Newbie asks simple K7S5A questions

[OlderThanDirt]

Ok-I finally got the K7S5A (after surviving the VikingComputer wars - see HERE). I'm about to install it.

Question 1
I also have an Antec P303X power supply with a small connector with two wires (black and white) called a "Fan Signal Connector". Is there a place on the K7S5A for this to connect to?

Questions 2
The BIOS description in the manual describes a BIOS setup page called "Hardware Monitor Page" showing voltages, fan speeds, and CPU/case temperatures.
--Do I use this page to see the values of the voltages, speeds and temperatures?
--Do I need to buy some special sensors or are they built in to the board?
--Will a program like Motherboard Monitor work with this board?

Question 3
My case relies on the power supply fan for cooling. In a non-overclocked setup will this suffice?


Thanks all

 

[DAPUNISHER]

<< Question 1
I also have an Antec P303X power supply with a small connector with two wires (black and white) called a "Fan Signal Connector". Is there a place on the K7S5A for this to connect to? >>

9. How do I connect the Power LED?

If you're reading this question, is because you realized that your case has a 3 pin LED connector and the K7S5A has a 2 pin header. This is a common occurrence, since case manufacturers around the world, use different connectors. There's two easy ways of getting around this problem. One is to use some scissors and cut the LED connector in half, since only the end sides have cables connected to them. Just connect each part to one of the board pins. The other thing you can do is use a needle and push out one of the cables from inside the plastic hole. You'll see that the fine cable ends in a metal pin, just stick the metal pin into the middle hole of the connector. After that you can hook it up to the board, leaving a little bit of plastic sticking to the side.


<< Questions 2
The BIOS description in the manual describes a BIOS setup page called "Hardware Monitor Page" showing voltages, fan speeds, and CPU/case temperatures.
--Do I use this page to see the values of the voltages, speeds and temperatures?
--Do I need to buy some special sensors or are they built in to the board?
--Will a program like Motherboard Monitor work with this board? >>

MBM5 works fine, I use

CPUcool
<< Question 3
My case relies on the power supply fan for cooling. In a non-overclocked setup will this suffice? >>

Just watch your temps but it should be O.K. depending on your HS/F and CPU but watch the temps and if the CPU temp(Temp3 in CPUcool) goes =or+ than 55C you need to improve your cooling solution.
for any more questions, look Here first.

 

[hwstock]

<< Question 1 >>

I pass on 1; I plugged the main case fan into the "SYS FAN;" on my 3 other builds, that fan only turns on when the mainboard temp exceeds a setpoint, and thus the power to the fan is controlled by the motherboard. I presumed the same here, but the manual sure is thin on that point!



<< Questions 2
The BIOS description in the manual describes a BIOS setup page called "Hardware Monitor Page" showing voltages, fan speeds, and CPU/case temperatures.
--Do I use this page to see the values of the voltages, speeds and temperatures?
--Do I need to buy some special sensors or are they built in to the board?
--Will a program like Motherboard Monitor work with this board? >>



The sensors are built-in. CPUCool certainly sees the temperatures at sensors in 3 zones, including the CPU (CPUCool runs under windows). I've never used Motherboard Monitor. The BIOS page is rather inconvenient, since you'll never be able to see temperatures under a full computational load when you use the BIOS.



<< Question 3
My case relies on the power supply fan for cooling. In a non-overclocked setup will this suffice? >>



That probably depends on what else is in the system, and if you have enough open space for flow channels or large convection cells to develop. I have an athlon XP 1600+, 1 GB DDR, a Travan 5 tape drive, a 20 GB WD 7200 rpm hard drive, a floppy, CD drive, and a 16 MB ATI Xpert -- a low-end graphics card that does not produce a lot of heat. I don't have a single PCI card, as I'm using the on-board sound and LAN. The only fans that are on all the time are the PSU and CPU fan (the stock, AMD retail-box fan). Without overclocking, the highest CPU temp I've seen was 51C (in an FPU/memory/SSE-intensive calculation that put CPU usuage to 99.5%). Because of the yawning cavern by my PCI slots, the system cools well by natural convection.

To start, you can always try your two fans, and simply monitor the temperatures. If you aren't satisfied, you can pop a cheap system fan in the front cage, and if you want it on all the time, use an adapter to plug it into one of the PSU plugs (instead of the mboard fan connector).

 

[OlderThanDirt]

Thanks, Punisher

Let me clarify the first question. I'm confused about just what the purpose of the those two wores coming out of the power supply is.

Is it power to a fan, or some sort of signal relating to fan speed to be used by the Mboard?

Once I use MBM or CPUCool, do I need to buy/install any additional hardware (i.e., sensors for Temp or speed)?

I'll look at the OCWorkbench FAQ.

 

[GraveJoKer]

<< OlderThanDirt >>



<< I also have an Antec P303X power supply with a small connector with two wires (black and white) called a "Fan Signal Connector". Is there a place on the K7S5A for this to connect to? >>



I think you have got a valid question!! I am also facing the same problem.. Though I have an Antec PP412X PS..
and ECS K7S5A mobo..

Now where's that the small connector go?? Or can it be left unconnected??

 

[OlderThanDirt]

Thanks, hwstock

I'd wondered about the sensors. I'll just try MBM or CPUCool and see what happens. And, same for the temp. My system is lightly loaded now, but, of course, I've got big plans. . . . .

When you use CPUCool, do you see anything that corresponds to your main case fan speed?

 

[OlderThanDirt]

Hi GraveJoKer

My theory is:
Since the SYSFAN connector on the mboard has 3 connectors, one must be a signal back from the fan about its speed. The two wires from the Antec are just that signal and ground. So, I just need to figure which is which, and the mboard will think its getting a signal from a case fan and give me a reading of power supply fan speed.

But, I'd better get the board up and running first.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Sorry I should have read Q1 more closely I'm not sure where that connector belongs on the K7S5A(I don't believe it supports that function), try asking over at OCworkbench in the ECS forum someone will know. Also, CPUcool will let you custom configure your fans, temps, ect. and lets you overclock from the FSB, I use it and I'm running 1.4 T-Bird@1.54(146.6FSB) using CPUcool.

 

[GraveJoKer]

OlderThanDirt..
Lemme know what happened

 

[GraveJoKer]

But I think that 2 wires mean only a +ve and -ve signal!! and not the fan speed signal.
That way the mobo can control that the fan switches on with the Power-up.

I maybe wrong.

 

[billyjak]

CPU Cool will monitor any 3 pin fan connected on the motherboard and show you the temp.
For example your video Card fan connected to the MBoard will show you it's temp.
Your CPU connected to the MBoard will show you your temp and you can choose to shutdown the system if it goes above what you specify.
Temp readings are more important than the rotation readings as they work proportionate to the temp.
Your main concern would be the tempature readings as they will tell you how good your fan is working.You can monitor up to 7 fans.
CPU Cool also has an Athlon when IDLE state that will reduce your CPU temps dramatically, Mine stays around 33C, without CPU Cool I run about 39C normal.
Also has memmory refresh rates that you can set to refresh your ram without rebooting.
I run an extra case fan hooked to my motherbard to monitor my cooling, with my video and CPU.
It will show you on the taskbar what the temp is at all times.

 

[hwstock]

<<
When you use CPUCool, do you see anything that corresponds to your main case fan speed? >>



There is a single fan speed display that one can switch on; it seems to be just the CPU fan. The other fan options are grayed out in my (registered) copy.

I've tried to find out more about the K75SA SYSFAN, and how it ties to the sensor setpoints, but the manual is very sparse. A dejanews (google group) search turned up a few USENET messages, but they were in German or Norwegian, and appeared to be questions.

I've used the Intel ActiveMonitor on my D850GB board, and it reports 2 fan speeds, of the three that plug into the mobo (one for CPU, one for SYSFAN, one for the memory region). The setpoint on the Intel board can be changed; the SYSFAN is currently at 50C, and since that region rarely gets above about 30C, the fan has never come on. Th D850GB is far more sophisticated in the monitoring end, but then it costs twice as much.