Stock fans a bit too loud on idle

[sniip]

Hi guys, just got my new Fractal design Define C TG case. I love it and the ease to build in it. My only concern now is it's idle acustics... It sounds too loud for me with the stock fans... I was wondering would there be a difference if I'd change to something like Be Quiet Pure Wings 2? Because looking at the specs both Be Quiet and Fractal design fans are about 18dB...

[Himommies]

Just change the Fan Curve in BIOS

[manikyath]

change the fan curve, they're probably spinning much faster than they need to.

[Connor Price]

You can change the fan curve in the BIOS, or by using software such as speedfan. 

[sniip]

41 minutes ago, manikyath said:

change the fan curve, they're probably spinning much faster than they need to.

Can I really change the fan curve on 3pin fans?

[manikyath]

1 hour ago, sniip said:

Can I really change the fan curve on 3pin fans?

uh.. yes? if you cant, you just bought the worst motherboard in existance.

[sniip]

4 minutes ago, manikyath said:

uh.. yes? if you cant, you just bought the worst motherboard in existance.

It's not a new Mobo, it's quite an old PC. Gigabyte Z77-d3h

[sniip]

2 hours ago, Connor Price said:

You can change the fan curve in the BIOS, or by using software such as speedfan. 

Can I even control 3 pin fans on my gigabyte z77x-d3h mobo? because I can't find how, fans are still spinning at max speed

[Connor Price]

The fan control on my BIOS doesn't work at all, so I use speedfan. And yes, you can control 3 pin fans. Speedfan is a bit annoying to get working, but basically you need to click on configure, head over to advanced, select the chip from the drop down menu (mine's the first one that shows up and it's Nuvoton. Not sure if it'll be the same for you, but there'll be a bunch of ones like HD0, ACPI and your GPU. Just select the one that isn't those basically) and then you'll see a few PWM modes. One will be your case fans, the other your CPU cooler. I have a third one that seems to do nothing, which might differ for you. To differentiate between which one is your CPU cooler and your case fans, just set one to manual and try changing the fan speed. If the case fans change speed, you got it. If not, set it back to the auto setting (Smart Fan IV for me) and try the other one. 

 

Sorry if this is an awful explanation, but it's quite hard to explain well. If you can't follow it, I can take screenshots and upload them for you. 

[sniip]

1 hour ago, Connor Price said:

The fan control on my BIOS doesn't work at all, so I use speedfan. And yes, you can control 3 pin fans. Speedfan is a bit annoying to get working, but basically you need to click on configure, head over to advanced, select the chip from the drop down menu (mine's the first one that shows up and it's Nuvoton. Not sure if it'll be the same for you, but there'll be a bunch of ones like HD0, ACPI and your GPU. Just select the one that isn't those basically) and then you'll see a few PWM modes. One will be your case fans, the other your CPU cooler. I have a third one that seems to do nothing, which might differ for you. To differentiate between which one is your CPU cooler and your case fans, just set one to manual and try changing the fan speed. If the case fans change speed, you got it. If not, set it back to the auto setting (Smart Fan IV for me) and try the other one. 

 

Sorry if this is an awful explanation, but it's quite hard to explain well. If you can't follow it, I can take screenshots and upload them for you. 

I tried to do as you said, but only one of the fans listened... I can control front fan and CPU fan but not the back one...

[sniip]

1 hour ago, Connor Price said:

The fan control on my BIOS doesn't work at all, so I use speedfan. And yes, you can control 3 pin fans. Speedfan is a bit annoying to get working, but basically you need to click on configure, head over to advanced, select the chip from the drop down menu (mine's the first one that shows up and it's Nuvoton. Not sure if it'll be the same for you, but there'll be a bunch of ones like HD0, ACPI and your GPU. Just select the one that isn't those basically) and then you'll see a few PWM modes. One will be your case fans, the other your CPU cooler. I have a third one that seems to do nothing, which might differ for you. To differentiate between which one is your CPU cooler and your case fans, just set one to manual and try changing the fan speed. If the case fans change speed, you got it. If not, set it back to the auto setting (Smart Fan IV for me) and try the other one. 

 

Sorry if this is an awful explanation, but it's quite hard to explain well. If you can't follow it, I can take screenshots and upload them for you. 

also just noticed in BIOS that system fan 2 (rear fan that I cannot control with fanspeed)  is running at 1260RPM (it's max speed is 1200RPM) and the front fan is half that...

[sniip]

2 hours ago, Connor Price said:

The fan control on my BIOS doesn't work at all, so I use speedfan. And yes, you can control 3 pin fans. Speedfan is a bit annoying to get working, but basically you need to click on configure, head over to advanced, select the chip from the drop down menu (mine's the first one that shows up and it's Nuvoton. Not sure if it'll be the same for you, but there'll be a bunch of ones like HD0, ACPI and your GPU. Just select the one that isn't those basically) and then you'll see a few PWM modes. One will be your case fans, the other your CPU cooler. I have a third one that seems to do nothing, which might differ for you. To differentiate between which one is your CPU cooler and your case fans, just set one to manual and try changing the fan speed. If the case fans change speed, you got it. If not, set it back to the auto setting (Smart Fan IV for me) and try the other one. 

 

Sorry if this is an awful explanation, but it's quite hard to explain well. If you can't follow it, I can take screenshots and upload them for you. 

Ok... I think I found out why... Apparently my mobo sys fan 1 header is meant to control 3pin fan... others are meant for 4pin PWM fans. Is there any way I can plug 2 fans to one header by using a Y splitter ?  Or is it not safe to plug 2 fans using Y splitter to one mobo header?

[flibberdipper]

31 minutes ago, sniip said:

Ok... I think I found out why... Apparently my mobo sys fan 1 header is meant to control 3pin fan... others are meant for 4pin PWM fans. Is there any way I can plug 2 fans to one header by using a Y splitter ?  Or is it not safe to plug 2 fans using Y splitter to one mobo header?

You could plug quite a few fans into one header so long as they don't draw too much power. Like my motherboard's limit seems to be at around 1A.

[sniip]

37 minutes ago, tmcclelland455 said:

You could plug quite a few fans into one header so long as they don't draw too much power. Like my motherboard's limit seems to be at around 1A.

Sadly I didn't find any info about my mobo fan header max Amps. Altho I would be using 2x Fractal design Dynamic X2 GP-12 fans which use 0.18A each. Would I still be able to control both of them using speedfan while using Y splitter?

[WoodenMarker]

5 hours ago, sniip said:

Can I even control 3 pin fans on my gigabyte z77x-d3h mobo? because I can't find how, fans are still spinning at max speed

Yes. For 3pin fans, use the sys_fan1/3 headers if you have revision 1.0 of the motherboard. For 1.1, use sys_fan1. 

41 minutes ago, sniip said:

Sadly I didn't find any info about my mobo fan header max Amps. Altho I would be using 2x Fractal design Dynamic X2 GP-12 fans which use 0.18A each. Would I still be able to control both of them using speedfan while using Y splitter?

You might be able to control the fans depending on the header but both fans will run at the same speed if you use a splitter. 

[flibberdipper]

2 hours ago, sniip said:

Sadly I didn't find any info about my mobo fan header max Amps. Altho I would be using 2x Fractal design Dynamic X2 GP-12 fans which use 0.18A each. Would I still be able to control both of them using speedfan while using Y splitter?

I would actually be worried if your board couldn't power two of those off one header (realistically you could probably do 3 or 4 off one header, if it's like my board)

 

And obviously keep in mind that they'll both run at the same speed for the obvious reason that they'd both be getting the same voltage.

[sniip]

7 hours ago, tmcclelland455 said:

I would actually be worried if your board couldn't power two of those off one header (realistically you could probably do 3 or 4 off one header, if it's like my board)

 

And obviously keep in mind that they'll both run at the same speed for the obvious reason that they'd both be getting the same voltage.

looking at what is now that one fan is 2x faster than another I want them to spin at the same RPM. I will probably place them both for intake and lower their RPM so they wouldn't be so audible and buy a PWM fan for the rear. Thanks for help.

[Connor Price]

1 hour ago, sniip said:

looking at what is now that one fan is 2x faster than another I want them to spin at the same RPM. I will probably place them both for intake and lower their RPM so they wouldn't be so audible and buy a PWM fan for the rear. Thanks for help.

I'm controlling 3 fans off one header with a Y splitter, and 2 fans off another header with a Y splitter. Unless you're using some very voltage hungry fans, you'll be fine.