P35-DS4 fan problems

[nicke2323]

Re: P35-DS4 fan problems

I think some definite answer from gigabyte is in place.
Is any hope for usable PWM/Voltage CPU and SYS_FAN2 control in future BIOS and/or EasyTune? [...]

I had the same issue on my rev2.1 GA-P35C-DS3R (F10 bios), which I RMA'd last Friday due to an unrelated problem. But before that I e-mailed Gigabyte about this. Below is my question and their response, which arrived today. I can't check the CTRL-F1 thing as I am motherboardless at the moment, but think I tried that and it didn't work. I suspect they just blew me off. Can someone please confirm?


---


MY QUESTION:

Hello,

I am trying to control CPU fan speed using standard 3-pin fan connected to the CPU fan header on my rev 2.1 motherboard. According to the manual (page 51), there is supposed to be a BIOS setting called "Smart FAN Control Mode" which can be set to Voltage for control of 3-pin fans. However, I can't find this setting in my F10 BIOS.

My CPU fan is currently running at full speed and is unbearably loud. Changing settings in Easytune has no effect on fan speed. How am I supposed to control fan speed on my motherboard?

Thank you!


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Model Name : GA-P35C-DS3R(rev. 2.1)
--------------------------
M/B Rev : 2.1
BIOS Ver : F10
Serial No. :
Purchase Dealer :
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VGA Brand : Nvidia Model : 8800GT
CPU Brand : Intel Model : E8400 Speed : 3.0 GHz
Operation System : Win XP SP : 2
Memory Brand : Corsair Type : DDRII
Memory Size : 4 GB Speed :
Power Supply : 420 W




GIGABYTE'S RESPONSE:

Hi,
To see all advanced settings in the BIOS you should first press CTRL+F1 at the main BIOS menu.
Recommended BIOS settings for fan control:
4pin fan connector (on the fan): use PWM or Voltage
3pin fan connector (on the fan): use Voltage

From what I can see there have been some problems reported with speed control on 3-pin fans and some CPU models. If that is the case for you, then it it hopefully solved with the next BIOS release for this motherboard - I do not know when this will be released, so you should check the BIOS page for this motherboard for any update. You might want to try using a 4-pin fan for speed control.

Best Regards,
===========================
Technical Support Team
Gigabyte Technology
===========================

[va00]

Re: P35-DS4 fan problems

Same issue with newest GA-EP35-DS3 and BIOS F2.
Installed an Arctic Cooling 120mm PWM fan, plugged it into SYS_FAN2 and fan didn't start.
What is the use of having a connection on the motherboard for a PWM-fan if the connection doesn't work???

Have you tried SpeedFan? On my P35-DS4 I have disabled automatic fan speed in BIOS, changed PWM mode to "Software controlled" in SpeedFan/Configure/Advanced/IT8718F and now I'm getting full range of speeds on my Scythe Kama 120mm PWM fan connected to SYS_FAN2.

[xit2050]

Re: P35-DS4 fan problems

P35-DS3R F11 has the same problem. In SYS_FAN2 arctic cooling 120mm PWM fan and many many other 120mm fans cant run.

Same issue with newest GA-EP35-DS3 and BIOS F2.
Installed an Arctic Cooling 120mm PWM fan, plugged it into SYS_FAN2 and fan didn't start.
What is the use of having a connection on the motherboard for a PWM-fan if the connection doesn't work???

[va00]

Re: P35-DS4 fan problems

I think some definite answer from gigabyte is in place.
Is any hope for usable PWM/Voltage CPU and SYS_FAN2 control in future BIOS and/or EasyTune?
Even linear PWM control for both of these fans is usable,
but i'm pretty sure that user-adjusted non-linear response of fan speed is not beyond ability of BIOS programmers.

Is this really too much we want? Two PWM fans user-controlled by the motherboard was obviously intended (and advertised) by gigabyte, but none of them works now (F11 bios).

Or maybe we could give up and buy fan controller,
and gigabyte might remove useless fan connectors
and lower price instead?

[Rewl]

Re: P35-DS4 fan problems

Do you need to disable the automatic fan control in bios in order to use speedfan?

[szympek]

Re: P35-DS4 fan problems

P35-DS3R F11 has the same problem. In SYS_FAN2 arctic cooling 120mm PWM fan and many many other 120mm fans cant run. Fans are dead until windows will not be uploaded and started up SPEEDFAN. SPEEDFAN can adjust this fan to 90% nominal speed. But many people dont use SPEEDFAN or use linux system. I think voltage is to low on SYS_FAN2 and fan can't start. Please fix it.

[Dutchmm]

Re: P35-DS4 fan problems

I think maybe I am seeing the same problem as Va00. I upgraded yesterday to F11, and now my CPU fan speed has increased considerably. Previously, with F6 or F7, the idle speed was around 400 rpm, and the load speed around 900. Now, with Smart Fan Control Method set to Auto, the speed is constantly around 1150 rpm, which is nearly the maximum for my S-Flex 1200. Has any one any experience of setting to Legacy? I like the cool temperatures you get at these speeds, but I prefer the quiet I had before. Oh yes, and as I use linux instead of Windows, EasyTune is not an option.

[va00]

Re: P35-DS4 fan problems

I also have annoying problems with PWM fans. CPU fan
speed can be adjusted using EasyTune, but since bios F8
is seems that I cant go below some threshold value
and fan always spins at approx. 40% duty or above , regardles of SmartFan settings. Behavior of SYS_FAN2 connector
is beyond user control, and therefore useless. A have also noticed, as others, that fan connected to SYS_FAN2 never reach full speed.

Actually, I expected full control over all fans. In reality
we got only poor control (linear) of the CPU fan speed.

[Rewl]

Re: P35-DS4 fan problems

Since many issues seem to be finally fixed with F11 Bios, i think it's time to bump up the issue with Sys Fan 2 again.
Fans plugged to this connector don't get enough power, i recently tested with a regular 3-pin 8cm fan under F11:

Sys 2 : 1900 rpm
Sys 1 : 2700 rpm
(i tried a pwm fan too, that one didn't even start to spin)

So i thought it might be controlled by the Bios, but that's not the case, same speed under load and idle.
Since it's also 4-pin PWM, i'm thinking this connector is actually supposed to be controlled by the Bios but has been omitted in the bios-programming.
(i don't get why so many companies slack on the bios/firmware programming, it's sometimes a difference of only 2 minutes worktime, what's that compared to developing a whole motherboard?)

I know i can just abandon it and connect directly to Power Supply or NorthBridge connector, i do however like to monitor the speeds.

[ichigoo]

Re: P35-DS4 fan problems

Yeah, same here. Good thing my arctic cooling pwm case fan comes with this PWM sharing thing... so both are connected to CPU_FAN and are controlled by smartfan.

I ended up abandoning SYS FAN 2 and running my four Nexus 120mm fans off the two three-pin fan headers with the help of Y-cables. I use two FanMate 2's to control speed. It works nicely, but I did have to reroute my cables.

[tima092384]

Re: P35-DS4 fan problems

I agree with you whole heartedly. Not sure why the support here is less than adequate, however in Gigabyte's defense, most all motherboard manufacturer's support is less than acceptable. Must be something to do with the quantity of boards sold and the number of things that can go wrong with them. When you have numerous people with this problem, RMA's aren't going to help. I'm going to try and use the power supply fan connector and see how that works since my power supply doesn't physically use it as it has it's own internal fan speed sensor.

JR

I ended up abandoning SYS FAN 2 and running my four Nexus 120mm fans off the two three-pin fan headers with the help of Y-cables. I use two FanMate 2's to control speed. It works nicely, but I did have to reroute my cables.

[jriker1]

Re: P35-DS4 fan problems

Counting my recent thread, " GA-P35-DS4 Rev 2 has poor fan control", this makes two reports of SYS FAN 2 not supplying adequate power. I think it's unlikely this problem will be solved by RMA. It seems more likely that a BIOS fix is in order. At least the F9 BIOS fixed the failure of the CPU fan to spin up, and like the SYS FAN 2 header, the CPU fan header is 4-pin PWM. I'm well aware there is no BIOS setting to control SYS FAN 2, but that doesn't mean the BIOS isn't the common problem here.

I agree with you whole heartedly. Not sure why the support here is less than adequate, however in Gigabyte's defense, most all motherboard manufacturer's support is less than acceptable. Must be something to do with the quantity of boards sold and the number of things that can go wrong with them. When you have numerous people with this problem, RMA's aren't going to help. I'm going to try and use the power supply fan connector and see how that works since my power supply doesn't physically use it as it has it's own internal fan speed sensor.

JR

[tima092384]

Re: P35-DS4 fan problems

If you think it is a hardware issue
you can RMA it

Thank You

Counting my recent thread, " GA-P35-DS4 Rev 2 has poor fan control", this makes two reports of SYS FAN 2 not supplying adequate power. I think it's unlikely this problem will be solved by RMA. It seems more likely that a BIOS fix is in order. At least the F9 BIOS fixed the failure of the CPU fan to spin up, and like the SYS FAN 2 header, the CPU fan header is 4-pin PWM. I'm well aware there is no BIOS setting to control SYS FAN 2, but that doesn't mean the BIOS isn't the common problem here.

[GIGABYTE - Janus Yeh]

Re: P35-DS4 fan problems

If you think it is a hardware issue
you can RMA it

Thank You

[jriker1]

Re: P35-DS4 fan problems

set your fan speed by ET5？

I have fan speed knobs. I overclock and do not want the system trying to figure out the right fan speed for my various overclocks. Don't beat around the issue. Something is wrong with that second auxilary fan connector. It is providing limited power to that connector which is causing the fan so spin slower than it should. None of the other connections do that.