CPU Fan Speed

[Mobius1]

I have now completed my PC upgrade and have installed a brand new AMD X6 1100T CPU. I didn't have many problems gutting the system and replacing the internals, with the exception of a few oversights.

Everything is running at stock speed but I've noticed that when I replace the case side panel, the CPU fan increases in speed almost the moment it's closed. The fan whirr then ratchets up further, whilst the actual CPU temp doesn't seem to exceed 36 degrees when idle to moderate use. Almost as soon as the side panel is removed, the fan begins to slow.

My cable management isn't great, I admit, but there's nothing that is obviously restricting airflow. This is a Lian Li PC-60 aluminium case. It has two 80mm intake fans at the lower front and two 80mm exhaust fans, one at the rear and one in the top of the case. I have checked and can confirm all the fans are working and there's plenty of circulation in the case. Have I done something wrong is it just stock cooler syndrome?

[AlBags]

Are you checking it all out with OpenHardwareMonitor?
http://openhardwaremonitor.org/
Either mechanical speeding due to airflow restrictions or electronic .. which is it?
That is plenty enough fans by far. Make sure two are pulling (front) & two are pushing out (top and back) Are they connected with voltage stepdown resistors onto a HDD connector? If not what colour supply lead you running them off .. yellow or red?

[Aquariel]

While the stock cooler isn't the best generally, it should still be reasonable enough to run your CPU.

Have you checked the BIOS to see if there are any fan control settings in there?

Have you doubled-checked to make sure they are connected to the correct pins? I made this mistake once, and they always ran at 100% until I realised.

A utility like SpeedFan will be able to tell you exactly how fast the fans are going. It could also be vibration making them sound louder.

The orientation of the fans could also have an effect. I have mine drawing the heat towards the 20cm fan at the top of the case, but as long as the exhaust fans are working there shouldn't be a problem with that.

If the CPU temp is low, then I don't think the fans would need to speed up, so either something is incorrectly connected or the fans are broken.

Chuck might have some other suggestions!

[deggers316]

down load speedfan its free it will control the speed according to temp:

[deggers316]

you can set the fan speeds to low but will speed up if temp goes up it works fine on mine only goes up when i get past 61C s ive set this in the controls on speed fan

[AlBags]

61 deg C and you are limiting your CPU life.

Yep .. Speedfan is ok if you like that degree of fiddle.
Bit like an aftermarket AMD 'Cool & Quiet' software.

[AlBags]

http://www.overclock....nd-way-get-100-a.html

[Mobius1]

Thanks for the answers so far. AlBags your link regards to difference in CPU and core temp is interesting, especially as there is such a difference. I never realised that! I have double checked, all the fans are working as they are meant to be in terms of them spinning and either pushing or pulling air. The front fans are connected via molex connectors to voltage stepdown resistors to control their speed. The top fan is also connected via a molex connection. The CPU and rear exhaust fan are both connected by the mobo connections and are in the correct sets.

OpenHardwareMonitor is showing a temp 1 as 34C and temp 2 as 31C, it then reports each of the six cores as having an idle temperature of approx 25C. I would like to note that AMD Cool 'n Quiet is already enabled in the BIOS. In my BIOS, there are "QFan" controls but I have set this to disabled, otherwise it asks me to enter values and thresholds that I don't understand relative to this CPU.

SpeedFan doesn't tell me anything really, fans 1 through 5 all show 0RPM so I'm wondering if I need to configure that program? I know the BIOS is actively reporting the speed of the CPU fan and at least one other fan.

[AlBags]

Research the AMD forum for that processor and your Mobo.
Under certain temp conditions and settings .. fan may be switched off. Never seen that before tho.
Temps are good though! Keep them all below 45.

Heat originates within the Cores, where Tjunction sensors are located on the hot spots of each Core. Most of the heat dissipates from the top of the Cores through the Integrated Heat Spreader and CPU cooler to air inside the computer. Some of the heat dissipates from the bottom of the Cores through the CPU case, which creates a 5c thermal Gradient toward the center of the substrate, where the Tcase sensor is located. This heat then dissipates through the socket and motherboard to air inside the computer. Safe and sustainable temperatures are determined by CPU cooling efficiency, computer case cooling efficiency, Ambient temperature, Vcore, clock speed and Load.
From web ..saves typing!

[deggers316]

allbags all i can say is that the CPU temp on mine at start up in a room at 65 degrees early morning is 42 c then rises to 58c and stays around this unless doing some "graft it rises then to around 68c max,whether these temps are accurate is a different matter, seems all fan monitors read different but mines 6 years old now and never been a problem apart form the odd O/S glitch

[deggers316]

intel pentium (r) 4
3.20ghz

[Mobius1]

deggers - As far as I'm aware, temps like that are well within normal range for a Pentium4 chip. They were known for running hot.

I think I have got a lead on what's causing my problem. I downloaded ASUS EPU (Energy Processing Unit) which has settings for performance and power saving. When I set it to auto, the fan speed decreases massively and is in line with the sound profile of my system as it was before. The temps stay steady, perhaps increasing by one or two degrees at most.

I have read that stock AMD fan/heatsink units come with a thermal sensor and don't necessarily support motherboard fan settings like a 3rd party cooling solution would. So it's common for the fan to be all out when the temps aren't actually that high. Ideally I don't want to run ASUS EPU, but for the time being it does solve the problem. I'll be having a look at the QFan settings in the BIOS to see if I can get them to work.