CPU fan failure on P4 3.0 gHz (530)

Dear group,

A simple, but not so easy to solve problem I suppose...

I run the P4 processor on an Asus board (P5P800) and have switched the
intelligent fan speed thingy on. Unfortunately, the fan speed at idle is
just a few RPM's below the bios' alert threshold, causing 9 out of 10
bootup sequences to be halted for this error: CPU fan failure. The fan
is spinning though, and when busy, the fan speeds up nicely. Nothing
wrong there, it's just a mismatch between the Asus board and the
processor fan. Does this sound familiar? Any ideas on how to get rid of
this?

I have posted this message on Asus groups as well, but I thought it
might be good to give the Intel corner a chance too.

Thanks,
Gert

Gert Wiersema wrote:

Dear group,

A simple, but not so easy to solve problem I suppose...

I run the P4 processor on an Asus board (P5P800) and have switched the
intelligent fan speed thingy on. Unfortunately, the fan speed at idle is
just a few RPM's below the bios' alert threshold, causing 9 out of 10
bootup sequences to be halted for this error: CPU fan failure. The fan
is spinning though, and when busy, the fan speeds up nicely. Nothing
wrong there, it's just a mismatch between the Asus board and the
processor fan. Does this sound familiar? Any ideas on how to get rid of
this?

After doing research about this particular motherboard, one
should read the manual quite carefully as hardware decision
are based on particular motherboard or bios configuration
settings. About CPU fans, there are apparently 2 types of fans
and their default settings are different (e.g., see Page 4-33
of the manual), depending on whether the CPU fan is a 4-pin or
3-pin model. Moreover, using Q-Fan Control is, as with other
ASUS motherboards, not advised if the CPU fan has its own speed
controls that are governed by temperature.

Gert Wiersema wrote:
Dear group,

A simple, but not so easy to solve problem I suppose...

I run the P4 processor on an Asus board (P5P800) and have switched the
intelligent fan speed thingy on. Unfortunately, the fan speed at idle is
just a few RPM's below the bios' alert threshold, causing 9 out of 10
bootup sequences to be halted for this error: CPU fan failure. The fan
is spinning though, and when busy, the fan speeds up nicely. Nothing
wrong there, it's just a mismatch between the Asus board and the
processor fan. Does this sound familiar? Any ideas on how to get rid of
this?

I have posted this message on Asus groups as well, but I thought it
might be good to give the Intel corner a chance too.

Is the fan below the minimum threshhold, or didn't you set it to match
your fan? It goes down slower than I would expect a fan to run.

--
bill davidsen )
SBC/Prodigy Yorktown Heights NY data center
Project Leader, USENET news
http://newsgroups.news.prodigy.com

Is the fan below the minimum threshhold, or didn't you set it
to match your fan? It goes down slower than I would expect a
fan to run.

The problem with the P5P800 board is that you can't set threshold
levels. The fan is a boxed Intel fan, so one might expect this to work.
I have seen more people with the same problem. Other Asus board come
with a manually selectable threshold.

The fan control is ok though. Temperature could be a little less, but
several tests (done by myself) prove that it does the job nicely. At
idle, the CPU is about 51 C and loaded it comes close to 70 and you can
hear the fan roarrrrr, immediately slowing down after the job is done.
It's just the minimum speed that does not match the board. If I jump to
the monitoring page in the bios, you can see the fan speed value jump
between red (below) and grey (above) levels. So it's just a matter of a
few rpm's.

Thanks,
Gert

After doing research about this particular motherboard, one
should read the manual quite carefully as hardware decision
are based on particular motherboard or bios configuration
settings. About CPU fans, there are apparently 2 types of fans
and their default settings are different (e.g., see Page 4-33
of the manual), depending on whether the CPU fan is a 4-pin or
3-pin model. Moreover, using Q-Fan Control is, as with other
ASUS motherboards, not advised if the CPU fan has its own speed
controls that are governed by temperature.

Dear Ghostrider,

Thanks for your input. I have seen the manual and followed the
instructions to operate this fan, which is the boxed intel fan. See my
reply to Bill Davidsen for more info. It appears to be a mismatch
between Intel and Asus and there are more people who have this problem.

Grtngs,
Gert

Gert Wiersema wrote:
Is the fan below the minimum threshhold, or didn't you set it
to match your fan? It goes down slower than I would expect a
fan to run.


The problem with the P5P800 board is that you can't set threshold
levels. The fan is a boxed Intel fan, so one might expect this to work.
I have seen more people with the same problem. Other Asus board come
with a manually selectable threshold.

The fan control is ok though. Temperature could be a little less, but
several tests (done by myself) prove that it does the job nicely. At
idle, the CPU is about 51 C and loaded it comes close to 70 and you can
hear the fan roarrrrr, immediately slowing down after the job is done.
It's just the minimum speed that does not match the board. If I jump to
the monitoring page in the bios, you can see the fan speed value jump
between red (below) and grey (above) levels. So it's just a matter of a
few rpm's.

The temperatures is a trifle warm, especially when it is
at 70 deg. under load. I'd follow Ghostrider's advice and
disable Q-Fan and rely on the fan's own thermostatic speed
control. Also, if the Intel fan is running that slow, i.e.,
below 600 RPM (or whatever its normal threshold should be),
the fan is defective and should be replaced; not a difficult
proposition.