PC chassis / case fan problem

JasX

+1 these days non-basic motherboards are fairly smart on the temperature control front. My PC even has a little widget you can download to tune up/down it's clock rate and it turns tertiary fans on/off in each mode (maximum factory default +10% mode turns all fans on by default, minimum performance shuts most of them off which is great for reducing fan noise when watching DVDs etc)

Nilrem probably has the best advice regards checking the manual to confirm it's detected and not faulty.

could be if your motherboard is designed with only a single extra fan it is programmed to turn that one on/off with temperature

finally if you really do want it running the earlier advice about simply buying an adapter that'll allow you to plug it into a 4 pin MOLEX and see it always on is a reasonable option (adapter should be about £1 on ebay)

Cycrow

How many wires does the fan have going into it, 2 or 3 ?

not all fans have speed control capabilities, and these wont register in the bios.

if the fan only has 2 wires, then they defiantly wont show up.

Plugging directly into the power via a molex adapter would be the best way to test if the fan is actually working

General_query

Thanks everyone, will take a look when I get home tonight re: the number of wires into/out of the fan. Annoyed as I only looked this morning before work and can't remember!

Was awkward to get my hand into the gap too due to the massive heatsink fan on the CPU.

The front 12cm fan is plugged into a MOLEX via the PSU and always on, but is very noisy/loud.

Anything suitable on Amazon as I don't use ebay...

Ta :beer:

General_query

Anything I can do software wise to test the fans or anything I can run to "make" the rear fan to come on i.e. deliberately push the system to see if it kicks in?

Don't have any PC games though

JasX

General_query wrote: »

Anything suitable on Amazon as I don't use ebay...

Probably but it'll be more expensive -if something is very cheap, a generic component and low voltage so quality is never going to cause huge problems... plus at a price I can afford to order 2-3 of them from ebay and see them get lost in the post before I get close to the amazon price for one unit (not including delivery) then I'll tend to give ebay a punt

General_query

Cycrow wrote: »

How many wires does the fan have going into it, 2 or 3 ?

not all fans have speed control capabilities, and these wont register in the bios.

if the fan only has 2 wires, then they defiantly wont show up.

Plugging directly into the power via a molex adapter would be the best way to test if the fan is actually working

It has 3 wires: black, yellow and red.

I don't seem to have any spare molex connectors so have hit a brick wall now

General_query

JasX wrote: »

Probably but it'll be more expensive -if something is very cheap, a generic component and low voltage so quality is never going to cause huge problems... plus at a price I can afford to order 2-3 of them from ebay and see them get lost in the post before I get close to the amazon price for one unit (not including delivery) then I'll tend to give ebay a punt

Ta, this sort of thing?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-pin-molex-to-3-pin-PC-fan-adapter-cable-/190814963860?pt=UK_Computing_CablesConnectors_RL&hash=item2c6d754894


But as above, I don't seem to have any spare MOLEX connectors now, but then again the cable management in this Chillblast is immaculate and everything is neatly and tightly tied and tucked away!

Moneymaker

General_query wrote: »

Anything suitable on Amazon as I don't use ebay...

I wouldn't use either. Amazon started off as a book store and doesn't employ technical experts. I'd use a computer specialist. I've had good service from "Overclockers" myself but there are others.

Cycrow

General_query wrote: »

Ta, this sort of thing?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-pin-molex-to-3-pin-PC-fan-adapter-cable-/190814963860?pt=UK_Computing_CablesConnectors_RL&hash=item2c6d754894


But as above, I don't seem to have any spare MOLEX connectors now, but then again the cable management in this Chillblast is immaculate and everything is neatly and tightly tied and tucked away!

You can get them with a MOLEX passthrough, so you dont actually need a spare one.

something like this

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pin-Molex-Female-Splitter-Cable/dp/B002VSTYJC
or
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Power-Adapter-Cable-4-pin-Molex-Extension-to-3-Pin-Fan-Male-to-Female-Molex-/330718442818

so you can take the molex that is plugged into the existing fan and fit this cable between them, giving you an extra 3 pin plug to put the other fan in as well

General_query

Cheers!

Or this?

http://www.akasa.com.tw/search.php?seed=AK-CB001



So I could have upto 4x 3 pin connector fans (two of which are controllable) off 1 MOLEX connector?!

:j