Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R fan headers & Choice of exhaust fan

spc · Post by **spc** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 4:17 am

Could someone please confirm the following since the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R Specs do not have this info :

1) CPU_FAN and SYS_FAN2 are PWM four pin headers.

2) PWR_FAN and SYS_FAN1 are three pin non-PWM headers.

Can I attach the cabinet exhaust fan to the PWM SYS_FAN2 header ( I already have a PWM 120mm fan ) ? And, is this advisable ?

Thanks.

btw : what is the general opinion about the Scythe Kama PWM 120mm & 92mm Fan ?

Alec Ross · Post by **Alec Ross** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 6:22 am

Correct on both counts.

Can I attach the cabinet exhaust fan to the PWM SYS_FAN2 header

That's what it's for

Unless you have some other fan controller, that's probably the best place for your exhaust. [/quote]

spc · Post by **spc** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 6:43 am

Sorry, I think my OP wasn't very clear. I have a 120mm PWM fan and a 120mm non-PWM fan. Would it be better to use the PWM fan ?

I've never used a mobo with PWM before, that's the prob.

Lawrence Lee · Post by **Lawrence Lee** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 1:58 pm

The DS3R should allow you to control fan speed on the PWM fan headers whether you use a PWM fan or a regular 3-pin fan. Some motherboards are not like this though.

Aside from that - it doesn't matter. A 4-pin fan is just a 3-pin fan with an extra wire for PWM support. They are interchangable.

Jason W · Post by **Jason W** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 9:56 am

In what fashion are you planning to control your fans? Are you planning on letting the motherboard control fan speeds, or are you planning on SpeedFan or some other software program?

I have the GA-P35-DS3R motherboard in a P182 case. I am using four 120mm Nexus 3-pin fans, and here is my configuration:

Rear Exhaust fan connected to SYS_FAN1 header
Fan on Ninja heat sink connected to CPU_FAN header
Fan on back of upper hard drive cage connected to SYS_FAN2 header
Fan in lower chamber connected to PWR_FAN header

I am using speedfan to keep the heat sink fan and the fan on the back of the upper hard drive cage spinning at 750 RPM as a compromise between noise and temperature. The rear exhaust fan I let run at the full 12V, and the same for the lower chamber fan.

I find that with this setup, the fan noise is audible but not annoying or excessive, and my CPU, video card, and hard drive temps stay in check.

p.s. - I have my E6750 overclocked to 3.20 GHz, and my GeForce 7600 GS overclocked by 25%, so I need the extra 2 fans. If nothing was overclocked, I think I could do away with the CPU heat sink fan and the fan at the back of the upper hard drive cage.

Regards.

kevral · Post by **kevral** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 11:19 am

Jason W wrote: I am using speedfan to keep the heat sink fan and the fan on the back of the upper hard drive cage spinning at 750 RPM as a compromise between noise and temperature. The rear exhaust fan I let run at the full 12V, and the same for the lower chamber fan.

Is that by choice, or do only 2 headers support variable fan speeds?

Jason W · Post by **Jason W** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 11:34 am

kevral wrote:
Jason W wrote: I am using speedfan to keep the heat sink fan and the fan on the back of the upper hard drive cage spinning at 750 RPM as a compromise between noise and temperature. The rear exhaust fan I let run at the full 12V, and the same for the lower chamber fan.
Is that by choice, or do only 2 headers support variable fan speeds?

I am not able to get SpeedFan or the motherboard itself to adjust the fan speeds of the two 3-pin fan headers. Either I am not setting something right in SpeedFan or the motherboard, or they are not controllable by software.

cmthomson actually told me this would be the case after I had purchased the board but before it arrived. I was thinking about sending the board back and spending the extra cash to get the GA-P35-DQ6, as cmthomson said SpeedFan could control all the fan headers with that board. Instead, I have a pair of Zalman FanMate 2 controllers should I ever need to reduce the speed of the fans connected to the 3-pin headers on my GA-P35-DS3R.

Regards.

kevral · Post by **kevral** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 12:07 pm

Thanks, that's what I feared.

Those two Gigabytes are the contenders to the Abit IP-35 Pro that's currently on top of my list, but I was worried about the fan headers.

Jason W · Post by **Jason W** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 12:43 pm

kevral wrote:Thanks, that's what I feared.

Those two Gigabytes are the contenders to the Abit IP-35 Pro that's currently on top of my list, but I was worried about the fan headers.

Definitely something to be aware of. If you have a hardware fan control solution already planned, save the $80+ in cost and get the DS3R.

Or, if you use slow-spinning quiet fans like the Nexus fans, maybe you can run them at the full 12V and not have a noise issue. That's the route I ended up taking.

Regards.

spc · Post by **spc** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 7:09 pm

Jason W wrote:In what fashion are you planning to control your fans? Are you planning on letting the motherboard control fan speeds, or are you planning on SpeedFan or some other software program?

Thanks, all.

I'm just getting my system up. Thought I'd do a bit of 'research' before buying the components. Hope to get by with just two fans ( CPU & exhaust, CPU_FAN and SYS_FAN2 ), both with PWM fans. I'll use speedfan if I have to.

No comments on the Scythe Kama PWM fans ?

Konnetikut · Post by **Konnetikut** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 8:42 pm

spc wrote:Hope to get by with just two fans

PSU fan?

I'm using the DS3R here - I'm about to get 2 fanmates for my 2 YL D12SL-12s. The S-FLEX SFF21E is dead silent.
I thought the general consensus was to stay away from PWM fans?

spc · Post by **spc** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 10:11 pm

I've never used PWM before. Frankly, it's something new to me - I would like to play around with it for a while. If I don't like it, I'll go back to the non-PWM fans.

I couldn't find anything at SPCR about the Scythe Kama PWM stuff, that's why I asked.

And, yes, I forgot about the PSU fan.

sebmex · Post by **sebmex** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 2:42 am

Hi there,

in fact I couldn't find any PWM fan in the top 3 recommended fans from SPCR !

How people is doing to use them if they have 4 pin headers on their motherboards ??

joe123 · Post by **joe123** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 4:21 pm

How people is doing to use them if they have 4 pin headers on their motherboards ??

You can plug in a 3-pin fan connector into a four pin fan header.

sebmex · Post by **sebmex** » Sun Oct 28, 2007 1:57 am

ok, that I knew but then they are not regulating the speed depending on CPU temperature ??

they just take full thrust of the vents with the full noise ?