Case Fans Question

KristianWaring

KristianWaring

KristianWaring

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Joined
8 Oct 2010
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117
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UK - North East
Hi everyone.
If you dont know, just built my first Rig and well chuffed with my self.
Now I have a question, I have both my 120mm Case Fan and CPU fan connected up, but I have another 2 fans that are not connected up, and I dont know how to connect them up as two of them have the 3 pin connectors and my Mobo has both the case fan and cpu fan in them, do I need a Fan controller?
 
Hi there :)

Aye, your best bet would be to get a fan controller, as you can run the fans at a speed that isn't full-whack.

However, the cheaper option is to use a few molex adapters like this and power the fans directly off the PSU - unfortunately this will mean they are on full speed all the time with no way to turn them down (though not a massive problem if your fans are low-rpm fans).

Alternatively, a better option is to use a cable like this which can run two fans at either full speed or a much slower speed (5V). Not as elegant as a fan controller, but its very cheap.
 
Just hooked them up via the molex method, got one more to fit, going to have to buy another molex for the PSU, I suppose im best of using a Fan controller as it wont take up as many PSU molex sockets?

Also do you know a program that monitors my CPU, want to know what heat its at etc?
 
If you are not using up the molex adapter for anything else - then I wouldn't stress about using them for fans. However, it would be good to get a fan controller as you will be able to seriously reduce the noise of your system as a whole.

A good CPU temperature monitoring software I use is realtemp, coretemp also does the job well. If you want a CPU stress tester then Prime95 and Intel Burn test are the favourites and for CPU/motherboard/memory information CPU-Z is great.
 
Awesome, best of luck with that. I suggest you try unlocking first - as you will need to change all your settings if you overclock first then try to unlock. Also, the potential performance boost is a fair bit higher with unlocking than overclocking.

CPU-Z will be very useful there as it will tell you how many cores you have and what voltage your CPU is receiving.

Using this unlocking guide, right?

Edit:
Not been funny, but where do is the download link for the CPU-Z :Z
Click to expand...

Right hand side, under the donate via paypal bit, go for:
Download latest release

1.55 setup, english
Click to expand...

If you need to upload any images to the forums, this is what I use.
 
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Well, Lucked out!
Restarted, and on my mobo, it said press 4 to unlock all cores, unlocked them and now im at 4 :D
didn't have to go into BIOS or anything haha
Now I heard they can be unstable, is there any software I can check to make sure?
 
Sweet - good job!

You will want to run a stress testing programme (such as OCCT) for at least 6 hours to ensure that it is fully stable at the current settings and the temperatures don't get too high.

If its not stable then slowly increase the voltage as shown in that guide. If the temps get too hot (according to this don't ever go over 73 degrees C - I suggest setting 70 as the max. temp in OCCT) then try reducing the voltage (if possible and remain stable) and immediately buy a new cooler like this.

After that, the next step is overclocking :)
 
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Sure, that should be fine - however I suggest you sit with OCCT running for 5 minutes just to check that the temps are not going to be a problem. Also, make sure you set a conservative maximum temperature in OCCT - say 65C, just to be on the safe side.
 
I would go for normal priority.

To set the maximum temp - look for the "Options" tab on the left and click it. In the new page look for the orange gears icon and click it. Set the maximum temperature in degrees C at the top option of the new window.

Edit:
Been 3 mins and there at 68 degrees :Z
Click to expand...

Ok, check the CPU voltage and then immediately stop the test. What CPU voltage is it running at when under full load?
 
Went to 70.15 max
But its keeping around 69-70 max.
Going to set the Max to 72 and let it run for a while :)
Thanks for the help, do I get to know your real name yet, seeming we talk all the time on here ha?
 
I strongly suggest you stop the test tbh, 72 degrees is the very limit for these chips - best to play it safe now to ensure the chip isn't damaged.

What does CPU-Z say the core volatge (vid) is when running OCCT? If it has been set too high by the motherboard (when it did the unlock) you may be able to manually reduce the voltage in the BIOS and get it to run cooler (but still stable).

Thanks for the help, do I get to know your real name yet, seeming we talk all the time on here ha?
Click to expand...

My name is Andrew :)
 
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