Case fans not spinning up (Yoyotech/NZXT built system)

Solnyshko · 5 Jan 2020 at 20:33

New build (or rather, system purchase - I didn't build it) and the two case fans are failing to fire up on start up.

Is this normal behaviour? Do some mobo/case combinations boot without spin up and kick in only when temps rise?

Seems odd to me. Also the case is advertised as having white case lighting which isn't coming on.

These are my specs:

Case: NZXT S340 (with x2 NZXT branded fans installed)
Processor: 8th Generation Intel® 6-Core™ i7 8700k
Motherboard: ASUS Z370 Chipset ASUS Prime 2370-PII
Graphics: Dedicated NVIDIA® GeForce GTX 1080 8GB ASUS Turbo-GTX1080-8G (air cooled)
Memory: 16GB G.Skill Trident Z high-performance RGB memory
SSD: 250GB Solid state drive 256GB SK Hynix SC311 SSD
Hard Drive: 2TB 7200rpm Toshiba 2TB P300 Internal Hard Disk Drive/HDD HDWD120UZSVA
Wi-Fi: Intergrated 300Mbps Wi-Fi Card Asus PCE-N15
CPU Cooling: Cooler MasterLiquid 120
PSU: Cooler Master MasterWatt Lite 700W
OS: Microsoft Windows 10 64-Bit

System built by and branded as Yoyotech Warbird i7 Ultra

hominid · 5 Jan 2020 at 21:37

You can go in to the bios and set the fan curve for the fans if you don't like it. Yes it can be normal behavior for fans to only spin when temps go above a certain threshold, so don't worry about it if they don't spin straight away.

Solnyshko · 5 Jan 2020 at 21:49

Ah OK, good to know - though I feel I need to confirm it's only that, without tearing down the entire build to check connections if at all possible!

Any recommendations for thermally monitoring CPU/GPU/RAM etc from within the windows environment? Can't seem to find a way to do this natively in Win10 - maybe I need to install third party software...

jonathan_phang · 6 Jan 2020 at 11:21

You could use something like https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html to check temps.

Does seem odd, especially with the case lighting not on either. Guess its tough to know without knowing the connections, but if they all plug into some controller, then there may be a problem with that, which might be whey the case lighting isnt on.

If its a prebuilt though, I would 100% be on at their support to ask. They should be able to confirm the default fan curve and esp if the case lighting should be on.

Solnyshko · 6 Jan 2020 at 22:03

Definately strange. Pushed the to CPU 55degrees and GPU to 82degrees trying a game - DayZ - and the case fans still won't kick in.

CPUID was a good call, thanks - temps decribed measured from that

Threepwood · 6 Jan 2020 at 22:54

Are they plugged in? Does the case have a button to select on and off? Is the power plugged into the case/fan power supply?

Solnyshko · 6 Jan 2020 at 23:34

Threepwood said:
Are they plugged in? Does the case have a button to select on and off? Is the power plugged into the case/fan power supply?

Right well, in answer to that, this doesn't look too good does it:

Here's a schematic of the board showing chassis fan connectors 1 and 2 -

And the view of the build showing the relevent top half of the mobo -

and details of each BARE connector terminal

freddie64 · 6 Jan 2020 at 23:37

Did it not come with a user manual?

As has been mentioned, if it's not working properly try contacting the seller.

Solnyshko · 6 Jan 2020 at 23:43

Is it common practice to run the chassis fans directly off the PSU for the sake of cable tidyness? I suppose the next step is rip off the other side panel and see if the've been connected to a splitter running up the back hidden behind the mobo...

freddie64 said:
Did it not come with a user manual?

As has been mentioned, if it's not working properly try contacting the seller.

Well, I bought it 'as new' off fleebay from a private seller - not sure how much he'd be able to help. Strange though as the unit was packed and wrapped up in cellphane, factory fresh. Clearly never used before.

Threepwood · 7 Jan 2020 at 00:33

Solnyshko said:
Right well, in answer to that, this doesn't look too good does it:

I can't see the photos, sounds like the case fan controller has nothing plugged in to it?

Maybe the plug just came loose in transit, anyway, good luck... most probable cause is stuff not plugged in. Feel free to ask more questions however!

Solnyshko · 7 Jan 2020 at 00:59

Resolved! Sort of... no fan controller

just a simple splitter, the passthrough (combining the absent lighting) had not been attached to the 4-pin molex power source. It was hidden round the back of an otherwise very tidy build behind the motherboard plate.

Is it normal practise to run chassis fans directly off the PSU, rather than the dedicated mobo connectors?

Tyrion2 · 7 Jan 2020 at 04:42

Solnyshko said:
Is it normal practise to run chassis fans directly off the PSU, rather than the dedicated mobo connectors?

No idea if it's normal practice but I had a yoyotech built pc until recently before I built my own (i7 920, about 10 years old, motherboard died) and the fans were run direct from the psu, daisy chained using molex connectors, I think. But the case was an antec 1200 with independent fan controls - the fans were controlled either through a case switch (rear fans and top fan) or a knob that you turned to raise or lower the speed (each of the 3 front fans).