Problems with setting up cooling fans for my motherboard

[webtechnz]

Hi, I have purchased 2 x Antec Nine Hundred Two enclosures and am
having difficulty setting up the fans for my mobo that are included with
this purchase. Specs can be found at: http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=NzIy

I also purchased an additional Antec 120mm Blue LED
Fan for each case that I have placed into the clear side
panel. This comes with a Molex power connector and optional 3-pin connector as well, found at: http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=ODI5

Current fan config:
- 1 rear 120 x 25mm TriCool™ blue LED exhaust fan
- 1 top 200 x 30mm "Big Boy" TriCool™ blue LED exhaust fan
- 2 front 120 x 25mm special black blue LED intake fans with front speed control
- 1 side Antec 120mm Blue LED Fan


I have a Gigabyte GA-EP43-S3L mobo found at: http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/...e=GA- EP43-S3L and would like to make ALL of the cooling fans inside
my 2 x 902 cases work in conjunction with the mobo's fan speed
monitoring. I have SYS_FAN1, SYS_FAN2, PWR_FAN connectors on
the mobo - SYS_FAN2 is 4 pin and is Speed Control with Sense.
SYS_FAN1 and PWR_FAN only have Sense and NO speed control (3-
pin). I found one document at: Antec.com - TriCool Fan installation but it is
not entirely clear as to what to do in my case.

Other components to my system are:
1 x Gigabyte NVidia GTX275 896i GPU
4GB ddr2 800 ram
800W PSU
Intel Core 2 QUAD Q9650 CPU

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated here. Thanks :)

[profJim]

would like to make ALL of the cooling fans inside my 2 x 902 cases work in conjunction with the mobo's fan speed monitoring.

I'm not sure what you mean.
Do you want all the fans' speeds displayed?
Do you want all of fans' speeds to change according to the cpu's PWM auto controlled speeds?
Do each of your cases use 5 fans?

It will help if you provide a direct link to the specs for each fan.

[webtechnz]

Hi profJim, thanks for your reply.

In answer to your questions

I'm not sure what you mean.
Do you want all the fans' speeds displayed?
Do you want all of fans' speeds to change according to the cpu's PWM auto controlled speeds?
Do each of your cases use 5 fans?

Firstly, I would like all the fan speeds to be displayed using software (something like SpeedFan) once I get these 2 systems up and running.
Secondly, I would like all of the fans to change according to the CPU's PWM auto controlled speeds if this is the best way to go as we get up to 40 degree heat here sometimes in summer (coming up) and it will be a royal pain changing fan speeds manually on each fan over and over depending on temp etc.
Thirdly, yes both cases use the 5 fans.

I have looked up the specs for each fan and have included them here as follows:

1 rear 120 x 25mm TriCool™ blue LED exhaust fan - Molex Power Connector

Specifications:
Size - 120 x 120 x 25.4 mm 80 x 80 x 25.4 mm
Voltage - 12V DC
Speed - RPM 1200 1600 2000 1500 2000 2600
Airflow - CFM 39 56 79 20 26 34
Noise - dBA 25 28 30 18 24 30

Connectors/Switches:
4-pin molex power supply.
3-speed switch.
----------------------------------------------

1 top 200 x 30mm "Big Boy" TriCool™ blue LED exhaust fan - Molex Power Connector
The default fan speed setting is Low.

Specifications:
Size: 200mm x 30mm three-speed fan
Rated Voltage: 12V DC
Operating Voltage: 10.2V ~ 13.8V

Speed(RPM) Input Current Acoustical Noise Input Power
High 800 0.30A 30 dBA 3.6 W
Medium 600 0.17A 27 dBA 2.0 W
Low 400 0.08A 24 dBA 1.0 W

Connectors/Switches:
4-pin molex power supply.
3-speed switch.
Switch to turn on/off the blue LED.
--------------------------------------------------------

2 front 120 x 25mm special black blue LED intake fans with front speed control
Each fan comes with a speed control knob at the front of the faceplate.
Turn the knob clockwise to increase the speed. The lowest speed is 1200 RPM while the
highest speed is 2000 RPM. See the chart below to view the appropriate specifications.

Specifications:
Size: 120mm x 25mm TriCool™ fan
Rated Voltage: 12V
Operating Voltage: 10.2V - 13.8V

Speed(RPM) Input Current Noise Input Power
High 2000 0.24A (max.) 30 dBA 2.9 W
Medium 1600 0.2A 28 dBA 2.4 W
Low 1200 0.13A 25 dBA 1.6 W

Connectors/Switches:
4-pin molex power supply.
Variable-speed control knob on the fan itself.

Note: The minimum voltage to start a 120mm TriCool™ fan is 5V. We recommend that you
set the fan speed switch to High if you choose to connect the fan(s) to a fan control device
or to the Fan-Only connector found on some Antec power supplies. A fan control device
regulates the fan speed by varying the voltage, which may start as low as 4.5V to 5V.
Connecting a TriCool™ fan set on Medium or Low to a fan-control device may result in the
fan not being able to start because the already lowered voltage from the fan control device
will be further reduced by the TriCool™ circuitry below 5V.
--------------------------------------------------------

1 side panel Antec 120mm Blue LED Fan - Molex and a 3-pin Power Connector
3-pin connector and 4-pin molex adapter power connectors with power pass through provided.
3-speed switch lets you balance quiet performance with maximum cooling
Fan-speed monitoring capability included (requires compatible motherboard)

Specifications:
Size - 120 x 120 x 25.4 mm 80 x 80 x 25.4 mm
Voltage - 12V DC
Speed - RPM 1200 1600 2000 1500 2000 2600
Airflow - CFM 39 56 79 20 26 34
Noise - dBA 25 28 30 18 24 30

Connectors/Switches:
4-pin molex power supply
3-pin motherboard power supply
Fan speed
-------------------------------------------------------

Here are some LED Fan Installation Notes that Antec provides but I am having difficulty working all this out:

Installation Notes:

1.Connect to a non-variable power connector only. For best performance, Antec recommends that LED fans only be connected to a standard (steady-voltage) 12V DC power connector. If your motherboard or power supply supports fan speed control, DO NOT connect the LED fan to that variable-voltage header or output.
2.The LED fan comes equipped with a 3-pin power connector. It also includes a 4-pin power connector adapter (installed) with power pass-through feature. To connect to a motherboard header, remove the adapter and use the 3-pin connector. To connect to your power supply, leave the adapter attached and plug the 4-pin connector into an available connector. You may plug another device into the other side of the adapter connector and power it, so you don't lose a power plug with the LED fan.
3.The LED fan supports fan speed monitoring through the 3-pin connector. If you choose to connect the LED fan to your power supply but your motherboard supports fan speed monitoring, you may connect the signal wire adapter (3-pin connector with only one wire) to your motherboard header. The fan speed signal wire does not need to be connected for the LED fan to function properly.


This is all the information I could gather for these fans that come with the case. I hope that this is what you requested

Thanks in advance for your help :)

[profJim]

I've used fan Y-connectors to run 2 fans from the same mobo fan header.
I don't know if 3 fans using 2 Y-connectors can be safely run from a single fan header.

Some fans do not under-volt well.
The Sys_Fan2 (PWM) header seems to run at 5 volts.
Some of your LED fans suggest only running these fans at 12 volts.

I don't use PWM control settings as I have a fan controller to adjust my fan speeds.
My case uses 7 fans plus 2 cpu heatsink fans, using Y-connectors, with 4 manual controls.
My cooling needs are modest and I use the fan controller to keep my fan noise as low as possible.

I think your best setup will be to use a front panel fan controller for all but your your cpu heatsink fan(s).
Check out my Zalman ZM-MFC2 controller, watt meter & temp probes or something similar.
I used quite a few Y-connectors so that I could double up some of fans and also run a single yellow sense wire to my mobo fan headers for on screen monitoring.

Another forum member might have some additional suggestions that might meet your needs.

Let us know how you make out with your setup.

[webtechnz]

Hi profJim, once again thank you for your insight on this matter it has been very helpful.

Ok, I have been looking at the following NZXT SENTRY 2 Fan Control - 5.25" Touch Screen fan controller NZXT. Products. and this looks like it will suit my purposes perfectly because I have 5 fans (not including the CPU that will run from the mobo seperately as per your advice). In your opinion, will this controller do what I need it to do? I also found the following A.I Fan Controller Zephyrus and this looks very interesting too but maybe a bit much for my scenario, I don't know.

Sorry to sound stupid here but I can't seem to work out what to do in regards to the existing connections for each of these fans and how I will make this work with the above mentioned fan controller. The 2 front fans have a variable control and molex power connectors. The rear exhaust fan has a molex connector and a 3-speed switch. The side fan has a 3-pin connector & 4-pin adapter with power passthrough provided. The top 200ml exhaust fan has a molex power connector and a 3-speed switch and also a switch to turn on/off the blue LED. Do I cut open the 3-speed switches and the variable controls on the front and place a 3-pin connector to these?

The advice I got back from Antec was far from helpful and very minimal, they said and quote: "The fans in the enclosure connect to the PSU. To connect them to the motherboard you would need a 4 - 3 pin fan adapter cable. If connecting to motherboard please also make sure the fans are set to the high speed setting." I am confused here as I am dealing with 5 fans, what do I connect to, how do I connect to etc. etc. :(

I have looked at the y-connectors you suggested and since it looks like I will be getting the fan controller above that handles 5 fans once I have all the above worked out wouldn't I be best to get 5 x 3pin Fan Extension 75cm like seen here at: http://www.legionenterprises.co.nz/f.../prod_484.html?

Once again your advice has been invaluable and I really do appreciate the time you have taken to help me out here :)

Cheers

[bob saget]

I am using a sunbeam rheobus 6 fan controller for mine. All the fans plug directly in with their pins, the controller gets 4 pin power from the power supply, and bob's your uncle.
Those y-adapters are pretty slick though. Didnt know there is such a thing.

[bob saget]

Sorry I guess you have to power your fans with molex....

[profJim]

You don't sound stupid, while the grammar in user guides has improved, they often lack sufficient detail and clarity.

Check out Newegg Fan Connectors for more options.
Check out Newegg Fan Controllers and read the user reviews to get an idea of the good, the bad, and the terrible.
Both of these lists are sorted by BEST RATING.

Be sure to read detailed product reviews of any fan controllers that you're considering.
I respect the reviews at HardwareSecrets and they have a review of the NZXT Sentry 2 fan controller.

Many of the units with colorful displays require that you are looking at them directly and their displays are useless when viewed at a slight angle.

I bought a dozen of the Y-connectors for both of my systems.
I have 2 types of Y-connectors:

1. 2 male to 1 female connectors, for connecting 2 fans to 1 fan header
2. 1 male to 2 female connectors, this is used to connect 1 female connector to the motherboard with the red and black wires removed from the female mobo fan connector. This leaves only the yellow "sense" wire connected the mobo fan header for software fan speed monitoring. The remaining unused red and black wire ends must be carefully insulated so that neither wire can cause a short circuit to the mobo or computer case.

You will need to draw a diagram to see how many of each cable type you will need. When using 2 fans connected to the fan controller (#1 above), you'll need #2 above to connect these dual fans to the mobo fan header if you want software fan monitoring.
Clear as mud?

The automatic fan speed control sounds possibly useful, but I have some doubts. It looks like you need to position each temperature sensor near the heat source related to each fan. My Zalman controller doesn't have this feature, so I place each temperature probe in the specific area that I want to montior, such as my north-bridge, south-bridge, VRM heatsink, and one for interior case temperatures.

There will be a LOT of new cables in your computer. Don't let them disrupt the air flow inside your case.
**edit** Try to download user manuals for each fan controller that you are considering.
I find it a PITA to manually adjust fan speeds when the knobs are attached to the rear of the computer case.

It's been a long day, and I'm tired. I'm sure I'll have to re-edit this later.
Hey, this is a pretty cool thread, isn't it?

Here is a picture of the #1 Y-cable for connecting 2 (identical/similar) fans to a single 3 or 4-pin fan header or your fan controller.

[Psycho101]

IMO it may be best to use the fan control included on the Tricool fans. They have low medium and high settings. I wouldn't trust the BIOS of a mother board to know how well vented my case needs to be.

For example if you connected the fans along side the CPU fan on that port, the case fans would spin up when the CPU got hot. This might be too late. At times, if there's not enough ventilation all the time, case and CPU temps will creep up and be un responsive to fans throttling up, as if the heat produced needed to be dealt with earlier than the BIOS thought. I hope that makes sense.

I would experiment with minimising your case and component temps using either the built in controls or a fan controler (the Zalman rheobus with chrome dials looks nice in a plain black case, very retro and cool). What I do is monitor GPU, CPU and case temps with the HSF and GPU fans on the max speed I can bare noise wise. I then alter speeds of the other fans, on at a time and then in combination to see which combo of settings gives me the best noise output compared to cooling.

I would be concerned about factors such as the CPU not needing to spin the fans up, but the RAM or chipset getting too warm and not being able to kick the fans up.

[profJim]

I checked out the Zephyrus A.I. fan controller, but couldn't find a user manual to download.
It looks promising, but I'd really need to read some detailed reviews to see if it's a good unit. On their website, there was a reference that Vista is not supported, but it wasn't clear which of their products this statement referred to. The was an email contact posted on their site (sales) and it would be worthwhile to contact them and linking to this thread so that they can easily see what you're looking for. Maybe they would give you one if you promised to to a detailed review of their unit.
It doesn't hurt to try ;)
If you're not interested in doing the review, I would. You've got first dibs. I'll be doing some followup as this product looks promising.

I did a quick google search using:
Zephyrus fan controller
and this thread was the 13th link!

**edit** Further checking shows that the A.I. controller is discontinued.