Discussion
Hi Guys,
I have been putting together a computer the other night and have never done a whole build before so this may be a little school boy.
The case fans have these big 4 pin commectors as i would expect...
However the motherboard asks me to plug the fans into these tiny 3 pin items...
the part that further confuses me is that the case has a little lcd pannel that moniters fan speed and some buttons to alter it. this feature seems to be in direct competition with the motherboards own remote quiet running feature. the case connectors look like this...
so what do i do?
just plug the fans into the PSU and fans are not controlled in any way. i think thats the only outcome, as i dont see how the motherboard could feedback to the PSU without altering the voltage to everything else on that branch of cable.
ignore the case function? if so i assume there is some adaptor i can use so fit the large 4 pin to a tiny 3 pin item?
Do i try to keep the case function? my guess is that the small connectors are supposed to fit to the motherboard and then the large connector fits to the fan power. However if this is the case the fan speeds would surely be controlled together and no independant variation would be possible. if this is the case i could surely retain case and fan function by getting an adapotor to fit the two male small plugs together?
another question i had is that i opted for a SATA HDD, i understand that the drivers for this only come on XP disks with service pack 1. my disk is so old it doesnt have the service packs so is there a place i can download the drivers to make a boot disk? Also somone told me microsoft 'know' what computer is using their OS and wont let you use windows on a different pc to the one it was first fitted. I would be using the key from another old computer that i dont intend to use anymore so in my mind its not an issue but if microsfot block it i guess i need a new OS.
Cheers
got it now i think!
I have been putting together a computer the other night and have never done a whole build before so this may be a little school boy.
The case fans have these big 4 pin commectors as i would expect...
However the motherboard asks me to plug the fans into these tiny 3 pin items...
the part that further confuses me is that the case has a little lcd pannel that moniters fan speed and some buttons to alter it. this feature seems to be in direct competition with the motherboards own remote quiet running feature. the case connectors look like this...
so what do i do?
just plug the fans into the PSU and fans are not controlled in any way. i think thats the only outcome, as i dont see how the motherboard could feedback to the PSU without altering the voltage to everything else on that branch of cable.
ignore the case function? if so i assume there is some adaptor i can use so fit the large 4 pin to a tiny 3 pin item?
Do i try to keep the case function? my guess is that the small connectors are supposed to fit to the motherboard and then the large connector fits to the fan power. However if this is the case the fan speeds would surely be controlled together and no independant variation would be possible. if this is the case i could surely retain case and fan function by getting an adapotor to fit the two male small plugs together?
another question i had is that i opted for a SATA HDD, i understand that the drivers for this only come on XP disks with service pack 1. my disk is so old it doesnt have the service packs so is there a place i can download the drivers to make a boot disk? Also somone told me microsoft 'know' what computer is using their OS and wont let you use windows on a different pc to the one it was first fitted. I would be using the key from another old computer that i dont intend to use anymore so in my mind its not an issue but if microsfot block it i guess i need a new OS.
Cheers
- edit what are the pic tags supposed to be the guide says [pic]url[/url], doesnt work! everey other forum is
Edited by Buzz word on Friday 25th May 08:49
got it now i think!
Edited by Buzz word on Friday 25th May 08:54
Scraggles said:
worth detailing everything, eg motherboard, components, just writing the above means only u can really help yourself 
good planok,
Motherboard is a ASUS P5W DH Deluxe
Case is a dabs value gamer case. Their part no is 48LPWS
HDD is Maxtor DiamondMax 21 320GB S300 8MB
CPU is Core 2 Duo E4400 2GHz S775
I think thats all thats relevant?
Incidentally the motherboard instructions tell me to not use the CPU fan connector and to use the pwr_fan1/2 connector so thats what i have done.
Unfortunatly the case instructions are a bit light and useless other than the tags helpfully written on the ends.
Contrary to what you state in the OP, case fans more usually have the small 3 pin connectors so that they can pick up power from the motherboard (and the BIOS can monitor/cntrol fan speed).
In your case (see what I did there?) the case itself seems to have a fan control function so that you can fiddle with them from the front panel. Oddly, the case fans have different connectors to that which the case itself supplies.
I can only assume, therefore, that you bought the case fans separately?
You may be able to get little converter plugs that should let you change the type of power connector to the fans, but the opposite is more usual, i.e. needing to convert a standard molex plug into a small 3-pin male so that the fan can plug into it.
Aftermarket fans often have both connectors included.
In your case (see what I did there?) the case itself seems to have a fan control function so that you can fiddle with them from the front panel. Oddly, the case fans have different connectors to that which the case itself supplies.
I can only assume, therefore, that you bought the case fans separately?
You may be able to get little converter plugs that should let you change the type of power connector to the fans, but the opposite is more usual, i.e. needing to convert a standard molex plug into a small 3-pin male so that the fan can plug into it.
Aftermarket fans often have both connectors included.
Buzz word said:
the part that further confuses me is that the case has a little lcd pannel that moniters fan speed and some buttons to alter it. this feature seems to be in direct competition with the motherboards own remote quiet running feature. the case connectors look like this...
To me, that looks like you need to feed power to the case from the CPU, using a standard molex power connector plugged into the male molex coming from the case.Then, the case can supply 2 fans (presumably via its control gubbins) using the 2 small connectors FAN1 and FAN2.
The only other thing I'd be wary of is not plugging anything at all into the FAN1 header on the motherboard. That's where the CPU fan normally goes and a lot of BIOSes will refuse to boot if there's no power being drawn from FAN1 on the m/b.
The fans came with the case, and only have the large 4 pin connectors. this is whats causing me a bit of confusion. As i cant see why you would supply things that dont fit together! so in my mind the case and fan interface should be straight forward.
I like your idea that the fan 1, fan 2 are supply to the fans, this would make sence as to why they are male connectors. As they would fit nicely into conventional female fan plugs.
With this in mind it would seem better to ignore the case controls and use an adaptor to power the fans straight from the motherboard. the motherboard only has control of the cpu fan at the moment so sould be content. it has plugs for cpu, fan 1/2 and chassis fan 1/2. cpu fan is in fan 1 as thats what the instructions say for dual core. so use the adaptor to plug the fans into chassis fan 1 and 2.
Excellent, that wasnt too painfull, quick trip to maplin and i should have that problem fixed.
i dont suppose you know if there is any truth to the OS not being transferable or where to get SATA drivers?
I like your idea that the fan 1, fan 2 are supply to the fans, this would make sence as to why they are male connectors. As they would fit nicely into conventional female fan plugs.
With this in mind it would seem better to ignore the case controls and use an adaptor to power the fans straight from the motherboard. the motherboard only has control of the cpu fan at the moment so sould be content. it has plugs for cpu, fan 1/2 and chassis fan 1/2. cpu fan is in fan 1 as thats what the instructions say for dual core. so use the adaptor to plug the fans into chassis fan 1 and 2.
Excellent, that wasnt too painfull, quick trip to maplin and i should have that problem fixed.
i dont suppose you know if there is any truth to the OS not being transferable or where to get SATA drivers?
If you've activated your copy of Windows, then its tied to the PC you activated it on. There are (iirc) 10 or so things it keeps track of and you can change about 3 of them before it'll get shirty. For a new build, I'm guessing it'll be "computer says no". Not sure what MS policy is on junking a PC and re-using the license on a new one - they may be able to help if you call the activation helpline. If the original copy of Windows was OE with a pre-built system then I think you'll be out of luck but if it was shrinkwrapped from a shop then you might be lucky.
Can't help with the SATA drivers though, sorry.
Can't help with the SATA drivers though, sorry.
I think you have got everything there you need, its just a bit confusing from the pictures. Firstly I would plug the CPU fan into the CPU fan socket on the mobo, this has the ability to report back fan speed to the bios and some refuse to boot or shut down if the fan speed is too low. This feature can usually be diabled however. It looks like the rest of your setup should be like this.... PSU to case using a normal molex conector, there has to be one or else how does the power switch work? Then the two fan cables as illustrated on your pic plug into the two fans (as mentioned before fans usually have one of two conectors but adapters can be bought) these should then be able to be controlled by the case by regulating the voltage through a dial posibbly.
pdV6 said:
If you've activated your copy of Windows, then its tied to the PC you activated it on. There are (iirc) 10 or so things it keeps track of and you can change about 3 of them before it'll get shirty. For a new build, I'm guessing it'll be "computer says no". Not sure what MS policy is on junking a PC and re-using the license on a new one - they may be able to help if you call the activation helpline. If the original copy of Windows was OE with a pre-built system then I think you'll be out of luck but if it was shrinkwrapped from a shop then you might be lucky.
Can't help with the SATA drivers though, sorry.
Ok, thats what i had heard anyway. The CD was with a mesh system so it looks like its in need of a new copy of windows. Is it worth looking at vista? i hear that it does nasty things like blocks media and deletes stuff it doesnt like so would rather use XP if thats true.Can't help with the SATA drivers though, sorry.
Road2Ruin said:
I think you have got everything there you need, its just a bit confusing from the pictures. Firstly I would plug the CPU fan into the CPU fan socket on the mobo, this has the ability to report back fan speed to the bios and some refuse to boot or shut down if the fan speed is too low. This feature can usually be diabled however. It looks like the rest of your setup should be like this.... PSU to case using a normal molex conector, there has to be one or else how does the power switch work? Then the two fan cables as illustrated on your pic plug into the two fans (as mentioned before fans usually have one of two conectors but adapters can be bought) these should then be able to be controlled by the case by regulating the voltage through a dial posibbly.
Yes, seems i am missing these adaptors, its the large to smaller connectors that arent there. i think this way would work to let the case control case fans. However, i think i will not use this function of the case and used the adaptors to let the motherboard drive the fans. I would rather belive the motherboard knows what it wants rather than the case. This way the motherboard remote control will work to adjust the speed too.it seems i have two seperate systems that want to drive the fans and it doesnt look like i can use the two together based on the way the case controller works.
Simply put - you have fixed speed case fans with molex connectors (the big ones) . These are designed to plug direct into the PSU and will run at full speed all the time. If you want to speed control the fans by either connecting to the motherboard 3 pin outputs or by using those other connectors marked fan1 and fan2 you will need to replace the fans. The ones you have are 2 wire only and cant be converted to be variable speed, for that you need the third wire.
The good news is that case fans are cheap as chips, 80mm cooling fan 3 pin for £1.09 inc VAT here http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/92791
If you have a suitable case go for 120mm fans instead, not much more expensive , a lot quieter and can shift tons more air.
The good news is that case fans are cheap as chips, 80mm cooling fan 3 pin for £1.09 inc VAT here http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/92791
If you have a suitable case go for 120mm fans instead, not much more expensive , a lot quieter and can shift tons more air.
bigdods said:
Simply put - you have fixed speed case fans
Good spot! I missed that rather obvious flaw in the entire scenario.Odd that the case manufacturer should supply a case with fancy-schmancy fan controllers and non-controllable fans
Sounds like Buzz needs to change his shopping list from power adaptors to new fans.
For the SATA HDD, you only need the drivers if you are configuring it as RAID.
You can make it work by changing the BIOS. In my case it was BIOS > Advanced > IDE Configuration, set ATA/IDE Configuration to [Enhanced], choose Configure Sata As, and select [IDE].
That was found in my motherboard booklet after 24hours of trying to figure out what to do! lol
You can make it work by changing the BIOS. In my case it was BIOS > Advanced > IDE Configuration, set ATA/IDE Configuration to [Enhanced], choose Configure Sata As, and select [IDE].
That was found in my motherboard booklet after 24hours of trying to figure out what to do! lol
just had a look both fans are defiately 2 wire jobs. very strange! why supply stuff that doesnt work together?.
The case has 2 fans one 80mm and a 120mm. i guess i may as well just swap both to the 3 pin jobs if they cost that little. i had a quick skim online and the adaptors would have been a couple of quid anyway so its the same cost. The last fan i had that was straight to PSU was realy loud and burnt out pretty fast so i would rather avoid that for a few quid.
Cheers for the SATA info. this is the first time i have used this type so all i had to go on was the odd bit of here say i had picked up. I dont think raid is something i want right now so that looks like a good thing.
The case has 2 fans one 80mm and a 120mm. i guess i may as well just swap both to the 3 pin jobs if they cost that little. i had a quick skim online and the adaptors would have been a couple of quid anyway so its the same cost. The last fan i had that was straight to PSU was realy loud and burnt out pretty fast so i would rather avoid that for a few quid.
Cheers for the SATA info. this is the first time i have used this type so all i had to go on was the odd bit of here say i had picked up. I dont think raid is something i want right now so that looks like a good thing.
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