Could use a little help with my new Fractal R4 case. Namely, LED light and the fans.

[Pavel Pokidaylo]

Hello. I just had my PC assembled in a Fractal R4 case and the LED light is not working.
We tried plugging it in a few ways but no luck. I am using this motherboard http://msi.com/product/mb/Z87-G45-GAMING.html#hero-overview

So far, the case seems to be doing an excellent job of keeping the noise inside. The only thing I can really hear though are the two fans that came with it. If I turn the fan controller up to 12 volt they get very loud. At 7 volt they are not very loud but I can still hear them when I'm just browsing the web. Maybe I can replace them with some quieter fans? If so, I could use some recommendations. I'm fairly certain the front fan is 140MM and not sure about the rear one but I can check. Thanks.

Here's my build...

Case- Fractal R4 Blackout
Mobo- MSI G45 Z87
CPU- I5 4670k
GPU- MSI 780 ti gaming SLI
PSU- Seasonic X series 1050W Gold
CPU cooler - NH-D14
SSD- Samsung 840 Pro
2X HDD

 

[Brighttail]

Okay so the power supply to the fan controller is obviously working cause it is running the fans, the LED could be just burned out and you may have to contact Fractal for that.

Switching the fans to more silent ones is very possible. Are you concerned about colours? Do you want LEDs in them?

 

[Pavel Pokidaylo]

Hey thanks for the reply. The LED may be burned out but it is a brand new case so I'm hoping it isn't. Maybe I'm just not connecting the wires in the right place? I'll have to open it up and take a look again.

As for the fans though I actually have another thing I'm considering now. My CPU cooler fans (NH-D14) are not being controlled by the CPU fan headers on this motherboard. The Mobo CPU fan headers are 4pin and it has smart fan mode and manual but neither work with these fans. The fans just spin at 1300 RPM no matter what I try to do. This happened with the previous mobo as well ( I mean RMA). Apparently I need to have 4pin fans for the CPU fan headers on this mobo to control them correctly. I plugged the CPU fans into the system fan headers instead and control them that way for now. I'm thinking about maybe ordering some good fans to replace these Noctua fans on the cooler so that the mobo will control them with the Smart Fan mode and then using the Noctua fans for the case.

 

[Brighttail]

If you are connecting the fan headers to the CPU or CPU OPT fan segments, those are designed to spin at 100% all the time because that is where the heat sink is supposed to go. The other fan headers on the mobo can be controlled through the bios or via attaching a lower voltage regulator on them.

 

[Pavel Pokidaylo]

There are two CPU fan headers and they are supposed to be able to control the fans via "smart fan mode" which raises and lowers the RPMs based on the CPU temperature or Manual mode. I'm not sure what you mean by CPU or CPU OPT segments. IF these CPU fan headers were not meant to control the CPU fans then whats the point of this smart fan mode or even manual mode? I read the only reason they are not controlling them is that they are 3 pins and not 4 which is just stupid.

When these CPU fans are plugged into the sysfan headers, yes I can control them via Manual mode. This is the only mode the sysfan headers have.
It works, but I'd much rather have the fans regulated according to the temperature of the CPU. Currently, I just leave them on the lowest setting and when I'm playing a game the temps hover around 50-60 sometimes reaching 63. In my previous case (carbide 500R) the temps were a bit lower because the case had better airflow, it did not have SLI, and probably used a better thermal paste. I'm not overclocking the CPU either so I think the temps should be fine. I'd still like the fans to actually be controlled the way they are meant to be though and I'm afraid I'll have to buy different fans for that. Rather silly considering this has been one of the top CPU coolers for years and all that.

 

[Brighttail]

Ah i see you are plugged into the cases fan mode and that is plugged in via power supply... Okay So the way the fan controller will work if it has the mods is the fans spin at full speed with full 12 volt power. Turn down the fan controller it lowers the voltage and is supposed to lower the speed by giving them less power.

With your LED issue and this issue it is sounding like the case fan controller is not working properly, which is a circuit board that can get damaged quite easily in shipment or by bumps and such. Most times you don't have to RMA the whole case, may case manufactuers can send you just the fan controller part and you put it in. It is obvious something is wrong since no LEDs....

One last thing is most fans will have a three pin headder but they may also have a 2 pin for LEDS that also has to be plugged in, see any of those?

Finally, I don't like fan controllers and don't use them if i don't have to. I have an Asus z97 hero vii motherboard that has software that can controll all my fans from software called Fan xpert. I can set profiles to have them spin at high speed when temps get high or turn off completely when temps are low. I prefer to use motherboard connectors as most BIOS allows you to do something similar.

 

[Pavel Pokidaylo]

The only fans that are plugged into the fan controller are the two case fans. They are working fine but because they are probably not very high quality they make some noise even at 7 volt. It's not very loud but when it's very quiet in my room I can hear them. It's just a little annoying when browsing the web, I'd prefer total silence. The other two fans (CPU fans) are plugged into the system fan headers and set to the lowest setting it allows. I could put on low noise filters and connect them to the CPU fan headers but I'd really rather the motherboard control them the way it's supposed to. For this, I will probably need to buy fans with 4pins to fit this cooler.

 

[Brighttail]

Four pin fans will allow you to control them a lot better that is for sure as that is what they are designed for.

Please remember to choose the best solution for your answer.

Good luck.