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Case Fan / Motherboard Compatibility

Forum CPU & Components : Power Supplies, PC Cases & Case Mods - Case Fan / Motherboard Compatibility

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Opie-100   11-09-2009 at 05:55:42 PM

The power supply that came with my Antec Sonata case purchased about six years ago recently started failing, and so I replaced it with an Antac 380 EarthWatts supply. Everything works again, but the new power supply doesn't have the "fan only" molexes that used to slow the case fan down, and thus the case fan is noisy at full throttle. I am using a Asus P4P800 Deluxe motherboard, which has a couple of three pin headers for fans that also allow speed adjustments via BIOS. The case fan does not have a 3 pin connector on the cable so I bought an adapter. However, the BIOS still doesn't see the case fan, which is I think due to the adaptor cable only using two of the three wires (ground and power) in the 3-pin connector, and so I still have a loud case fan.

My questions are:

1) do I have to replace the fan with one that has a three pin connector in order to take advantage of the speed controls via the motherboard?

2) will any 120mm case fan that I buy (that has a three pin connector) allow my motherboard to variably power it?

3) will a new fan that has three set speeds also allow for speed control via BIOS?

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r_manic   11-10-2009 at 09:41:11 AM

1 and 2) It really depends on the fan you get. Even if you manage to use a three-pin adapter, if there's no provision for BIOS control on the fan itself, nothing will change.

3) Yes, some BIOSes allow you to set a max speed for your fan(s).

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mi1ez   11-10-2009 at 02:52:17 PM

Potentially worth looking for a simple resistive cable or making one.

------------------------------ Dell response:
"I am glad I am the one who received your request as I am going to do my best to assist you."
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