Case air cooling noob questions

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ozsa

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Hey guys, I remember I bought several Scythe Glide Stream 120mm 2000rpm (sy1225hb12sh) fans (didn't use any in my case, was for a handmade mining case but ended up buying a bigger 45cm fan) and I want to use them in my case, I just don't know if they can be controlled via software or they will all go full power (which is very loud).

I have an Asrock gen3 extreme3 mobo with a cheap case (has 1x front, rear and side fan spots). The asrock software AXTU has 3 chassis fan controllers and on the mobo there are 3 fan pins. Here's a picture from the manual of the mobo showing them. http://imgur.com/eyj1OOg
So this means the 4pin chasis fan1 will be able to go for a target temperature that I set and the rest will be only able to rotate at a fixed position that I set from AXTU ? Am I correct here?

Also my case is in a pretty bad position, http://imgur.com/9beX43p ( please don't mind the cables :D and the case goes inside the empty space, I just took it out now) so, front fan blows air on the hdds, the side fan I'm about to install should blow again inside (there is not much space outside, the desk's foot is a few centimeters away) to the gpu, the CPU fan is blowing to the rear, its a hyper tx3 evo heatsink on an i5 2500k cpu, and rear fan should blow outside. Is there a better way to do this ? There are no top fan mounting spots on this case, only front, side and rear. My cpu without these fans, (only front fan and the hyper tx3 evo) is at about 60C max load and 45-50 while normal use (20-30chrome tabs).

So can I use all fans at the same speed so they won't sound like an airplane or they can't all be controlled together ?
 
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That Noctua 3-pin splitter is the same as what I suggested, so yes, you can use that. Or anything like it from another manufacturer - there are lots around.

You have a 4-pin CHA_FAN1 header but no 4-pin fan for case ventilation, so it is of no use to you, I can see. You want to use three 3-pin fans for the case in addition to the CPU cooling fan (on a Cooler Master Hyper TX3).

Here's the point where we are getting stuck. According to the mobo manual on p. 70, for each of the three CHA_FAN headers you have the option to configure it for Full On or Automatic Mode. But you keep talking about using the ASRock utility software called AXTU. It has different options, it seems, because as you describe it, its only option is to set fixed...
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Paperdoc

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What you want is relatively easy and will work. The important thing that helps is a backwards compatibility feature designed into 4-pin fans. When a 4-pin fan is plugged into a 3-pin mobo header that does not supply the PWM signal on Pin #4 (non-existent), it just does what the voltage supplied on Pin #2 allows. The 3-pin mobo header can only operate in Voltage Control Mode, meaning that its supplies to a fan via Pin #2 a DC voltage that varies from 12 VDC (max) down to some minimum around 5 VDC. So that fan WILL have its speed controlled by the mobo header.

Now, the two so-far-unused Scythe fans come with a question. You do not say how they are wired - does their female connector have three holes or four? The model number you provided is for the 3-pin version, but Scythe also makes a 4-pin version of the same fans with a "P" suffix on the end of the model number. Whether the fans are 3-pin or 4-pin actually makes little difference to you, because of that backwards compatibility feature.

So, no matter whether those fans are 3-pin or 4-pin, then you can simply plug them into the mobo's 3-pin CHA_FAN headers and they will be controlled. HOWEVER, I note in your manual on p. 70 it says that all three of these CHA_FAN headers AND the CPU Header (which is 4-pin) come set by default to Full On, and you will need to change that setting to Automatic Mode for all the headers. This is the ideal way to connect chassis ventilation fans, because the CHA_FAN headers are guided by a temperature sensor built into the mobo by its maker. (The CPU_FAN header is guided instead by a temp sensor built into the CPU chip itself.)

Just FYI (does not apply to you, OP), the combination that does not work well is plugging a 3-pin fan into a 4-pin header. That results in the fan running full speed all the time with no control.
 
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ozsa

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So, I installed one in the front and one in the rear. I couldn't put it on the side because it would touch the gpu, not enough space in the case. Here's the problem, AXTU has level 1-10 option on 2 chasis fans but the 3rd has only 1-4 levels and I can't put the 3pin on the 4pin (which has pwm), I tried it every way, but if I put it on the 4pin, then I simply cannot change the rpm. Now the front runs at 800rpm which is good but the rear runs on 1500rpm which is quite loud, is there any other software to modify the rpm beside the asrock utility?

Also my CPU has hyper tx3 ( http://cdn.overclock.net/f/ff/300x300px-LS-ff18d701_B0064RFDK0-31GEjXyo98L.jpeg ) and the cooler on it is dying, I need to buy another one, any recommendations ? its 80mm, dunno if anything bigger goes on the heatsink, its attached to it with some kind of basic metal clipper.
 
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Paperdoc

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So, ONE of your three mobo CHA_FAN headers is 4-pin, right? And since it cannot control the speed of a 3-pin fan, it must surely be working as a true 4-pin fan header in PWM Mode. That's OK, but it leaves you unable to control the speed of the last or your 3-pin fans.

There's a simple fix for that. Get a 3-pin fan Y-splitter like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812423168&cm_re=3-pin_fan_splitter-_-12-423-168-_-Product

It will allow you to connect two 3-pin fans to one of your mobo's 3-pin headers. This is OK, most mobo headers can supply two fans, but not more. A small note: when you do this, the speed signal of only ONE of those two fans will be sent to the mopbo port for measurement; the other will be ignored.
 
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ozsa

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Paperdoc, I can't buy that, but I have this in the shops http://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NA-SYC2-Accessory-3-pin-Y-Cables/dp/B00KG8KCK4 its alot more expensive but it looks to be the same stuff. So this will get both fans to go at 800rpm, but here's my question. I have CHA_1 connector which is 4pin with pwm but I have 2 others that have 3pins but I can't set both of them to 800rpm because the AXTU software and the bios aswell, has level1-level10 options for CHA_2 but has only level1-level4 for CHA_3. Is this a mistake of the mainboard ? or why would it have 2 x 3 pin headers with different rpm levels ? I don't get this.

Btw for the CPU, hyper tx3 (not evo), these are my options http://www.pcgarage.ro/ventilatoare-radiatoare/filtre/general-dimensiuni-ventilator-92 (local store) and this one is pretty cheap and looks to have the highest performance, http://www.pcgarage.ro/ventilatoare-radiatoare/scythe/kama-pwm-92-mm/ Scythe Kama, but wait a second, I just found this, http://noctua.at/en/nf-a9x14-pwm and on the 4th picture in the site they have this http://noctua.at/media/catalog/product/cache/2/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/n/o/noctua_nf_a9x14_pwm_5.jpg . Doesn't that spliter cable look like the one I need ? This fan is more than 2x the price of scythe kama but if it has the splitter its a better choice.
These are in the package :
Low-Noise Adapter (L.N.A.)
4-Pin Y-Cable
30cm Extension Cable

Is that a splitter in it ?

EDIT: I just watched a youtube unpacking video, thats a 4pin into 2x pin splitter by the looks of it so it won't be good. So I'll buy the scythe kama then.
 
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Paperdoc

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That Noctua 3-pin splitter is the same as what I suggested, so yes, you can use that. Or anything like it from another manufacturer - there are lots around.

You have a 4-pin CHA_FAN1 header but no 4-pin fan for case ventilation, so it is of no use to you, I can see. You want to use three 3-pin fans for the case in addition to the CPU cooling fan (on a Cooler Master Hyper TX3).

Here's the point where we are getting stuck. According to the mobo manual on p. 70, for each of the three CHA_FAN headers you have the option to configure it for Full On or Automatic Mode. But you keep talking about using the ASRock utility software called AXTU. It has different options, it seems, because as you describe it, its only option is to set fixed speeds. I gather it does not allow you to choose automatic control. Is that right? Well, then, I would NOT use that utility. Just set the BIOS Setup option (page 70) to Automatic for both those headers and let the mobo's controller systems do that job. Then you can do as I said: use a splitter to connect two fans to CHA_FAN2 , and one fan to CHA_FAN3. The two fans on the splitter will be fed the same voltage. IF they are identical fans they will run at approximately the same speed. The third fan on the other header probably will do much the same since both header automatic control systems are guided by the same mobo-mounted temperature sensor. I don't know why the AXTU software uses different settings for those two headers, but if you are NOT using that software it does not matter.

Now, for the CPU cooler using the Cooler Master Hyper TX3, I'm not clear on your plan. It comes with one fan but can use a second attached to the other side of the heatsink fins. Are you planning to simply replace the original fan, or to add the new one to make it a two-fan (push / pull) cooling system? I'm guessing you want the two-fan system. Now, the original fan is a 4-pin one using PWM control, which matches the CPU_FAN header on your mobo. There is only one such header, so to use two fans you will need a 4-pin Y-splitter (not 3-pin) and a 4-pin fan (NOT 3-pin!).

Both the Scythe Kama PWM and the Noctua NF-A9x14 PWM fans are 92 mm (the size you need) PWM fans, so both match what you need. The Scythe claims its maximum air flow is very high (nearly twice the Noctua or most others of its size). The Scythe unit has sleeve bearings (not very long-lasting) and is rated for a lifetime of 30,000 hours. The Noctua has a more sophisticated SSO2 bearing system and is rated for 150,000 hours' lifetime, and is warranted for 6 years. Comments by users on many sites say Noctuas do run for a long time. The Noctua does come with a 4-pin Y-splitter that you will need. (It also comes with a little "low-noise adapter" that I recommend you do NOT use.) Whichever you get, remember that the CPU_FAN header configuration should be set in BIOS Setup to "Automatic". Also remember that, when you change a setting in BIOS Setup you must SAVE and EXIT to make it stick.
 
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ozsa

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Both in AXTU and in BIOS the options are the following: CHA1 has temperature control (pwm) and rpm levels from 1-10, CHA2 has level 1-10 and CHA3 has only level 1-4, where the level 1 is 1500rpm on the CHA3 and the level1 on CHA2 is 800rpm, I want both fans to run at only 800 since 1500 is too loud. I will buy that splitter, that looks to be the only solution.

For the CPU cooler I want a replacement because my old one is getting noisy (and cant lubricate it from the back because its locked, I'd have to destroy the plastic to get into the metal on which the fan is spinning). I was thinking about getting a new heatsink aswell, didn't know that the new ones have 120 and even 140mm fans and much bigger heatsink, however I don't OC this i5 2500k, maybe one day if it will be too slow, right now while gaming my CPU won't reach 60C, usually at around 53-55C, maybe 60C at huge ambient temps, 30C~, so its cooling alright, when not gaming I have it around 40-45C so its fine. Thanks for your help mate!
 
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