Problem with a front fan

[markini6]

My system -

Case - Silverstone PS07B
CPU - i5 3570k with stock cooler
GPU - Gigabyte Windforce 3X OC 2GB 7870
Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-Z77M-D3H Intel
Crucial M4 128GB SSD
Corsair Vengeance 8GB RAM DDR3 1600mhz
Antec 520W modular psu

Basically, my case (Silverstone PS07) has two 120mm intake fans at the front, and another 120mm exhaust fan at the back which I installed. The bottom one of the two intake fans works fine, but the top one has various problems. Sometimes I'll have to turn my PC on and off several times before it will start spinning, but even when it does start it's at a much lower speed than the fan below it. When I built the system a few weeks ago, the problem was present right from the beginning, and giving the fan a small nudge would help it start spinning, albeit still at the reduced RPM.

Using SpeedFan, I can see that the working fan is spinning at 1400 RPM when the system's idle, and goes up to around the 2000 mark when I'm playing a game. However, the faulty fan spins at around 450 RPM, and only spins at a maximum of 650 during gameplay. Obviously this means it is not functioning properly. Going into my mobo's BIOS or SpeedFan's settings to try and change the speed of the faulty fan achieves nothing, making no difference whatsoever.

A final point of note is that I recently opened up my case and tried swapping round the front two fans connections on my motherboard, to see what happened. This resulted in the faulty one working straight away, but still at the slower speed, whilst the working one now required a nudge to get it to start, and didn't spin at the same speed that it usually did.

I'd appreciate any help, this has been annoying for me weeks now. Thanks

[Phage]

What happens if you plug in another fan to the same header ?

[markini6]

Sorry, which header?

[Phage]

What is the fan plugged in to ? Molex or fan header on the MoBo.
I suspect the fan has had it. If you plug the other fan into the same connector does it spin normally ?

[deejayburnout]

sounds like one of your fan headers on your mobo are kaput.

If plugging another fan into causes the same problem, its the header. If the fan is ok its the fan that kaput.

Personally I run all my case fans at full all the time. Keeps the temps down. Run them off molex adaptors.

[markini6]

sounds like one of your fan headers on your mobo are kaput.

If plugging another fan into causes the same problem, its the header. If the fan is ok its the fan that kaput.

Personally I run all my case fans at full all the time. Keeps the temps down. Run them off molex adaptors.

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll open up the case tomorrow morning and have a check. If the fan header has had it, what would be the name of the cable that I'd need to plug it into the PSU? This build is my first ever self-built PC, so please forgive my naivety when it come to this stuff

[markini6]

Also, my friend has said to me that i might not have enough power (520W) for my rig. Does this seem like a possible cause?

[Phage]

The PSU should have some molex connectors, these look like this.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mo..._connector.jpg
The fans will have little plugs on them connected to the motherboard. You'll need an adaptor to plug the little fan plug into the molex connectors.

[deejayburnout]

The PSU should have some molex connectors, these look like this.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mo..._connector.jpg
The fans will have little plugs on them connected to the motherboard. You'll need an adaptor to plug the little fan plug into the molex connectors.

What he said.

[markini6]

The PSU should have some molex connectors, these look like this.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mo..._connector.jpg
The fans will have little plugs on them connected to the motherboard. You'll need an adaptor to plug the little fan plug into the molex connectors.

OK, cable ordered after poking around and testing today. Basically, I determined that the "Sys-Fan 1" port/header (or whatever it's called) is at least one identifiable problem, as none of the fans worked properly when plugged into it. I currently have the good fan connected into the good mobo port running at between 1500-2000rpm, with the other front fan plugged into my PSU (via a cable that also connects my DVD drive to the power). This fan has started spinning a bit more quickly, but still only at between 900-1000rpm. Is this then indicative that there's a fault with the fan, as it is spinning slower than the other one even under heavy load, and its speed doesn't change when I hook the good fan up to the PSU and the slower one to the good motherboard port?

Sorry for the confusing post, and thanks again in advance for any help

[deejayburnout]

most fans are 12 volt. you may have plugged it into a 5 volt supply. Still runs but less than 50% of what it should be.

[markini6]

most fans are 12 volt. you may have plugged it into a 5 volt supply. Still runs but less than 50% of what it should be.

Yeah but even when I plug it into the motherboard, on the good port, it still only goes at 900rpm

[ladcrooks]

my motherboard, GIGABYTE EX58-UDR3 has 3 settings auto - voltage - pwm - check your settings, see if this make a difference.

[markini6]

my motherboard, GIGABYTE EX58-UDR3 has 3 settings auto - voltage - pwm - check your settings, see if this make a difference.

Yeah I've been into the mobo and looked at fan control, setting it from auto to manual, and then increasing that, but it had no effect on the slower fan sadly

[c12038]

To settle this just buy one of these from scan

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/nzxt-...ntroller-meter

to control each fan independate of the motherboard headers...

problem solved

regards

[markini6]

To settle this just buy one of these from scan

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/nzxt-...ntroller-meter

to control each fan independate of the motherboard headers...

problem solved

regards

Thanks for the reply, but I'm not sure that would help. Even when I hook the slower fan up to the power, or when I attach it to the good mobo fan header, it still only spins at around half the speed of what the good one can manage. Surely this indicates a problem with the fan>