Reduce fan speed - wire switch?

[RedWolf]

I read somewhere (can't find it now, of course) that you can reduce the speed of your fan by switching some wires. I have the fan connected to the 3pin motherboard header. Does anyone have any information on this? Can it be done with the 3pin header?


Reason: I have a Super Orb that I was using on a mildly overclocked XP. I got a new hsf for that and moved the super orb to a new duron 950 that I bought (got rid of celeron 300a). The 950 is sitting in the living room by the tv and it is quite loud. Too loud. I'd like to quiet it but the super orb won't really take another fan and I'd rather not buy a new hsf.

 

[bil]

From 7volts.com:

"How do you get 7 volts out of the 12 and 5 volts supplied by the Yellow Black Black Red Molex connector you ask? You use the yellow 12v wire as the power connector to the fan and use the red 5v connector as the fan ground. The fan sees the potential difference between the 12v and the 5v so is run at 7 volts. Fans can be run at 5v but some will fail to start and air flow is low. 7v is a 40% improvement over 5v. "

I did this for my 7200 rpm fan on my volcano 6cu+ and it really quieted things down. Make sure your fan specs state it will start at 7v, if not you'll have a toasty cpu.

 

[oldfart]

You can also use Speedfan if your mobo supports it. You can set any speed you like, even have fan rpm automatically controlled based on temp readings!

 

[RedWolf]

Thanks. I saw a post about speedfan in another thread. Downloaded it but it doesn't support my motherboard. I do like it, though. Self-configures itself and gives you some good info.

 

[oldfart]

Do the 7 volt trick then.