Hello – first time forum member and first time PC assembly. Please bear with me if any of my terms are incorrect, misleading or stupid.
New computer is sitting on a desk, ie; it’s not in a case. I’m running a dual heatsink CPU cooler with 2 x 120mm / 1500 RPM fans attached. Speeds are being ramped up, against temperature changes with custom graphs in the BIOS.
Some extra information: Fan Headers are:
CPU Fan x 1 (Auto Mode) 2A / 24W
Pump Fan x 1 (PWM Mode) 3A / 36W
System Fan x 6 (DC Mode) 1A / 12W
Some matters I’ve been contemplating:
CPU Header vs System Header
After speaking to a couple of unrelated “IT People”, their view is that I MUST have these plugged into the CPU_FAN header. After hours of testing this, along with using the SYS_FAN instead, I can’t seem to produce any difference in fan behaviour. Either way, they both become unstable at around 350-500 RPM, and the motors power down to a stop. I’m thinking that a minimum value of 600RPM will be fine in idle state, with enough headroom to avoid unpredictable shutdowns.
As there are 2 x CPU Fans, but only one CPU_FAN header, a split cable/breakout on one of the fans provides power for the other one. And here’s why I’m considering using individual SYS_FAN headers.. During testing I have been using a custom-built AIDA64 dashboard so I can see RMS values (and CPU Temperature) at a glance. Eventually I’ll set up a small raspberry pi monitor to display the dashboard, but for now it’s on my main screen, and launches at startup. With each CPU fan, I’ll be able to see a failure on one of them. But if I ran them as a split cable install onto the CPU_FAN header, I wouldn’t know if one of them failed, since it’s only reading one of them. This configuration also doesn’t allow for independent control (or monitoring)
It was stated to me that “there will be an error message if you don’t”. and that’s true. A warning is thrown at OS startup if nothing is connected to the CPU_FAN header. But I can turn that off in the BIOS.
Are there any arguments for/against using specific headers ? If anything, I might actually want to plug the two front chassis fans to the CPU_FAN header.
PWM vs DC
After reading plenty about the difference, I can’t determine any real value in PWM mode. The fans behave the same, on either header, and in either mode in the BIOS. And that is that they become unstable <600 RPM and shut down at around 350 RPM. Note that the 6 x SYS_FAN headers are DC only. They seem to do what I expect them to do.
GPU Fan Control
Having never used a discreet graphics card before, I can’t work out what’s controlling the GPU Fans. There’s nothing in the BIOS (I assume because it’s not associated with a motherboard header). I have tried several OS-level apps, but they have since been uninstalled, along with a fresh Windows install. The fans remain still at idle, and kick off around 50-60 degrees (this is a guess, as it happens fast when stress testing.
Does the GPU have it’s own fixed speed control based on temperature, within the GPU’s processor ? I can’t work out any way to find this control data.
Also, what’s the suggested operation for GPU ? I have re-installed AMD “Adrenaline” simply to gain some control (I would prefer as little bloatware as possible). But even through that app, it’s not very customizable, with either a ‘silent mode’ where the fans are off, them rap up beyond 63 degress. This might actually be the default operation, without the software.
In custom mode, I can’t pull the custom curve down to zero, the lowest it will go is 1100 RPM. In other words, they are ALWAYS running.
I’m not very comfortable with either of these options. Is the GPU OK to always sit at zero fan speed until 60 degrees ?
Or, with the other option, are fans ‘always on’ at 1100 RPM going to reduce the lifespan of the motors ?
New computer is sitting on a desk, ie; it’s not in a case. I’m running a dual heatsink CPU cooler with 2 x 120mm / 1500 RPM fans attached. Speeds are being ramped up, against temperature changes with custom graphs in the BIOS.
Some extra information: Fan Headers are:
CPU Fan x 1 (Auto Mode) 2A / 24W
Pump Fan x 1 (PWM Mode) 3A / 36W
System Fan x 6 (DC Mode) 1A / 12W
Some matters I’ve been contemplating:
CPU Header vs System Header
After speaking to a couple of unrelated “IT People”, their view is that I MUST have these plugged into the CPU_FAN header. After hours of testing this, along with using the SYS_FAN instead, I can’t seem to produce any difference in fan behaviour. Either way, they both become unstable at around 350-500 RPM, and the motors power down to a stop. I’m thinking that a minimum value of 600RPM will be fine in idle state, with enough headroom to avoid unpredictable shutdowns.
As there are 2 x CPU Fans, but only one CPU_FAN header, a split cable/breakout on one of the fans provides power for the other one. And here’s why I’m considering using individual SYS_FAN headers.. During testing I have been using a custom-built AIDA64 dashboard so I can see RMS values (and CPU Temperature) at a glance. Eventually I’ll set up a small raspberry pi monitor to display the dashboard, but for now it’s on my main screen, and launches at startup. With each CPU fan, I’ll be able to see a failure on one of them. But if I ran them as a split cable install onto the CPU_FAN header, I wouldn’t know if one of them failed, since it’s only reading one of them. This configuration also doesn’t allow for independent control (or monitoring)
It was stated to me that “there will be an error message if you don’t”. and that’s true. A warning is thrown at OS startup if nothing is connected to the CPU_FAN header. But I can turn that off in the BIOS.
Are there any arguments for/against using specific headers ? If anything, I might actually want to plug the two front chassis fans to the CPU_FAN header.
PWM vs DC
After reading plenty about the difference, I can’t determine any real value in PWM mode. The fans behave the same, on either header, and in either mode in the BIOS. And that is that they become unstable <600 RPM and shut down at around 350 RPM. Note that the 6 x SYS_FAN headers are DC only. They seem to do what I expect them to do.
GPU Fan Control
Having never used a discreet graphics card before, I can’t work out what’s controlling the GPU Fans. There’s nothing in the BIOS (I assume because it’s not associated with a motherboard header). I have tried several OS-level apps, but they have since been uninstalled, along with a fresh Windows install. The fans remain still at idle, and kick off around 50-60 degrees (this is a guess, as it happens fast when stress testing.
Does the GPU have it’s own fixed speed control based on temperature, within the GPU’s processor ? I can’t work out any way to find this control data.
Also, what’s the suggested operation for GPU ? I have re-installed AMD “Adrenaline” simply to gain some control (I would prefer as little bloatware as possible). But even through that app, it’s not very customizable, with either a ‘silent mode’ where the fans are off, them rap up beyond 63 degress. This might actually be the default operation, without the software.
In custom mode, I can’t pull the custom curve down to zero, the lowest it will go is 1100 RPM. In other words, they are ALWAYS running.
I’m not very comfortable with either of these options. Is the GPU OK to always sit at zero fan speed until 60 degrees ?
Or, with the other option, are fans ‘always on’ at 1100 RPM going to reduce the lifespan of the motors ?
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