Fan voltage too low to start?

soup · February 13, 2015

I have a Noctua 140mm fan at the rear of my case (Define R5) this is supplied straight from the fan controller which has three settings low-medium-high (7-9-12 volts?).

Thing is, though the front fans (Fractal design 140mm, Were front and rear but I moved one so the two of them would be at the front. I thought lots of slow fans would be less noisy than a few fast ones.) will start spinning at any setting the Noctua fan will only start with the controller at the 12V setting, at other voltages the fan will 'twitch' but not start spinning, if given a flick they will run happily at the reduced voltage(s) but not start, are Noctua fans known for a high starting voltage ? Or should I go in to full blown troubleshooting mode and maybe even RMA this fan?

TL:DR Noctua fan will only start at 12V, problem?

Edited (a bit) :- To try and make reading it easier

Majestic · February 13, 2015

This is incredibly hard to read...

Noctua fans are really efficient. They should start at 5 or 7 volts.

MourningSouls · February 13, 2015

PWM fans tend to have higher starting voltages because they aren't really intended to be controlled that way.

Which fan exactly? Also, please don't use dark blue text, those of us who use the dark theme can't read it very easily.

soup · February 14, 2015

Also, please don't use dark blue text, those of us who use the dark theme can't read it very easily.

Sorry about that it was an attempt to make the post easier to understand, didn't even think of its impact on those who used a dark scheme.

Which fan is rather moot now as I power it straight from the PSU, still quiet as ....

Wife can't hear it which is the main thing (I have tinnitus so I have a constant w h o o s h i n g in my head and I can't really tell if a system is just quiet or silent [lets hear it for power LEDs])