Case fans setup

My cousin finally decided to upgrade his rig (with a little nudge from me 😁). He was dealing with some old FM1 setup ( 🙂 🙂 ) featuring a GTX 1650, a fresh power supply, and an A6 3670 k.
He didn't have a single fan installed, so we picked up two Arctic AF120s at Lynx (though I just realized one of them is defective—the blades are tilted and wobbling in the mount, scraping against the edge 🙂). I'll be using Searcher to look into a replacement, but moving on.
Here's the dilemma: my motherboard has two fan headers. One is 3-pin and the other is 4-pin. Now, I know that 4th pin is usually for speed control, right?
So, does that mean the 3-pin one will always run at max RPM? Is that a safe assumption?
Also, since these fans actually have 3-pin connectors, does that mean the one plugged into the 4-pin header will also just run at full blast regardless of how hot the PC gets? Or will the speed regulate itself based on temperature?
Furthermore, do you think he should grab one more fan to mount on the side panel and plug into a Molex connector? That would definitely keep it running at 100% all the time, wouldn't it?
Side question: after playing Witcher for a few hours, the GTX 1650 tends to climb close to 80°C, which feels about 5-6 degrees too high to me. Am I wrong? I'm HOPING these fans fix it, because when we opened the side panel, it usually stayed under 71°C.

You can control fans in two ways: through voltage or via PWM. If you've got a 4-pin connector, it means it supports PWM control.

Now, some motherboards might allow voltage control on 3-pin connectors, while others can handle both PWM and voltage on the 4-pin ones. Looking at the manual for that A75M-HVS, it seems you can only adjust the speed for Chassis fan 1 in the BIOS. Even then, it'll probably only work if the fan is 4-pin/PWM capable since there isn't an option to toggle between PWM and voltage control. You could try, but I guess a 3-pin fan will likely just run at 100% all the time.

Ideally, you’d put one intake fan in the front and one exhaust fan in the back. Side fans usually do more harm than good—they mess with the airflow, and if the case is cheap, the whole side panel might vibrate and rattle. Just stick to two for now.

If you don't want them running at full blast, your best bet is to grab a fan controller or wire them to a Molex connector and try tapping into the 5V or 7V lines.

http://forum.pcekspert.com/showthread.php?t=22347

My suggestion is to invest in some higher-quality fans; it solves the noise issue and prevents headaches down the road. Currently, my setup uses three: 2 x Thermal Grizzly and one MS fan that likely came bundled with the case. It’s nearly silent, just a very faint hum. Previously, I was running a SickleFlow, which was a disaster—it sounded like ten fans were spinning at once, though I'll admit the airflow was better, if you're into that sort of thing. These Thermal Grizzly fans cost about $20 each, so they were definitely worth it. Why do I recommend this approach? Because you won't have to constantly fiddle with settings, and even at max RPM, they are barely audible.
Some graphics cards can hit peak temperatures of 90 or 95°C, so in my opinion, everything is perfectly fine as long as it stays under 80°C. My MSI 970 shows 80°C on the display, but it can certainly go higher without causing any actual damage.

fadedorca66 said:You can control fans in two ways: through voltage or via PWM. If you've got a 4-pin connector, it means it supports PWM control.

Now, some motherboards might allow voltage control on 3-pin connectors, while others can handle both PWM and voltage on the 4-pin ones. Looking at the manual for that A75M-HVS, it seems you can only adjust the speed for Chassis fan 1 in the BIOS. Even then, it'll probably only work if the fan is 4-pin/PWM capable since there isn't an option to toggle between PWM and voltage control. You could try, but I guess a 3-pin fan will likely just run at 100% all the time.

Ideally, you’d put one intake fan in the front and one exhaust fan in the back. Side fans usually do more harm than good—they mess with the airflow, and if the case is cheap, the whole side panel might vibrate and rattle. Just stick to two for now.

If you don't want them running at full blast, your best bet is to grab a fan controller or wire them to a Molex connector and try tapping into the 5V or 7V lines.

http://forum.pcekspert.com/showthread.php?t=22347

So, the fans are 3-pin, which means there's zero chance of using PWM. That’s what I figured. Since the motherboard is an A75M HVS, we probably can't even control them via voltage on those 3-pin headers either, just like you said.
So, it looks like my only choice is to wire them into a Molex connector and start messing around with voltage levels—which is honestly more trouble than it's worth. Besides, the fans aren't even that loud. I really just wanted to tweak things so they wouldn't be stuck running at 100% constantly when there’s zero need for it, but it seems like that's just not happening...

I went with the front intake and rear exhaust, obviously, but I wasn't sure if adding side fans was even worth the effort. Since I'm running an MS Taurus chassis, those side slots probably won't do much anyway. Honestly, the build quality is such garbage that the metal almost buckled while I was tightening the vent screws... it's just that cheap. 😁

All things considered, I might be able to tweak the voltage for chassis fan 1 via the BIOS, though it probably won't do much. Honestly, the only real fix is just picking up a fan controller for around $20...$100Well, for the price of a single Zalman Z3, you might as well get nothing at all. 😬

One more thing—one of the fans showed up dead on arrival, so now I have to deal with a replacement. Since I already had to wait forever for these F12s to arrive here in Cleveland, the thought of doing this all over again is honestly exhausting... Given that, will this Scythe Slipstream actually do the job? It comes in versions ranging from 1200 to 2000 rpm—which one should I go with? I'm assuming the faster ones are going to be loud, so I'm really not sure...

Eric Alvarez said:My suggestion is to invest in some higher-quality fans; it solves the noise issue and prevents headaches down the road. Currently, my setup uses three: 2 x Thermal Grizzly and one MS fan that likely came bundled with the case. It’s nearly silent, just a very faint hum. Previously, I was running a SickleFlow, which was a disaster—it sounded like ten fans were spinning at once, though I'll admit the airflow was better, if you're into that sort of thing. These Thermal Grizzly fans cost about $20 each, so they were definitely worth it. Why do I recommend this approach? Because you won't have to constantly fiddle with settings, and even at max RPM, they are barely audible.
Some graphics cards can hit peak temperatures of 90 or 95°C, so in my opinion, everything is perfectly fine as long as it stays under 80°C. My MSI 970 shows 80°C on the display, but it can certainly go higher without causing any actual damage.

The fans are already bought. I'm fully aware that you can get better quality if you shell out more cash; I've always known that. But that's the whole point—it doesn't matter to me whether I spend $120 or $20, and obviously, I’d pick the more expensive option if I were buying for myself. However, I'm not the one spending the money; I'm just helping my roommate with an upgrade. He wants to spend as little as possible on an older build with a dead socket and mid-tier components.

So, thanks for the suggestion, but I was already aware of that. In this specific case, the cheaper solution is the way to go. 🙂

Alright, I’ll post this here instead of starting a new thread (sorry for the double post), but is the MSI 970 A-G43 actually any good? Could I pair an FX processor with it? After I finished upgrading my roommate's rig, his friend wants to build something too. He's currently running an Athlon X3 and a 6670 on this motherboard. I'm thinking about a GTX 1060 and some kind of FX chip—would that be doable on this board from a CPU standpoint? Also, does it have any heatsinks on the VRMov, and what's the phase regulation like?

You could probably find the answers to those last two questions with a quick two-minute Google search. 😛

It’s an Entry-level 970 board, so it’s definitely on the lower end, but it should be able to handle a 95W CPU... provided you use at least an LC-CC-95. I’d suggest waiting to buy used once Ryzen hits the market, just because prices might drop.

The GTX 1060 sounds like a solid choice. You could even grab it right now... honestly, there's going to be a massive bottleneck, but it'll still be a huge step up from the HD 6670.

EDIT: @fadedorca66 🙂

Also, just a heads up, that board is pretty mediocre. 😁 ASRock and MSI didn't exactly hit a home run with their AM3 boards, and this one isn't any different. Officially, it's supposed to support all the FX chips:

https://www.msi.com/file/test_report/TR19_2743.pdf

I'd suggest picking a more power-efficient chip and maybe try an undervolt. You should also grab a cooler that actually blows air upward instead of just dumping heat onto the VRM components like a stock cooler would—something like the LC-CC-95 or LC-CC-120 would probably be your best bet.

Plus, once Ryzen drops, those FX processors are going to be dirt cheap. I guess you could just hang tight for a few days and pick up a used one; these CPUs aren't exactly known for dying on you anyway.

EDIT: crimsonstag84 beat me to it, and I think we're on the same page.

Look, I get it, I really do. But there are just so many variables when it comes to motherboards that I’m not entirely sure about. I always prefer getting some advice first before I start jumping to conclusions. 😁 VRM and phase regulation are the two main things on my mind right now.

Alright, so maybe a used FX 8300 if one can be found, plus an undervolt and definitely an aftermarket cooler. An LC 95 or 120 would definitely fit here. I haven't asked him about his budget yet—he just mentioned he wants an upgrade. But man, I really hope the whole thing doesn't blow up if we drop an 8300 onto this board. 😬

Regarding fans—which version of the Slipstream should I grab? Are those 2000 RPM models too loud? Should I stick with the 1600 or 1200 RPM versions instead? I can't find anything concrete about them online. It actually bothers me a bit how thin they are. I'm assuming they're better since they cost more than the AC F12, but I don't know if that's necessarily true. 🤷 Or maybe there's a third option?

I tried out that CoolerMaster SickleFlow 2000 RPM, and man, even though it claims to be around 22-23dB, it’s loud as hell... seriously. I ended up just tossing it back and going with my old stock Zalman which is quiet as a mouse. I’ve got this one Zalman lying around and another one that's just a tiny bit quieter—same RPMs, but honestly, they both blow that SickleFlow out of the water. It feels like if you want decent fans that don't sound like a jet engine, you have to drop a ridiculous amount of cash. A buddy of mine has these beastly Corsairs, maybe 1200RPM, super silent but they move a massive amount of air, but they cost about $67 per unit. So yeah... there you go.

Adam Moore3 said:Alright, I’ll post this here instead of starting a new thread (sorry for the double post), but is the MSI 970 A-G43 actually any good? Could I pair an FX processor with it? After I finished upgrading my roommate's rig, his friend wants to build something too. He's currently running an Athlon X3 and a 6670 on this motherboard. I'm thinking about a GTX 1060 and some kind of FX chip—would that be doable on this board from a CPU standpoint? Also, does it have any heatsinks on the VRMov, and what's the phase regulation like?

MSI isn't really built for overclocking; you're better off with Gigabyte or ASUS. That specific board is pretty lackluster. There isn't a massive difference between an FX 6300 and an FX 8300, and since this board is weak, trying to overclock an 8300 wouldn't yield much, if it works at all. From what I can see, there are no heatsinks on them.
When looking for fans, aim for higher CFM (airflow) but lower RPMs so they stay quiet. Try to keep it under $60; that's roughly what I spent on mine.

Man, I'm looking at maybe $50$20 for those fans. Since this is a custom build, I wouldn't mind dropping $100+ on some decent cooling. It’s just an old FM1 setup I pulled together for him for $533, but honestly, you can still play some pretty solid games on it. I just need to sort out the fans because I'm not thrilled with the temps—specifically the temperature on the GTX 1650. I found THIS. They have 4-pin connectors so they work with PWM, which is great. I'm going to head back now, return the defective ones, and grab these instead.

Personally, the best money I’ve ever spent on fans was on $40, those Gentle Typhoon models—I actually have two of them running in my chassis right now. Not to jinx things, obviously, but my PC is incredibly quiet. Even with the GTX 1070, once it stays below a certain temperature and the fans hit that 0dB mode, you barely hear a thing. I just set everything to normal speed in the BIOS and called it a day...

Look, if this build were actually anything special, I’d be willing to invest more. We're talking an A6 3670 k and a GTX 1650. So 😁 Just grabbed OVO this miracle and I'm heading out to screw it together.

Btw, regarding OVO, you probably wouldn't want to pair it with something like an FX 6300 and a GTX 1060, right? It's got dual rails at 16A, but I have no clue about the actual component quality. It's a Spire unit, so I wouldn't say it's top-tier, but it doesn't look like some bottom-of-the-barrel budget series either.

You can grab some splitters on eBay that turn one fan header into two, so you could probably hook up two fans (assuming they're both PWM) to that single PWM connector.

As for the power supply, it's pretty mid-tier; it'll hold up for now, but who knows how long it'll actually last.😬

fadedorca66 said:You can grab some splitters on eBay that turn one fan header into two, so you could probably hook up two fans (assuming they're both PWM) to that single PWM connector.

As for the power supply, it's pretty mid-tier; it'll hold up for now, but who knows how long it'll actually last.😬

Actually, they aren't both the same—one is an Arctic and the other is this Scythe Slipstream PWM. As for the PSU, that was part of the build featuring the MSI 970 A-G43. I suggested he wait for the Ryzen release so he could hunt for some deals on FX 6300 processors, then pair one of those with a GTX 1060. The motherboard isn't high-end, but he's not exactly a hardcore gamer, so I think a hexa-core should do the trick for him.

One more thing... looking at the DIAGRAM ( :zubo ) below, should I mount this fan intake on the inside—meaning on the left side of the DIAGRAM ( 😬 )—or directly behind the chassis plastic on the outside? I'm assuming the left side makes more sense, since I'm not sure there's enough room on the right because of the power button wiring. 🤔

From what I can see, those types of chassis aren't even designed for the fan to pull air from the outside—it’s meant to be an internal setup.

By the way, that MSI 970 A-G43 board has quite a reputation for being pretty terrible.😬
I suspect it struggles significantly with 125w processors, though you shouldn't run into much trouble with 95w ones (though, of course, components can always just fail on their own 😬).

Regarding the power supply, on paper click it should be sufficient (you'd likely stay under 300w at full load), but it's hard to say how it performs in the real world. Regardless, it isn't high quality, and since you're pairing an FX chip with a GTX 1050Ti, you really ought to have a better safety net.

As for the temperatures on the GTX 1650, word is that these cards hit their peak heat during Witcher 3, and the lack of airflow might be making things a bit worse.

Got it installed. The cable was maybe half a centimeter too short, so I had to tear everything apart and pull the wire out from that little channel by the fan. Now it fits perfectly, just by a hair. 🍿

Honestly, man, I don't even know what to tell him. You've got a crappy motherboard and a garbage power supply; you shouldn't build anything on top of that. People just buy random junk because they don't realize the Gigabyte DS3P is basically the only decent value pick in this tier.
I told him he should aim for a used FX 6300 once Ryzen drops, paired with a GTX 1060.
That's assuming the power supply isn't total junk too. I'm guessing it'll hold up, but how long is anyone's guess. It theoretically has over 350W on the 12V rail. Theoretically. 🍿

And the 1050Ti is noticeably weaker than the 1060. I don't know, it's just a really awkward config for an upgrade...

Based on the photo I posted, there’s 392W total on the +12V rail. But honestly, you tell me if this thing is actually garbage or just slightly subpar—it’s hard to judge how much ripple and noise we're dealing with from a picture alone. That said, strictly speaking, this should be plenty of juice to handle an FX 6300 paired with an RX 470, let alone a 1050Ti.

So, what’s the draw on a 1050Ti? It pulls about 65W, which pretty much any decent power supply can handle without breaking a sweat. But the FX 6300 is a whole different beast. It pulls more than double that on average, sitting somewhere around 140-150W. Then again, the FX 6300 is significantly more powerful.
In situations like this, the best move is just being honest with the buyer. A power supply isn't something you want to skimp on; if they decide to go the higher-end route with the FX 6300, they really ought to swap out the PSU too.
That doesn't mean the current setup is going to blow up immediately, but I still wouldn't gamble on it. Same goes for the motherboard.

I can't make the decision for him. I can lay out the pros and cons and show him his options, but at the end of the day, it's his money.
It’s a tricky build to upgrade. The platform is fine, but the motherboard is right on the edge of being usable, and that generic power supply is cutting it close. What should stay and what should go? Is it worth saving money or just doing it right? 🕺

Especially now that the G4560 is an option... it feels like a waste to drop $30 on a used FX 6300 when you can grab a brand new one for $17 more.

fadedorca66 said:You can grab some splitters on eBay that turn one fan header into two, so you could probably hook up two fans (assuming they're both PWM) to that single PWM connector.

As for the power supply, it's pretty mid-tier; it'll hold up for now, but who knows how long it'll actually last.😬

Btw, Kimberly Gomez34, can you drop a link to something like that just so I can see? I can't find the exact thing; I'm not sure what keywords to use. Is it "4 pin fan header splitter"?🤔