Chip fan doesn't run on Gigabyte GA-7N400 Pro2 motherboard

[Luke]

I've just built a new system with a Gigabyte GA-7N400Pro2 motherboard. The
motherboard has a chip fan (not the CPU Heatsink/Fan), but this doesn't seem
to run at all (at least not when I've been looking at it). For anyone with
this motherboard, I am talking about the fan which has "Gigabyte 8X AGP"
written on it and connects to the NB_FAN connector on the motherboard. The
fan was connected when I bought the motherboard, so I believe it is
connected properly.

Anyone have any idea why this isn't working? Is it possible that it's simply
a BIOS option somewhere, where it only runs if needed to?
What danger is there in running the PC without this fan? Would I be able to
easily replace this fan, by either going back to Gigabyte or by buying
another fan the same size?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Regards
Luke

 

[Bret - Newsgroups]

I'm not sure on that mobo if the Northbridge fan temp is controlled or
not....I would interested in the outcome since I'm planning on purchasing
that very mobo...does the connector only plug in one way??

 

[ElJerid]

I've just built a new system with a Gigabyte GA-7N400Pro2 motherboard. The
motherboard has a chip fan (not the CPU Heatsink/Fan), but this doesn't seem
to run at all (at least not when I've been looking at it). For anyone with
this motherboard, I am talking about the fan which has "Gigabyte 8X AGP"
written on it and connects to the NB_FAN connector on the motherboard. The
fan was connected when I bought the motherboard, so I believe it is
connected properly.

Anyone have any idea why this isn't working? Is it possible that it's simply
a BIOS option somewhere, where it only runs if needed to?
What danger is there in running the PC without this fan? Would I be able to
easily replace this fan, by either going back to Gigabyte or by buying
another fan the same size?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Regards
Luke

You could try to connect the fan directly to a free power connector. If it
still doesn't work, the fan has a problem and needs replacement. If it
works, it was connected on a wrong way, or the motherboard has a problem and
you'd better return it under warranty.

 

[Luke]

I'm not sure if the connector only plugs in one way. It was already
connected when I bought the motherboard, and from the diagram in the
motherboard manual showing how to connect it, it looks to be connected the
right way around.

Luke

 

[Luke]

You could try to connect the fan directly to a free power connector. If it
still doesn't work, the fan has a problem and needs replacement. If it
works, it was connected on a wrong way, or the motherboard has a problem and
you'd better return it under warranty.

Unfortunately It has some special connector.... ie: it's not just a standard
power connector. It actually connects directly to the motherboard. I'll have
a look a bit later in the manual to see if there are any more similiar
connectors on the motherboard which I could use without any problems.

Thanks for the reply
Luke

 

[=?ISO-8859-1?Q?Mark=B2=B0=B0=B3?=]

<snip>

If you lurk around the gigabyte newsgroups, you'll find this is quite a
common problem (basically the fan is a piece of junk). I run a GA-81HXP
without any fan (fan removed, heatsink left in place) no problem -
system temp 36c.

 

[~misfit~]

I've just built a new system with a Gigabyte GA-7N400Pro2
motherboard. The motherboard has a chip fan (not the CPU
Heatsink/Fan), but this doesn't seem to run at all (at least not when
I've been looking at it). For anyone with this motherboard, I am
talking about the fan which has "Gigabyte 8X AGP" written on it and
connects to the NB_FAN connector on the motherboard. The fan was
connected when I bought the motherboard, so I believe it is connected
properly.

Anyone have any idea why this isn't working? Is it possible that it's
simply a BIOS option somewhere, where it only runs if needed to?
What danger is there in running the PC without this fan? Would I be
able to easily replace this fan, by either going back to Gigabyte or
by buying another fan the same size?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Check the fan at different times of the day. Strangely enough, I read
somewhere that the 'pro' in the mobo designation is supposed to mean that
the board is for professional use, during business hours. Therefore the fan
runs 9-5 and then switches off. I kid you not! Other people have reported
this problem and that was Gigabyte's answer. I think (buy I'm not sure) that
it was mentioned in an issue of Australian PC User magazine a few months
back.

Check it at different times or re-set the BIOS clock and let us know.

 

[kony]

I'm not sure if the connector only plugs in one way. It was already
connected when I bought the motherboard, and from the diagram in the
motherboard manual showing how to connect it, it looks to be connected the
right way around.

I beleive they use a connector (I forget the name of it) similar to
those used on many video cards, which is keyed, does only plug in one
way.

 

[Luke]

Check the fan at different times of the day. Strangely enough, I read
somewhere that the 'pro' in the mobo designation is supposed to mean that
the board is for professional use, during business hours. Therefore the fan
runs 9-5 and then switches off. I kid you not! Other people have reported
this problem and that was Gigabyte's answer. I think (buy I'm not sure) that
it was mentioned in an issue of Australian PC User magazine a few months
back.

Check it at different times or re-set the BIOS clock and let us know.

Just checked it between 9am and 5pm and it doesn't seem to be working.
Thanks for the reply but

Regards
Luke

 

[Luke]

<snip>

If you lurk around the gigabyte newsgroups, you'll find this is quite a
common problem (basically the fan is a piece of junk). I run a GA-81HXP
without any fan (fan removed, heatsink left in place) no problem -
system temp 36c.

So basically the consensus is that it does not matter running the computer
without that fan working? My system temperature is also around 36c, but I
didn't know where the system temp sensor is compared to that chip. I want to
be able to leave this computer on 24 hours sometimes, and the main thing I
was afraid off is that chip burning up because the fan doesn't work.

Regards
Luke

 

[kony]

So basically the consensus is that it does not matter running the computer
without that fan working?

It shouldn't ever get so hot as to do damage, it'd more likley be an
issue of stability, and the higher the FSB is running, from CPU spec'd
settting or overclocking, the more the heat will impact the
stability... if it works fine, I wouldn't worry about it, though you
might remove the 'sink, verify that it's bottom is as flat as
(reasonably) possible, and that adequate heatsink compound was used,
it can be hit-or-miss whether it was making good contact.

My system temperature is also around 36c, but I
didn't know where the system temp sensor is compared to that chip.

It's not in that chip, perhaps the southbridge, or a separate hardware
monitor chip.

I want to
be able to leave this computer on 24 hours sometimes, and the main thing I
was afraid off is that chip burning up because the fan doesn't work.

Even on a northbridge that runs hot, if it has an adequate 'sink, good
interface to the chip, and a heatsink which exhausts towards it, it
should be cool enough for moderate environments. These days the fans
are more for show than anything else, I prefer a large passive 'sink
like those made by Zalman anyway, though I fab my own... have plenty
of old heatsink pieces lying around and the tools to do it.

Bottom line- If it's stable don't worry about it, but be sure to put
it at full load to test that stability, in the highest ambient temp
it's likely to see... if it'll be warmer in summertime for instance,
you'd need to simulate that temp rise.

 

[Luke]

It shouldn't ever get so hot as to do damage, it'd more likley be an
issue of stability, and the higher the FSB is running, from CPU spec'd
settting or overclocking, the more the heat will impact the
stability... if it works fine, I wouldn't worry about it, though you
might remove the 'sink, verify that it's bottom is as flat as
(reasonably) possible, and that adequate heatsink compound was used,
it can be hit-or-miss whether it was making good contact.

Ok cool, I'm not currently overclocking nor do I plan to do any in the
future so it should be fine.

It's not in that chip, perhaps the southbridge, or a separate hardware
monitor chip.


Even on a northbridge that runs hot, if it has an adequate 'sink, good
interface to the chip, and a heatsink which exhausts towards it, it
should be cool enough for moderate environments. These days the fans
are more for show than anything else, I prefer a large passive 'sink
like those made by Zalman anyway, though I fab my own... have plenty
of old heatsink pieces lying around and the tools to do it.

Bottom line- If it's stable don't worry about it, but be sure to put
it at full load to test that stability, in the highest ambient temp
it's likely to see... if it'll be warmer in summertime for instance,
you'd need to simulate that temp rise.

The system is stable at the moment as far as I can tell. It is actually
summer here (Australia), and the temperature in this room probably gets up
to around 35C at the hottest so if it is stable now it should be stable the
whole time.

Thanks for the reply
Luke

 

[Steve Zurlo]

I just bought the same board. My northbridge fan runs all the time, but
after about a week of running it started whining like a banshee. I found
this thread while looking to see if this was a common issue with this board.
I was not running Easytune at the time and loaded it up to see what options
it had for fan control. Turns out the previous post is actually correct. By
default EasyTune 4 will run the northbridge fan from 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM!
There is actually a little 24 hour clock control in the Smart-Fan section of
Limit Setting page in Easytune 4 where you can set the fan to start and stop
at
any time of the day or night or you can set it to be always on or always
off. Since there is no corresponding option in the BIOS itself I'm assuming
this control of the northbridge fan only occurs if EasyTune is running.
Other wise I guess the fan just runs 24/7. Since they give you the ability
to turn off the fan permanently, and give you no warning about any hazard of
doing so, I can't imagine that the fan is required to keep the chip from
smoking under normal use.
At any rate, based on the responses here, I think I will go with a passive
cooler in place of this screaming little fan.

Steve Z
(Remove the "n" from snaztech for any replies directly to me.)

 

[~misfit~]

I just bought the same board. My northbridge fan runs all the time,
but after about a week of running it started whining like a banshee.
I found this thread while looking to see if this was a common issue
with this board. I was not running Easytune at the time and loaded it
up to see what options it had for fan control. Turns out the
previous post is actually correct.

Who would have believed it?

By default EasyTune 4 will run the
northbridge fan from 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM!

Thanks for that. I'd forgotten that Easytune was the culprit. As I said, I'd
read about it but didn't take *that* much notice of it as I don't run
Gigabyte boards anymore. Crazy having a default setting that turns the NB
fan off at pre-set times.

Cheers,