPM (600 to 700RPM).
rebooting fix this some times. temporary solution

 

[ReaDHere]

If it's only on boot, and slows down once in windows, this might be expected behavior.

Go into your UEFI BIOS and check out the fans section and see if it has a fan profile and change it.

On my ASRock, it defaults to full speed on reboot. It wasn't until it got into windows with the ASRock Motherboard Utility did the fans slow down to their programmed profile.

As I recently found out when a motherboard has chassis fan connectors, whether be it 4 or 3, they usually act like 3 pin headers and alter the supply voltage, ignoring the 4th pin.

HOWEVER There are a few models which allow you to select between 4 pin PWM and 3 pin Voltage regulation speed control in the BIOS. But they are more the exception than the rule, and only on newer boards.

no it keeps making the noise after the boot until i reboot the pc (some time this fix the issue).
as i noticed recently is that the fan is spinning slowly like 600 to 700 RPM thats why it makes that noise, i think it has some thing to do with the BIOS update buts its been some time now till this issue happens it was all good .

 

[Paperdoc]

My first thought is: how do you know the fan speed? If you are using some third-party utility, it MAY not be telling you the correct value. Some of those software tools require custom calibration or simply never tell the truth, and some are just fine. The only tool I consider reliable is what comes with the mobo, and there are two ways for that. First, you always can see the fan speeds in the BIOS Setup screens for the separate fan headers. However, those can only be seen when you are not using the machine for real work, and only at low workload (observing BIOS Setup screens). In addition to that, almost all mobos come with a CD full of drivers and utility tools, and one of those latter is a Windows app you can install and run under Windows to view and adjust all your fans (and some other items). So you can have this running on your screen at the same time as you do real work, and observe fan operations that way. This tool supplied with your mobo will tell you the truth. Just be sure you know which fan is plugged into which mobo header.

If this confirms that one or more of your fans is always running slow even though it is set to run fast or even full speed, and is making noise while doing that, then you have a worn out fan with bad bearings. It needs to be replaced.

By using these reliable speed measures, if you find that the noisy fan (or maybe both the blue fans) really is running full speed all the time as I suspect, then we are back to needing to connect those fans differently. As I said, since the two blue fans and the rear exhaust fan with no lights are all 3-pin models, the ONLY mobo header able to control their speeds is the 3-pin CPU_FAN2 header already in use for the rear fan. There IS a way to connect all three of these to that one header. It is called a Splitter, and all it does is connect all three fans in parallel to the power lines from the mobo host header. That way they all three get the same speed control information and all do the same thing. Here is one example of a Splitter with three outputs

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E168124..._re=coboc_fan_splitter-_-12-423-163-_-Product

However, it is currently out of stock. An alternative is this small 5-output circuit board that you must fasten down safely so it does not move and make contact to Ground by mistake

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E168124..._re=coboc_fan_splitter-_-12-423-163-_-Product

Both of these are designed with 4-pin connectors, but they will fit and work with the 3-pin header and fan connectors you have, just not using the fourth pin.

A few notes about using these. First, identifying them. A SPLITTER like these has only two types of "arms" or connectors. ONE arm has a female (with 4 holes) fan connector that plugs into the mobo header. Two arms (or five ports) have 4-pin male connectors to plug in your fans. A quite different type of device I prefer to call a HUB (but also sold under the name "Splitter") has an additional third "arm" that must be plugged into a SATA or 4-pin Molex power output from the PSU. The Hub can ONLY be used with 4-pin fan systems, so do NOT get one of those.

Any mobo fan header can deal with the speed signal fed back to it from only ONE fan. So any Splitter (or Hub) will feed back only one fan's speed signal on Pin #3, and ignore all the other fans' speed signals. For the three-output Splitter with arms above, this is done by simply omitting the Pin #3 on two of its three output connectors. For the circuit board, you can't see this detail, but ONLY the one port labelled "CPU" will send its fan's speed signal to the mobo header. So you must connect one of your three case fans (NOT your CPU cooler fan) to this header of the Splitter. The speeds of the other two fans will never be reported to the mobo and you will never "see" them.

When using a Splitter, all power for all its fans comes from the single mobo header. Such a header has a limit - it can supply up to 1.0 A max current. Most fans use 0.10 to 0.25 A each. But those two LED fans (with blue lights in them) use typically 0.30 to 0.40 A each. So you CAN connect two LED fans and one plain fan together using a Splitter to a single mobo CHA_FAN (or, in this case, the CPU_FAN2) header safely. Then all three fans' speeds will be controlled by that one header.

 

[pilotsh]

thanks for replying but CPU_FAN1 is connected to the CPU fan & CPU_FAN2 is already connected to the rear fan so the only available options are PWR FAN or CHASS FAN1 OR 2,

Sounded like solid advice, that only CPU_FAN2 will be the only port to provide speed control. I wouldn't over think it: either buy a splitter and reroute three of your fans onto it, or buy ear plugs. Or buy a new case that does what you need?

Sometimes things just don't play nice together and it is easier to swap the cranky one out.

 

[ReaDHere]

My first thought is: how do you know the fan speed? If you are using some third-party utility, it MAY not be telling you the correct value. Some of those software tools require custom calibration or simply never tell the truth, and some are just fine. The only tool I consider reliable is what comes with the mobo, and there are two ways for that. First, you always can see the fan speeds in the BIOS Setup screens for the separate fan headers. However, those can only be seen when you are not using the machine for real work, and only at low workload (observing BIOS Setup screens). In addition to that, almost all mobos come with a CD full of drivers and utility tools, and one of those latter is a Windows app you can install and run under Windows to view and adjust all your fans (and some other items). So you can have this running on your screen at the same time as you do real work, and observe fan operations that way. This tool supplied with your mobo will tell you the truth. Just be sure you know which fan is plugged into which mobo header.

If this confirms that one or more of your fans is always running slow even though it is set to run fast or even full speed, and is making noise while doing that, then you have a worn out fan with bad bearings. It needs to be replaced.

By using these reliable speed measures, if you find that the noisy fan (or maybe both the blue fans) really is running full speed all the time as I suspect, then we are back to needing to connect those fans differently. As I said, since the two blue fans and the rear exhaust fan with no lights are all 3-pin models, the ONLY mobo header able to control their speeds is the 3-pin CPU_FAN2 header already in use for the rear fan. There IS a way to connect all three of these to that one header. It is called a Splitter, and all it does is connect all three fans in parallel to the power lines from the mobo host header. That way they all three get the same speed control information and all do the same thing. Here is one example of a Splitter with three outputs

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16812423163?Description=coboc fan splitter&cm_re=coboc_fan_splitter--12-423-163--Product

However, it is currently out of stock. An alternative is this small 5-output circuit board that you must fasten down safely so it does not move and make contact to Ground by mistake

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16812423163?Description=coboc fan splitter&cm_re=coboc_fan_splitter--12-423-163--Product

Both of these are designed with 4-pin connectors, but they will fit and work with the 3-pin header and fan connectors you have, just not using the fourth pin.

A few notes about using these. First, identifying them. A SPLITTER like these has only two types of "arms" or connectors. ONE arm has a female (with 4 holes) fan connector that plugs into the mobo header. Two arms (or five ports) have 4-pin male connectors to plug in your fans. A quite different type of device I prefer to call a HUB (but also sold under the name "Splitter") has an additional third "arm" that must be plugged into a SATA or 4-pin Molex power output from the PSU. The Hub can ONLY be used with 4-pin fan systems, so do NOT get one of those.

Any mobo fan header can deal with the speed signal fed back to it from only ONE fan. So any Splitter (or Hub) will feed back only one fan's speed signal on Pin #3, and ignore all the other fans' speed signals. For the three-output Splitter with arms above, this is done by simply omitting the Pin #3 on two of its three output connectors. For the circuit board, you can't see this detail, but ONLY the one port labelled "CPU" will send its fan's speed signal to the mobo header. So you must connect one of your three case fans (NOT your CPU cooler fan) to this header of the Splitter. The speeds of the other two fans will never be reported to the mobo and you will never "see" them.

When using a Splitter, all power for all its fans comes from the single mobo header. Such a header has a limit - it can supply up to 1.0 A max current. Most fans use 0.10 to 0.25 A each. But those two LED fans (with blue lights in them) use typically 0.30 to 0.40 A each. So you CAN connect two LED fans and one plain fan together using a Splitter to a single mobo CHA_FAN (or, in this case, the CPU_FAN2) header safely. Then all three fans' speeds will be controlled by that one header.

I knew the fan speed using the supplied utility with the mobo A-TUNING.
i already replaced the fan with another one with molex connector directly to the PSU to check if its gonna work normal but the problem is still there it's really driving me crazy .
i will see if i can find one of those splitter and test it.
is this PSU enough since i connected the fan directly to the PSU but still spining slowly ,is that mean it doesn't get enough power.
here is the full setup:
i7 4790k
asrock z97 anniv
MSI GTX760 HAWK
8gb ram
480 ssd
PSU 550 w
300x2 hdd
zalman z11 plus

 

[Paperdoc]

Any PSU can supply all the power a fan needs - a fan is a small power user. BUT I am intrigued that you say the fan still runs slowly and noisy when plugged into a Molex output directly from the PSU. How do you know the fan speed in this case? When you plug a fan into a Molex output, there is NO connection of the fan's speed signal to anything, so you can NOT "see" that fan's speed anywhere. So, are you reporting a readout of the fan speed, or are you judging it just by eye when it is connected this way? The reason I ask is that IF you are reporting a readout, either you have made an error in fan electrical connections or you are reading the wrong information.

 

[ReaDHere]

Any PSU can supply all the power a fan needs - a fan is a small power user. BUT I am intrigued that you say the fan still runs slowly and noisy when plugged into a Molex output directly from the PSU. How do you know the fan speed in this case? When you plug a fan into a Molex output, there is NO connection of the fan's speed signal to anything, so you can NOT "see" that fan's speed anywhere. So, are you reporting a readout of the fan speed, or are you judging it just by eye when it is connected this way? The reason I ask is that IF you are reporting a readout, either you have made an error in fan electrical connections or you are reading the wrong information.

a said so because it's the same noise when it was connected to the CHASS_FAN connector, i'm very confused now me too i didn't believe that it will still be noisy after a connected it to the PSU, as you said i must got some thing wrong i ll double check again and thank you for your help sir.

either you have made an error in fan electrical connections

no i don't think so it's a molex connector not that match complicated it must be some thing else.

 

[Paperdoc]

OK, so I'll explain why I asked. You say you moved the power connection from a mobo fan header to a PSU Molex connection. That raised three questions.

1. When you do that, the fan can ONLY run full speed and never slow down. So some people consider it is too noisy that way. You appear to say that making the fan run that way is NOT any different from what you had when plugged into mobo headers - either PWR_FAN or 4-pin SYS_FAN. Well, that's what I expect. The way you had the blue fans connected before would produce the same full speed always behaviour. So maybe THAT is why you consider them noisy - they are full speed, and NOT at the low speed you claim.

2. Normally, when you connect a fan to a Molex power output there is NO connection of the fan's speed to anywhere, so you can NOT read its speed. And yet you say when you connected that way the speed of the fan did not change and still was remarkably slow. That's why I asked whether you are reading the right thing.

3. HOW you changed from mobo header to Molex power connection is relevant. You might do that by using an adapter that converts the fans' 3-pin female connectors into a 4-pin Molex male connector. Or similarly, you might be using an adapter to convert the PSU Molex output into TWO fan male connectors. In either case, you would have to DISconnect the fan from the mobo headers and connect them ONLY to the Molex PSU output. As I said, that would give you full power for constant full speed, but NO readout of fan speeds anywhere. BUT there's another way. SOME fans come with TWO connectors on the end of their wires. One is a normal female fan connector. The other is a 4-pin male Molex connector (usually with only 2 pins installed inside its shroud). The intent is that you can connect to ONLY ONE of those power sources, and you should NEVER connect both to their respective ports. Connecting both can force power from the PSU backwards into a mobo fan header and damage the mobo! But oddly, IF that works partially, you could see the fan speed, which is what you claim. That is why I worry HOW you switched from mobo to Molex power.

So, how did you connect to the PSU Molex output? Did you connect only one, or both of the blue fans this way? When they are connected this way, are you reading a fan speed somewhere, or are you just judging it by eyeball?

I you want to do a simple test of what I suggested (using a Splitter to connect all three fans to the CPU_OPT header), try this. Open the case and disconnect all the three case fans. Now plug into the CPU_OPT 3-pin header only the top blue fan you say is too noisy, and leave the others disconnected. Start up. I expect that top fan will sound quieter because it will be running slower under actual mobo control. In BIOS Setup, observe the fan speed displayed for the CPU_OPT fan. If this shows you that the fan IS quieter at slow speeds, then you will know that connecting all three of them to that one header that CAN run them slow will solve your problem.