ga-p55m-ud2 and 12V system fan starting issue

[zeb]

Hi,

I have bought a ga-p55m-ud2 motherboard and am very happy with it, except for only one issue. On my case I have a 12V 120mm case fan (3-pin), which I plugged to the SYSFAN connector on the motherboard as described in the doc. The issue is that although the SYSFAN connector should provide up to 12V (according to the doc), the fan does not start.

If I blow on or spin the fan, however, it starts and stays low speed (~400-500 rpm). It seems that the SYSFAN voltage is regulated according to temperature, and only provides 5V at start, which is not sufficient to start the fan (but once the fan has started, it can be maintained at low speed with this voltage). This is a well known issue for many 12V fans: they can run under low voltage, but cannot be started with only 5V.

What the motherboard should do, is provide 12V during POST, then reduce voltage subsequently, depending on temperature. Could this be fixed in a future bios release ? I have sent the same question to the Gigabyte support (Gigabyte Technical Service), but did not get any answer. Maybe some Gigabyte official could forward this request or give me a solution ?

Thanks a lot in advance.

[warren300]

Re: ga-p55m-ud2 and 12V system fan starting issue

i dont think the system fans are pwm controlled only the cpu fan is thats why its four pin,are you trying to plug in a 3pin fan into a four pin socket?ifso you have to plug it in far left leaving one pin on the right unused

[zeb]

Re: ga-p55m-ud2 and 12V system fan starting issue

i dont think the system fans are pwm controlled only the cpu fan is thats why its four pin,are you trying to plug in a 3pin fan into a four pin socket?ifso you have to plug it in far left leaving one pin on the right unused

Hi Warren.

Thanks for your quick answer.

The SYSFAN is four pin too, but my case fan is three pins. The schema on the doc shows for the SYSFAN socket as follows:

[ . . . . ] 1

Pin 1: GND
2: +12V / Control
3: Sense
4: Reserved

Indeed, I plugged the fan to the most right actually (Pins 1-3). You say I should do plug from far left (pins 2-4) ?

Thanks.

[warren300]

Re: ga-p55m-ud2 and 12V system fan starting issue

ive just looked at my manual it doesnt say how to connect 3pin to 4pin socket but i know ive done it and it works it just doesnt allow pwm control,it wont hurt anything if you try far left as the #1 pin is a ground wire,the fan will either spin up or not...left side means using pins #1-3

[zeb]

Re: ga-p55m-ud2 and 12V system fan starting issue

I'll try it, thanks a lot.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: ga-p55m-ud2 and 12V system fan starting issue

I think you are using SYS_FAN 2 right, not SYS_Fan, correct?

Just want to check to be sure, SYS_FAN 2 is ALWAYS slow or non functional, they are trying to correct this with new BIOS PWM user accessible adjustments.

For now I advise you to either set Voltage in the BIOS instead of PWM as something this can help, or move that fan to another header especially if it is indeed on SYS_FAN 2.

3 pin fans are fine on 4 pin headers, but it is best to them set Voltage in thew BIOS. They (3 pin fans) can only be installed onto these headers (4 pin) one way, due to the plastic alignment key on the board header, so I am sure you installed it right.

[zeb]

Re: ga-p55m-ud2 and 12V system fan starting issue

I think you are using SYS_FAN 2 right, not SYS_Fan, correct?

Just want to check to be sure, SYS_FAN 2 is ALWAYS slow or non functional, they are trying to correct this with new BIOS PWM user accessible adjustments.

Hi,

GA-P55M-UD2 only offers one SYS_FAN connector (this is a microATX board) and one CPU_FAN socket. It might be that SYS_FAN on this board is equivalent to SYS_FAN2 on other (full-size?) boards and bears the same issue than the one you describe. If so, I hope they will correct this in the future bios release.

Regarding the socket orientation, you are right, there is only one way to connect the fan plug. Anyway, the colour of wires confirms this, it would not be appropriate to connect any other way. I do not remember there was a way to regulate SYS_FAN voltage in the bios, but I'll check again.

Many thanks.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: ga-p55m-ud2 and 12V system fan starting issue

Ahh yes, it very well could be the same then like you thought. They are rolling out PWM Slope user accessible options int he BIOSes now, not sure when/if it will reach this model though.

Easytune will allow you to adjust fan speeds, in the last tab, if you can set BIOS options for them, if not you may not be able to use this feature.

[zeb]

Re: ga-p55m-ud2 and 12V system fan starting issue

Ahh yes, it very well could be the same then like you thought. They are rolling out PWM Slope user accessible options int he BIOSes now, not sure when/if it will reach this model though.

Easytune will allow you to adjust fan speeds, in the last tab, if you can set BIOS options for them, if not you may not be able to use this feature.

I am not a Windows user, so the software solution is not good for me. However, I'll keep an eye on the new firmware. A new beta bios has been made available two days ago, but I do not know if it includes this feature (it updates the CPU microcode). And I usually prefer to wait a little before upgrading to a beta bios.

Thank you very much for the info.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: ga-p55m-ud2 and 12V system fan starting issue

I see what you mean.. Well I will keep this thread in my notes, and when I see an update with it, or find out when/if this board will get the update I will PM you and post here.

I will check that latest release and see if I can see the BIOS options myself.

*EDIT*

Nope, not in the latest Beta F4f, just checked.

[SB420]

Re: ga-p55m-ud2 and 12V system fan starting issue

Im using a different mobo but had the same problems using the sys_fan2 as it was MEGA slow. Even though a BIOS has been released for my mobo to allow me to set the voltages manually (a guide needs to be written on this as i cant be the only person who doesnt understand it?) i ended up buying one of these leads as i found it to be rather handy (unless of course you use a fan controller)

http://www.akasa.com.tw/update.php?tpl=product/product.detail.tpl&no=181&type=Cables&type_sub=Fan%20Cable%20Adapters&model=AK-CB002

May be of some use/interest

[zeb]

Re: ga-p55m-ud2 and 12V system fan starting issue

Nope, not in the latest Beta F4f, just checked.

I think you meant F9f ? Anyway, thanks a lot for looking into it. I hope this will be solved soon.

[zeb]

Re: ga-p55m-ud2 and 12V system fan starting issue

i ended up buying one of these leads as i found it to be rather handy (unless of course you use a fan controller)

Akasa Thermal Solution

May be of some use/interest

Should be an excellent solution with this fan:

SilverStone Technology Co., Ltd - Designing Inspiration

Not only it is very quiet, but also it is thermally regulated. Seems great, and it exists in 120 and 80mm.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: ga-p55m-ud2 and 12V system fan starting issue

I think you meant F9f ? Anyway, thanks a lot for looking into it. I hope this will be solved soon.

Hmm, odd! No, I meant F4f, from this link

http://america.gigabyte.com.tw/FileList/BIOS/motherboard_bios_ga-p55m-ud2_f9f.exe

From this page
GA-P55M-UD2 (rev. 1.1) - GIGABYTE - Support&Download - Motherboard - BIOS

It downloads as F9f, but extracts as F4f. Can you provide me with a link to F9f that extracts as that and I will check it for you?

[zeb]

Re: ga-p55m-ud2 and 12V system fan starting issue

Hmm, odd! No, I meant F4f, from this link

http://america.gigabyte.com.tw/FileList/BIOS/motherboard_bios_ga-p55m-ud2_f9f.exe

From this page
GA-P55M-UD2 (rev. 1.1) - GIGABYTE - Support&Download - Motherboard - BIOS

It downloads as F9f, but extracts as F4f. Can you provide me with a link to F9f that extracts as that and I will check it for you?

You are right, and that does not inspire too much confidence when a beta BIOS is mislabelled! I think I'll wait a little before flashing!

Anyway, the two Asia and Asia(China) links are the F9f bios (from http://www.gigabyte.us/Support/Mothe...S&FileID=15636). The Europe link is the F4f, and the Russia link do not work. I did a md5sum on both F9f and F4f, and they are different, confirming it is not just a mislabelling. I wonder what this F4f really is. Also, it would be useful to have a more detailed info file with those BIOS.

By the way, I have revision 1.0 of the motherboard, not 1.1, but that does not affect the BIOS version I can use.

Many thanks