<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">2009/10/12 Johnny <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:jarpublic@gmail.com">jarpublic@gmail.com</a>></span><br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
I have an Asus M3N78-EM and I have been using fancontrol to keep the<br>
fans running slowly and quietly. It basically silent when idle and<br>
ramps up a bit while I am using the machine but then the sound is<br>
mostly covered by the audio out of mythtv. My CPU fan has recently<br>
started making a loud annoying whine every 15 minutes or so. I thought<br>
it would be simple to just replace the 70mm CPU fan, but there aren't<br>
many available. The ones I can find all seem to use 3 pin connectors<br>
rather than the 4 pin connector used by the cpu fan header. It is hard<br>
to track them down because seraching for "4 pin" turns up all of the<br>
fans that use 4 pin molex connectors. Is there a specific term for the<br>
4 pin connector used on the cpu header? I would rather not get a whole<br>
new heatsink just to replace the fan. I am also really happy with<br>
fancontrol and prefer it to some sort of manual undervolting switch<br>
etc.<br>
<br>
The chassis fan uses a 3 pin header but fancontrol is able control<br>
that with PWM. However, my reading indicates that plugging a 3 pin fan<br>
into the 4 pin header will not work. I believe it will just run full<br>
blast all the time and won't have any PWM control. I am interested on<br>
opinions about my existing options or any better ideas.<br>
<br></blockquote><div>You should be fine with a 3 pin fan, I've got a 3 pin fan into a 4 pin header and it is speed regulated just fine.<br><br>Infact, I don't think any of my CPU fans are 4 pins, and they all vary speed according to BIOS settings. :) (One of these boards is an Asus too.)<br>
<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
1) Get a bigger 80mm or 90mm with a 4 pin connector and figure out<br>
some way to attach it to the heat sink (some have suggested 2 sided<br>
tape). This seems like the most likely if I can secure it in any<br>
acceptable way.<br>
<br></blockquote><div>You could also just buy a low noise 3 pin fan and run it full speed all the time, you can get some very low noise fans these days.<br><br>Another option would be a manually variable fan, set it to a nice quiet setting and just leave it.<br>
<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
2) Control both fans with the 3 pin chassis header and a y-splitter.<br>
(Will this even work, RPM readings, power?)<br>
<br></blockquote><div>I suspect this will not work, I suspect the sensor would get confused.<br> <br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
3) Get a whole new heatsink. This seems like a waste of money and<br>
space. I don't need things any cooler or a huge chunk of metal in my<br>
case.<br>
</blockquote><div><br>How hot does it get? You may be well within tolerances?<br><br>Cheers,<br><br>Ian<br><br></div></div>