how do you install a cooling fan

Snicker02 · 01-21-2006, 08:14 AM

hey people, my pc has been getting too hot recently ang has gone to standby mode. as i have no additional fans except the obvious was going to get a couple. before i buy them can someone please tell me where they install/plug in inside the case, and whatr i have to do afterwards. think they said three pin or 4 pin molex.
i have a biostar m7ncd motherboard if this helps. chars

ebackhus · 01-21-2006, 08:46 AM

We'll also need to know what kinda case you have. Some have pre-drilled areas for installing fan and others require a bit of home drilling.

Generally, you want the exhaust fans to be located at the top back part of the case and intakes on the sides and towards the bottom front.

**leroys1000** · 01-21-2006, 09:17 AM

Most cases have at least 1 fan mount in the front and
1 in the back.
You will want to have the 1 in the front blowing in and the 1 in
the back blowing out.
You may have to remove the front of the case to install the front fan.
The M7NCD has 1 fan header for a system fan on the board.
You can use a 3 pin connector on that for the back fan.
Get a fan with a 4 pin molex connector for the front and
connect it to the power supply.You will have to check
the fan mounts in your case for size.
Standard is 80mm(3"X3"),but also come in 120 and 90mm and
some smaller sizes.

manofsorrow · 02-12-2006, 03:39 PM

what kind of processor are you running? if your processor only has a heat sink with no fan, you may want to upgrade to a cpu cooler that has a fan. If you go to any computer store in your area that carrys alot of aftermarket computer parts they should be able to help you with this. Or of course you could liquid cool your system.

ebackhus · 02-13-2006, 08:36 AM

I hope he's not running a modern PC with no fan on the heatsink! He'd need one of the ginormous sinks to effectively remove heat otherwise. Liquid cooling right now is still a bit of a fad technique and should only be done if you don't mind the risk of a fluid leak and REALLY know what you're doing.

manofsorrow · 02-13-2006, 08:43 PM

my pentium celeron computer at 2 something ghz didnt come with a heat sink over the cpu, just one case fan to handle the cooling. I agree with you on the water cooling. I'm an instrument tech by trade and I run fluid tubing for controll systems. I guess you could say I REALLY know what I am doing considering the lines I run at work usually carry fluids under 3000psi+, as for the leak issue you can buy many products that are non-conductive the the point that they won't harm your hardware. You just have to keep your case clean to ensure that the fluid won't pick up any electrolytes from the dust.

ebackhus · 02-14-2006, 12:50 PM

I feel like hijacking the thread to talk about liquid cooling now. :p

The "newest" CPU I've seen with just a heatsink was a Pentium III @ 550. The dual P3's in my server both have fans and generate quite a bit of heat each.

manofsorrow · 02-14-2006, 09:45 PM

Im not kidding about the celeron without a fan on the heatsink. If I can dig up the old heatsink I'll post a picture of it. on a side note I also have a PIII with no fan on the heatsink, but the way dell routed a duct to carry air from the case fan directly over the heatsink was nifty in my opinion.

**forcifer** · 02-15-2006, 05:54 AM

our p3 in our old comp doesnt hav a fan, same with the p4 in my other. but mine does. i wonder if my cuzins pentium has a fan

ebackhus · 02-15-2006, 11:48 AM

Last CPU I used that had no sink OR fan was my 386. Not that it could generate much heat at 16Mhz. I've seen the Dell cooling systems. I just don't like the way that they draw air warmed by other components over the CPU.

Forci, that case should be here Thursday! I can't wait to begin working with it!!

**forcifer** · 02-15-2006, 02:29 PM

w00t that is sweet. my cousins comp is like 100 kh. it is slow, with 16 kb of ram. we use it for gaming (roller coaster tycoon lol)

01-21-2006, 08:14 AM	#1 (permalink)
Snicker02 Registered User Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 26 OS: Vista My System	how do you install a cooling fan hey people, my pc has been getting too hot recently ang has gone to standby mode. as i have no additional fans except the obvious was going to get a couple. before i buy them can someone please tell me where they install/plug in inside the case, and whatr i have to do afterwards. think they said three pin or 4 pin molex. i have a biostar m7ncd motherboard if this helps. chars

01-21-2006, 08:46 AM	#2 (permalink)
ebackhus Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 14,255 OS: WinXP Pro SP3/Windows 7 RTM My System Blog Entries: 28	We'll also need to know what kinda case you have. Some have pre-drilled areas for installing fan and others require a bit of home drilling. Generally, you want the exhaust fans to be located at the top back part of the case and intakes on the sides and towards the bottom front. __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

01-21-2006, 09:17 AM	#3 (permalink)
leroys1000 Tech Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 770 OS: Windows XP	Most cases have at least 1 fan mount in the front and 1 in the back. You will want to have the 1 in the front blowing in and the 1 in the back blowing out. You may have to remove the front of the case to install the front fan. The M7NCD has 1 fan header for a system fan on the board. You can use a 3 pin connector on that for the back fan. Get a fan with a 4 pin molex connector for the front and connect it to the power supply.You will have to check the fan mounts in your case for size. Standard is 80mm(3"X3"),but also come in 120 and 90mm and some smaller sizes. __________________ There is a madness to my method.

02-12-2006, 03:39 PM	#4 (permalink)
manofsorrow Registered User Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 89 OS: winxp	what kind of processor are you running? if your processor only has a heat sink with no fan, you may want to upgrade to a cpu cooler that has a fan. If you go to any computer store in your area that carrys alot of aftermarket computer parts they should be able to help you with this. Or of course you could liquid cool your system. __________________ Asus A8N-E mobo Benq light scribe dvd-rw Amd athlon x2 4400+ @ 2.8 ghz 2x 160 gig hard drives in RAID 0 array water cooled 4x 80mm case fans controlled by a Vantec controller 42" LG plasma monitor Idle temp. 28C load temp. 34C (on average) Fully sleeved etc.

02-13-2006, 08:36 AM	#5 (permalink)
ebackhus Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 14,255 OS: WinXP Pro SP3/Windows 7 RTM My System Blog Entries: 28	I hope he's not running a modern PC with no fan on the heatsink! He'd need one of the ginormous sinks to effectively remove heat otherwise. Liquid cooling right now is still a bit of a fad technique and should only be done if you don't mind the risk of a fluid leak and REALLY know what you're doing. __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

02-13-2006, 08:43 PM	#6 (permalink)
manofsorrow Registered User Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 89 OS: winxp	my pentium celeron computer at 2 something ghz didnt come with a heat sink over the cpu, just one case fan to handle the cooling. I agree with you on the water cooling. I'm an instrument tech by trade and I run fluid tubing for controll systems. I guess you could say I REALLY know what I am doing considering the lines I run at work usually carry fluids under 3000psi+, as for the leak issue you can buy many products that are non-conductive the the point that they won't harm your hardware. You just have to keep your case clean to ensure that the fluid won't pick up any electrolytes from the dust. __________________ Asus A8N-E mobo Benq light scribe dvd-rw Amd athlon x2 4400+ @ 2.8 ghz 2x 160 gig hard drives in RAID 0 array water cooled 4x 80mm case fans controlled by a Vantec controller 42" LG plasma monitor Idle temp. 28C load temp. 34C (on average) Fully sleeved etc.

02-14-2006, 12:50 PM	#7 (permalink)
ebackhus Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 14,255 OS: WinXP Pro SP3/Windows 7 RTM My System Blog Entries: 28	I feel like hijacking the thread to talk about liquid cooling now. :p The "newest" CPU I've seen with just a heatsink was a Pentium III @ 550. The dual P3's in my server both have fans and generate quite a bit of heat each. __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

02-14-2006, 09:45 PM	#8 (permalink)
manofsorrow Registered User Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 89 OS: winxp	Im not kidding about the celeron without a fan on the heatsink. If I can dig up the old heatsink I'll post a picture of it. on a side note I also have a PIII with no fan on the heatsink, but the way dell routed a duct to carry air from the case fan directly over the heatsink was nifty in my opinion. __________________ Asus A8N-E mobo Benq light scribe dvd-rw Amd athlon x2 4400+ @ 2.8 ghz 2x 160 gig hard drives in RAID 0 array water cooled 4x 80mm case fans controlled by a Vantec controller 42" LG plasma monitor Idle temp. 28C load temp. 34C (on average) Fully sleeved etc. Last edited by manofsorrow; 02-14-2006 at 09:48 PM.

02-15-2006, 05:54 AM	#9 (permalink)
forcifer Registered User Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Kansas City kansas Posts: 3,625 OS: Vista Premium 32 My System Blog Entries: 1	our p3 in our old comp doesnt hav a fan, same with the p4 in my other. but mine does. i wonder if my cuzins pentium has a fan __________________ now i remember

02-15-2006, 11:48 AM	#10 (permalink)
ebackhus Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 14,255 OS: WinXP Pro SP3/Windows 7 RTM My System Blog Entries: 28	Last CPU I used that had no sink OR fan was my 386. Not that it could generate much heat at 16Mhz. I've seen the Dell cooling systems. I just don't like the way that they draw air warmed by other components over the CPU. Forci, that case should be here Thursday! I can't wait to begin working with it!! __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

02-15-2006, 02:29 PM	#11 (permalink)
forcifer Registered User Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Kansas City kansas Posts: 3,625 OS: Vista Premium 32 My System Blog Entries: 1	w00t that is sweet. my cousins comp is like 100 kh. it is slow, with 16 kb of ram. we use it for gaming (roller coaster tycoon lol) __________________ now i remember