Which Is The Chassis Fan?

[jayson]

P4C 800 E Deluxe board and PC Probe with a graph for the chassis fan;
which fan would that be? My other question is: I'm using an Antec
True Power 430 watt supply and it has a connector labeled "PSU Fan
Monitor Connector"- where would I connect that on the board? Right
now I have it connected to the Power Fan connector on the motherboard
next to the CPU and probe appears to be monitoring the rotation of the
Power Fan. Thanks...

 

[jayson]

P4C 800 E Deluxe board and PC Probe with a graph for the chassis fan;
which fan would that be? My other question is: I'm using an Antec
True Power 430 watt supply and it has a connector labeled "PSU Fan
Monitor Connector"- where would I connect that on the board? Right
now I have it connected to the Power Fan connector on the motherboard
next to the CPU and probe appears to be monitoring the rotation of the
Power Fan. Thanks...

....found the answer to the PSU Fan Monitor Connector question on the
Thermaltake site...

 

[Paul]

P4C 800 E Deluxe board and PC Probe with a graph for the chassis fan;
which fan would that be? My other question is: I'm using an Antec
True Power 430 watt supply and it has a connector labeled "PSU Fan
Monitor Connector"- where would I connect that on the board? Right
now I have it connected to the Power Fan connector on the motherboard
next to the CPU and probe appears to be monitoring the rotation of the
Power Fan. Thanks...

You've got CPU_FAN, PWR_FAN, and CHA_FAN three pin headers. If
CHA_FAN is not connected to a fan, or the Chassis fan you are
using does not have three wires (third wire carries RPM signal),
then don't expect the CHA_FAN to register in any software
interface.

Asus fan monitors have a minimum RPM value - if the number of
RPMs is below a certain magic value, the fan will read out "0"
instead.

CPU_FAN = CPU fan header
PWR_FAN = Power supply fan connector (three pin connector, two wires)
CHA_FAN = Chassis fan connector (fan with three wires, to register)

Paul

 

[jayson]

You've got CPU_FAN, PWR_FAN, and CHA_FAN three pin headers. If
CHA_FAN is not connected to a fan, or the Chassis fan you are
using does not have three wires (third wire carries RPM signal),
then don't expect the CHA_FAN to register in any software
interface.

Asus fan monitors have a minimum RPM value - if the number of
RPMs is below a certain magic value, the fan will read out "0"
instead.

CPU_FAN = CPU fan header
PWR_FAN = Power supply fan connector (three pin connector, two wires)
CHA_FAN = Chassis fan connector (fan with three wires, to register)

Paul

Thanks...I wasn't sure if the front fan or the rear fan(s) were
considered the "chassis" fan. The case fan connectors are four pin on
my case so unless I get new fans, can't be connected to the
motherboard. Right now I'm concerned about cooling the case and was
curious if the "chassis" fan would spin faster if it was connected to
the motherboard due to its rotation being regulated based on heat
build-up in the case. It's been pretty warm here so I've left the
door off the case until the temperature drops.

 

[Paul]

Thanks...I wasn't sure if the front fan or the rear fan(s) were
considered the "chassis" fan. The case fan connectors are four pin on
my case so unless I get new fans, can't be connected to the
motherboard. Right now I'm concerned about cooling the case and was
curious if the "chassis" fan would spin faster if it was connected to
the motherboard due to its rotation being regulated based on heat
build-up in the case. It's been pretty warm here so I've left the
door off the case until the temperature drops.

With only one "Chassis" fan header on the motherboard, you
can only monitor one of the several fans used on your
computer case. For more monitoring than that, you'd need to
purchase a third party fan control/monitor device.

A fan with a 4 pin molex disk drive power connector, only
connects two wires to the connector as a rule (+12V, GND).
Connecting the fan directly to the power supply, gives it
the rated 12V to spin the fan, and you cannot do better
than that (safely at least). If you connect to a Q-fan
equipped fan header, the voltage will be less than 12V.
An Asus fan header will not make the fan spin faster.

If you have a local electronics store, sometimes they
have some dandy fans. I got a 120mm aluminum body
brushless DC fan, with a pretty high CFM rating. I have
it on a voltage reducer, to keep the noise down, but
if I need cooling, it is a beast.

Cooling requires both a good fan, but it also requires
vent area on the case. For example, if you use a 120mm
fan on the back of your case, you need a hell of a lot of
holes all over the chassis, so as to not restrict the
air flow. You can tell when there is insufficient vent
area, if you open the side on your computer case, and
the exhaust fan speed changes. The change in speed,
tells you that the resistance to flow has changed, due
to the side being off the computer. (A lot like putting
your hand over the nozzle on a vacuum cleaner, and the
motor spins faster.) I got that speed change thing on my
case, and removed half the plastic pieces on the front
of the case, to get more air flow. I also removed the
filter assembly on the front of the case.

You could try that, before shopping for a higher CFM
fan.

Paul

 

[Randy]

Is there a way to control the chassis fan if it is powered by a 4 pin molex
ps connector? The one I currently have for the blow hole is set up to be
powered that way and has a three pin connector with just one wire to connect
to the mother board to monitor the speed. Or should I just change the fan
to a three pin type and control it with a third party controller?
Randy

 

[jayson]

With only one "Chassis" fan header on the motherboard, you
can only monitor one of the several fans used on your
computer case. For more monitoring than that, you'd need to
purchase a third party fan control/monitor device.

A fan with a 4 pin molex disk drive power connector, only
connects two wires to the connector as a rule (+12V, GND).
Connecting the fan directly to the power supply, gives it
the rated 12V to spin the fan, and you cannot do better
than that (safely at least). If you connect to a Q-fan
equipped fan header, the voltage will be less than 12V.
An Asus fan header will not make the fan spin faster.

If you have a local electronics store, sometimes they
have some dandy fans. I got a 120mm aluminum body
brushless DC fan, with a pretty high CFM rating. I have
it on a voltage reducer, to keep the noise down, but
if I need cooling, it is a beast.

Cooling requires both a good fan, but it also requires
vent area on the case. For example, if you use a 120mm
fan on the back of your case, you need a hell of a lot of
holes all over the chassis, so as to not restrict the
air flow. You can tell when there is insufficient vent
area, if you open the side on your computer case, and
the exhaust fan speed changes. The change in speed,
tells you that the resistance to flow has changed, due
to the side being off the computer. (A lot like putting
your hand over the nozzle on a vacuum cleaner, and the
motor spins faster.) I got that speed change thing on my
case, and removed half the plastic pieces on the front
of the case, to get more air flow. I also removed the
filter assembly on the front of the case.

You could try that, before shopping for a higher CFM
fan.

Paul

Thanks for that, Paul. I put the case cover back on a few days ago
and found that my cpu/motherboard temps have been about the same as
when the cover was off. The case is an Antec tower with one fan up
front, one in the door, two in the rear and a fan in the psu blowing
down into the case. I'm using the cpu cooler that came with the cpu
(Intel) so if I want to drop the cpu temp I'll need to get another
cooler. But right now temps appear to be stable.