How can I slow down my case fan?

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
B

Bycote

Distinguished
Jul 10, 2006
56
0
18,630
I was given This Case Fan for Christmas. It's a darn good fan, but it is LOUD! If I leave the computer room door open, I can actually hear it humming from the opposite side of the house!

I hope there is a simple solution to my problem. I just want to slow the fan down so it's not so loud. I have the fan plugged into my Asus P5WD2 Premium motherboard so I tried setting the fan to "Silent Mode" in the BIOS, but that didn't slow it down 1 RPM.

I also downloaded a program called Speedfan, but I couldn't get it to do anything either. I tried simply lowering the %'s, but even when they were all at zero, nothing changed. I read the program's readme and tried to set it up to automatically adjust my fans' speeds according to his instructions. When I applied my settings, the program showed the %'s changing all over the board, but nothing actually changed. My case fan stayed on 5,800 RPMs .

Please help!
 
Thanks for the tip NotAPimecone. I'll try it. :^)

@ sirheck, try reading posts before you respond to them. It helps.

EDIT I thought I recognized that fan controller... I had one in my parts shelf. I hooked it up and it doesn't change the fan's speed though. :^(

So I guess this question isn't as simple as I hoped... does anybody know anything that can be done?
 
Thanks for the tip NotAPimecone. I'll try it. :^)

@ sirheck, try reading posts before you respond to them. It helps.

EDIT I thought I recognized that fan controller... I had one in my parts shelf. I hooked it up and it doesn't change the fan's speed though. :^(

So I guess this question isn't as simple as I hoped... does anybody know anything that can be done?
Click to expand...

i did read the post.
thats why I SAID TRY SPEEDFAN.
 
@ sirheck

I also downloaded a program called Speedfan, but I couldn't get it to do anything either. I tried simply lowering the %'s, but even when they were all at zero, nothing changed. I read the program's readme and tried to set it up to automatically adjust my fans' speeds according to his instructions. When I applied my settings, the program showed the %'s changing all over the board, but nothing actually changed. My case fan stayed on 5,800 RPMs .
Click to expand...
 
Could be that the fan controller is busted. If thats the case then you can either get a new one or you can pick up a potentiometer/rheostat at Radioshack for like $2 and rig that up.
 
[...] potentiometer/rheostat [...]
Click to expand...
I better google this one! I'll write it down and hope the guy at Radio Shack recognizes what the hell it is. ;^)

Seriously, thanks for the suggestion. I'll pick one up tomorrow if I can't find a software solution to my problem.
 
Simple, and free solution. 12 V to 7 V. in 2 minutes.

Take the molex connector which the fan will plug into, and swap the red wire, and the black wire which is closest to the yellow one.
Its not that hard to pull them out and stick them back in.
Note: do it on the right end of the connector. Your case fan probbly has a male and a female connector, or has a 3 to 4 pin adaptor with it.

That will give you 7 volts, and a quiet but still spinning well enough fan.
There's also a way to swap other wires and get 5 volts, but for most case fans, starting voltage is 6v.
good luck,

to make things more clear:
that's the wire order initially:

Y B1 B2 R

after:

Y R B2 B1
 
EDIT I thought I recognized that fan controller... I had one in my parts shelf. I hooked it up and it doesn't change the fan's speed though. :^(
Click to expand...
Hmm, weird, I have one that came with my 9700, it works great. I turned off the fan control in the bios which means, as far as the board's concerned it's running the fan at full speed (but the controller puts it anywhere from slow to full speed).

Could be that the fan controller is busted.
Click to expand...
Probably.
 
I used one of those as a HSF. It sounded like a jet engine. you can't control that from the board because you are powering it from the PS directly. The yellow single wire is just to give you the speed not to control it. You will need an outboard fan controller or potentiometer (variable resistor). Zozzoz idea sounds very interesting, I think I would try it. Be careful getting the pins out they have little hooks inside to hold them in. IMPORTANT: clearly mark the plug as modified so that you don't f.. up and fry something else a year down the road.
 
An alternative to the 7 volt mod is the 5 volt mod, in which you grab a knife and shave off the two square corners on the molex connector. Works great for small fans, but larger ones usually won't even spin with just five volts.
 
Don't worry, you won't fry anything. What you basically do - is take the wires that are coming out of the PSU and rearrange them, to give you lower voltage.
 
Don't worry, you won't fry anything. What you basically do - is take the wires that are coming out of the PSU and rearrange them, to give you lower voltage.
Click to expand...

What I was saying is a year later when he unplugs stuff for an upgrade or whatever that the modified plug is clearly marked so that he doesn't plug it into a drive or something else by mistake and fry it.
 
You guys have been great! I bought a 25 Ohm variable resistor today and I'm trying to figure out how the heck to install it... I may have to go back to Radio Shack for a lesson! ;^)

If I can't figure this out then I will try that 7V connector mod.

Thanks again for all of your suggestions, you have all been very helpful! :^)
 
You guys have been great! I bought a 25 Ohm variable resistor today and I'm trying to figure out how the heck to install it... I may have to go back to Radio Shack for a lesson! ;^)

If I can't figure this out then I will try that 7V connector mod.

Thanks again for all of your suggestions, you have all been very helpful! :^)
Click to expand...

Do you have the specs on the variable resistor also called potentiometer (pot), specifically the wattage rating? Also the resistance range? It will need to be heavy enough or it will cook.
 
Zorg is right. You need to know the max disspated wattage (typically 1/4 watt, 1/2 watt, etc). If it's too low, it might potentially heat up too much.

The 7volt mod is the easiest to do, not requiring any extra mats, and thats what I would recommend for someone who jsut wants to quiet down the fan without going into fine-tuning. Basically the reasoning is that your 4-pin connector gives you a 12V line, a 5V line, ground, and ... something else (I forgot). Normally your fan only uses the 12V and the ground : 12V-0V = 12V. If you rewire it to use the 12V and the 5V( instead of ground), you get 12V-5V = 7V potential. So your fan turns at a slower speed.

GL and don't burn anything down :)
 
My pot's specs: 3 Watts, 25 Ohms

The fellers at Radio Shack said it was the best they had. ;^)

Unfortunately they didn't know how the heck to install the thing. And neither do I! :^( It's got three connectors on it and I've only got two wires coming from my fan (+ and - of course). I assume I've got to solder my fan wires to the pot connectors in a particular order... but I'm clueless.

You all have been so helpful, can anybody help me with this?
 
Try the plug mod first, it is the safest. Also, I was looking more closely at that fan and I think that it is a brushless DC motor. This means that the potentiometer in series may not work. Vantec Tech support would need to be contacted about whether a voltage divider (using the potentiometer/rheostat) was feasible. It depends on how they designed the internals of the motor controller. Here is a link to some FAQ's but they would still need to be contacted. If it would work a 3 watt rating is pretty low for the amount of power that the pot will need to handle but I am sure they can advise you. The pot will also generate heat where the plug mod won't. Probably not much heat, but heat is heat.

http://www.vantecusa.com/knowledgebase.php
Search for Tornado

contact e-mail at support@vantecusa.com or call at (510) 668-0368 and choose option 2.

Good Luck
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom