E6600 stock fan often drops to 0 rpm. Is that normal?

[SemolinaPilchard]

I just installed an E6600 on a Gigabyte DS3 and am using the stock Intel heatsink/fan. I've got all the components running on my workbench (i.e., not in a case), where the ambient temp is ~65 deg F and the CPU temp is reported as ranging between 23 and 33 at idle or under light load.

The CPU fan often drops to 0 RPM for 1-5 seconds at a time, and then fires up again to 800-1200 rpm. Is this normal? I assumed that the fan would always be running, even when the CPU is idling. I don't want to fry my brand-spankin' new processor.''

Thanks for any advice.

 

[VinDSL]

Normal... Hrm...

Well, I heard of this before, so you aren't the first person it's happened to... so, I guess in that respect it's normal.

And, I've read that some ppl think this is normal.

However, I don't *think* it's normal.

The idea behind running fans at lower fan speed is to keep the noise down, but I don't think having them shut off is a good thing, even if it's normal.

My theory is, either the fan speed isn't set correctly in BIOS, or you have a fan that isn't starting up correctly when it's under-volted.

Anyway, I gotta run... BBL

 

[rstove02]

The DS3 comes with a "smart fan" feature enabled by default in the BIOS that adjusts fan speed based upon CPU temp. Fan speed "weirdness" is a common problem for peeps new to the DS3. Disable it in the BIOS and you will be fine.

Okay downloaded the manual the options you want to tinker with are under "PC Health Status" in the BIOS. The two fields are "Smart Fan Control Method" and "Smart Fan Control Mode". IIRC I set the Control Method to 'Disable' since my fan speed is controlled via a control knob on the outside of my case.

You can play around with those two settings till you get the results you want based upon your heatsink/fan and how you want it to behave.

 

[sbuckler]

It's fine for it to slow the fan down, as this minimises noise but if it stops then it's slowing the fan down too much. Just up the min speed the smart fan control mode lets it go at.