CPU fan randomly shutting off (reboot fixes)

[poppyq]

Ok, so when I'm playing a game for awhile my cpu fan will randomly shut off, just completely turn off and then as my system starts heating up I get pops through my speakers which alert me to this fact and I quickly shut down the system. As soon as I turn it back on the fan works again and will continue working until I play a game again for awhile.

I can't tell if this is a power or motherboard issue (or a combination of both?) I know that it isn't related to the cpu fan itself because why would a reboot fix that? (and the fact that it only shuts off while playing games) (if you have an opinion contrary to this please let me know).

System is as follows:

Giga-byte K8NS Pro
AMD 64 3200+
1GB Corsair XMS (2x512)
BFG GeForce 6800 GT
Antec TrueControl 550
(HSF is a Zalman CNP-7000)

My theories are that when I'm playing the game, the vidcard is sucking up the power and for some reason the motherboard isn't sending enough to the cpu fan header and it dies (makes no sense, but whatever). I honestly don't know what to do and whether or not I should just order a new motherboard and hope that it fixes the issue. Any input would be appreciated.

 

[MustISO]

Try using a 4 pin connector. Can you move to a different mobo header?

 

[poppyq]

The only other headers that I could see are for the power supply fan (already in use). By four pin you mean a molex connector and just hook it up to a power cable from the psu?

 

[poppyq]

Is there any chance this could be power supply related? My motherboard only shows "OK" for the voltages in BIOS (doesn't show an actual voltage reading) and I couldn't get MBM to recognize the motherboard in order to view the voltages. Is there another program i can use to monitor the voltages on my motherboard to see if maybe something is dipping too low?

 

[Navid]

I suggest that you get a digital volt meter and measure the voltage at the fan header while it is connected.
Recreate the problem and keep an eye on the meter.
What is the voltage when the fan turns off?

 

[Need4Speed]

does the mobo have some sort of smart temp like the asus k8v? it throttles the fan to keep things quit

 

[poppyq]

Originally posted by: Need4Speed
does the mobo have some sort of smart temp like the asus k8v? it throttles the fan to keep things quit

It has a "Qfan Smart Control" however this is disabled (and even if it was enabled it shouldn't completely shut off the fan, just slow it down or speed it up depending on load).

 

[poppyq]

Originally posted by: Navid
I suggest that you get a digital volt meter and measure the voltage at the fan header while it is connected.
Recreate the problem and keep an eye on the meter.
What is the voltage when the fan turns off?

The only problem with this is that it could take up to 2 hours or more before it actually shuts off, it's completely random.

 

[Need4Speed]

Originally posted by: poppyq

Originally posted by: Need4Speed
does the mobo have some sort of smart temp like the asus k8v? it throttles the fan to keep things quit

It has a "Qfan Smart Control" however this is disabled (and even if it was enabled it shouldn't completely shut off the fan, just slow it down or speed it up depending on load).

actually, the qfan on the asus shuts the fan off completely until the chip comes back up to temp.
doesnt help you though....

 

[bendixG15]

Replace the fan before u burn up something.
I should have followed that advice a few years ago when my fan was acting like yours.

 

[poppyq]

Originally posted by: bendixG15
Replace the fan before u burn up something.
I should have followed that advice a few years ago when my fan was acting like yours.

I don't see how it could possibly be the fan. If it stops working, I shut down the system and turn it back on and the fan instantly restarts. I've tried unplugging the cpu fan power from the motherboard and plugging it back in while computer is on and it doesn't restart it. Only a system power down and back on fixes it.

 

[Need4Speed]

swap the position of the PS fan and CPU fan. See if the condition persists. It's possible the CPU fan header is going ... if you attempt to draw too much power on the headers, they can burn out. Many peeps had that happen back in the day with some of the alphas with dual fans on one header.