Thread: CPU Fan Direction

I cleaned my computer last week and I'm not sure if I attached the cpu fan correctly.. LOL.. Should it be blowing air to the heat sink or sucking heat from it?

Also, which direction should the chassis fan be blowing ?

The only fan I didn't remove was the power supply fan which sucks heat from the power supply.

Thanks.

Maybe I am wrong, and maybe there is a few different ways this works, but the way I see it:

The cpu fan should be blowing into the fins, and case fans should be blowing out, at least that is the way mine are. I didnt do any research just stating the facts on my system!

Your chassis fan should be blowing out of the computer. The best option for keeping your CPU cool is to skip the CPU fan entirely and place a shroud over it which redirects hot air directly off of the CPU and out to the chassis fan. I have reduced CPU temperatures 20 degrees Fahrenheit this way.

If you have the fan on, and your on the internet and you haven't heard a loud POP, then you put it on the right way

It blows air to the heatsink

I have this resolved..

cpu fan : blows air to the heat sink
chassis fan : blows air inside the chassis
power supply fan: sucks air / acts as exhaust / completes the cycle

It was the chassis fan that was incorrectly attached .. it contradicts the cycle, resulting to processor overheat and frequent computer restart.. Now, the chassis is cooler than the previous setup.

But thanks guys..

If you continue to have heat problems then I suggest you get some really good thermal grease. I recently built a computer and I was having lots of problems with cpu overheating I purchased the best thermal grease I could find and have not had any problems since.

Originally Posted by joesal

If you continue to have heat problems then I suggest you get some really good thermal grease. I recently built a computer and I was having lots of problems with cpu overheating I purchased the best thermal grease I could find and have not had any problems since.

That's right and also over a few years the thermal paste on the CPU can dry up and become powdery. Sometimes it helps to remove the heatsink and apply new paste.

Originally Posted by Noobeedoo

I have this resolved..

cpu fan : blows air to the heat sink
chassis fan : blows air inside the chassis
power supply fan: sucks air / acts as exhaust / completes the cycle

It was the chassis fan that was incorrectly attached .. it contradicts the cycle, resulting to processor overheat and frequent computer restart.. Now, the chassis is cooler than the previous setup.

But thanks guys..

I'll take note of this! Thanks for the details.

Well it really depends on how your CPU fan is designed, there are many different ones.

For your case fans, it's best to have the rear one as exhaust (blowing outwards, drawing heat from inside). If you have any side panel fans, those should be blowing inwards. If you have any fans at the front of your case, it should also be blowing inwards.

I have so many fans in my case it sounds like a hotel A/C unit...like a jet engine!

My sink had a fan blowing away from the fins (I think)...I actually added another one to blow in the opposite direction...be like a tornado up in there!

Then I have 3 Thermal take fans running @ 4500rpm blow out of the chasis, maybe I should have one blowing in. Regardless, warm it is not inside my case!

Then I have another fan blowing on my C drive. And a PCI (slot) exhaust fan as well...I'm surprised this thing does not hover



Thermalpaste is a MUST though, I will attest to that.

A GREAT sw monitoring is "HWMonitor" by CPUID

shows you EVERYTHING!

and I don't know why but my cores run different...I tried reseating the heatsink like 5 times and it never changed. Come to think of it I might have read that it is normal for this particular CPU

CPUID Hardware Monitor 1.0.8.0
-----------------------------------------------------

Mainboard Vendor Biostar
Mainboard Model NF4AM2 (0x188 - 0x5BB040)




Hardware monitor
-----------------------------------------------------

ITE IT87 hardware monitor

Voltage sensor 0 1.36 Volts [0x55] (CPU VCORE)
Voltage sensor 1 1.52 Volts [0x5F] (VIN1)
Voltage sensor 2 3.28 Volts [0xCD] (+3.3V)
Voltage sensor 3 4.92 Volts [0xB7] (+5V)
Voltage sensor 4 11.90 Volts [0xBA] (+12V)
Voltage sensor 5 -7.74 Volts [0x79] (-12V)
Voltage sensor 6 -4.74 Volts [0x4A] (-5V)
Voltage sensor 7 4.92 Volts [0xB7] (+5V VCCH)
Voltage sensor 8 3.36 Volts [0xD2] (VBAT)
Temperature sensor 2 36°C (96°F) [0x24] (TMPIN2)
Fan sensor 0 2352 RPM [0x11F] (FANIN0)
Fan sensor 1 2083 RPM [0x144] (FANIN1)




Hardware monitor
-----------------------------------------------------

ACPI hardware monitor

Temperature sensor 0 40°C (103°F) [0xC3C] (THRM)

Dump hardware monitor



Hardware monitor
-----------------------------------------------------

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ hardware monitor

Temperature sensor 0 36°C (96°F) [0x55] (core #0)
Temperature sensor 1 45°C (112°F) [0x5E] (core #1)

Dump hardware monitor



Hardware monitor
-----------------------------------------------------

Maxtor 6H500R0 hardware monitor

Temperature sensor 0 35°C (94°F) [0x23] (HDD)

Dump hardware monitor



Hardware monitor
-----------------------------------------------------

WDC WD2500JS-00NCB1 hardware monitor

Temperature sensor 0 42°C (107°F) [0x2A] (HDD)

Dump hardware monitor



Hardware monitor
-----------------------------------------------------

WDC WD1500ADFD-00NLR5 hardware monitor

Temperature sensor 0 33°C (91°F) [0x21] (HDD)

Dump hardware monitor



Processors Information
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Processor 1 (ID = 0)
Number of cores 2 (max 2)
Number of threads 2 (max 2)
Name AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+
Codename Windsor
Specification AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5000+
Package Socket AM2 (940)
CPUID F.3.2
Extended CPUID F.43
Brand ID 4
Core Stepping JH-F2
Technology 90 nm
Core Speed 2730.8 MHz (13.0 x 210.1 MHz)
HT Link speed 1050.3 MHz
Stock frequency 2600 MHz
Instructions sets MMX (+), 3DNow! (+), SSE, SSE2, SSE3, x86-64
L1 Data cache 2 x 64 KBytes, 2-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L1 Instruction cache 2 x 64 KBytes, 2-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L2 cache 2 x 512 KBytes, 16-way set associative, 64-byte line size
FID/VID Control yes
max FID 13.0x
max VID 1.350 V
Features XD, VT
K8 Thermal sensor yes
K8 Revision ID 5.2
Attached device PCI device at bus 0, device 24, function 0
Attached device PCI device at bus 0, device 24, function 1
Attached device PCI device at bus 0, device 24, function 2
Attached device PCI device at bus 0, device 24, function 3

timsdd added 8 Minutes and 49 Seconds later...

I also LOVE "cpuz_144" aka CPU ID

it tells you EVERYTHING about your system, your MB, CPU, MEM, it's a uber geek's dream

-------------------------
CPU-Z version 1.44.1
-------------------------

Processors Map
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of processors 1
Number of threads 2

Processor 0
-- Core 0
-- Thread 0
-- Core 1
-- Thread 0


Processors Information
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Processor 1 (ID = 0)
Number of cores 2 (max 2)
Number of threads 2 (max 2)
Name AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+
Codename Windsor
Specification AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5000+
Package Socket AM2 (940)
CPUID F.3.2
Extended CPUID F.43
Brand ID 4
Core Stepping JH-F2
Technology 90 nm
Core Speed 2730.6 MHz (13.0 x 210.0 MHz)
HT Link speed 1050.2 MHz
Stock frequency 2600 MHz
Instructions sets MMX (+), 3DNow! (+), SSE, SSE2, SSE3, x86-64
L1 Data cache 2 x 64 KBytes, 2-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L1 Instruction cache 2 x 64 KBytes, 2-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L2 cache 2 x 512 KBytes, 16-way set associative, 64-byte line size
FID/VID Control yes
max FID 13.0x
max VID 1.350 V
Features XD, VT
K8 Thermal sensor yes
K8 Revision ID 5.2
Attached device PCI device at bus 0, device 24, function 0
Attached device PCI device at bus 0, device 24, function 1
Attached device PCI device at bus 0, device 24, function 2
Attached device PCI device at bus 0, device 24, function 3





Chipset
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Northbridge NVIDIA nForce4 rev. A3
Southbridge NVIDIA nForce4 MCP rev. A3
Memory Type DDR2
Memory Size 4096 MBytes
Channels Dual
Memory Frequency 390.1 MHz (CPU/7)
CAS# 5.0
RAS# to CAS# 5
RAS# Precharge 5
Cycle Time (tRAS) 18
Bank Cycle Time (tRC) 23
Command Rate 2T


Memory SPD
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DIMM #1

General
Memory type DDR2
Module format Regular UDIMM
Manufacturer (ID) Corsair (7F7F9E0000000000)
Size 1024 MBytes
Max bandwidth PC2-6400 (400 MHz)
Part number CM2X1024-6400C4
Manufacturing date Week 23/Year 06

Attributes
Number of banks 2
Data width 64 bits
Correction None
Nominal Voltage 1.80 Volts
EPP yes (1 profiles)
XMP no

Timings table
Frequency (MHz) 270 400
CAS# 4.0 5.0
RAS# to CAS# delay 4 5
RAS# Precharge 4 5
TRAS 13 18
TRC 15 22

EPP profile 1 (full)
Voltage level 2.100 Volts
Address Command Rate 2T
Cycle time 2.500 ns (400.0 MHz)
tCL 4.0 clocks
tRCD 4 clocks (10.00 ns)
tRP 4 clocks (10.00 ns)
tRAS 12 clocks (30.00 ns)
tRC 22 clocks (55.00 ns)
tWR 6 clocks (15.00 ns)


DIMM #2

General
Memory type DDR2
Module format Regular UDIMM
Manufacturer (ID) Corsair (7F7F9E0000000000)
Size 1024 MBytes
Max bandwidth PC2-6400 (400 MHz)
Part number CM2X1024-6400C4
Manufacturing date Week 23/Year 06

Attributes
Number of banks 2
Data width 64 bits
Correction None
Nominal Voltage 1.80 Volts
EPP yes (1 profiles)
XMP no

Timings table
Frequency (MHz) 270 400
CAS# 4.0 5.0
RAS# to CAS# delay 4 5
RAS# Precharge 4 5
TRAS 13 18
TRC 15 22

EPP profile 1 (full)
Voltage level 2.100 Volts
Address Command Rate 2T
Cycle time 2.500 ns (400.0 MHz)
tCL 4.0 clocks
tRCD 4 clocks (10.00 ns)
tRP 4 clocks (10.00 ns)
tRAS 12 clocks (30.00 ns)
tRC 22 clocks (55.00 ns)
tWR 6 clocks (15.00 ns)


DIMM #3

General
Memory type DDR2
Module format Regular UDIMM
Manufacturer (ID) Corsair (7F7F9E0000000000)
Size 1024 MBytes
Max bandwidth PC2-6400 (400 MHz)
Part number CM2X1024-6400C4
Manufacturing date Week 23/Year 06

Attributes
Number of banks 2
Data width 64 bits
Correction None
Nominal Voltage 1.80 Volts
EPP yes (1 profiles)
XMP no

Timings table
Frequency (MHz) 270 400
CAS# 4.0 5.0
RAS# to CAS# delay 4 5
RAS# Precharge 4 5
TRAS 13 18
TRC 15 22

EPP profile 1 (full)
Voltage level 2.100 Volts
Address Command Rate 2T
Cycle time 2.500 ns (400.0 MHz)
tCL 4.0 clocks
tRCD 4 clocks (10.00 ns)
tRP 4 clocks (10.00 ns)
tRAS 12 clocks (30.00 ns)
tRC 22 clocks (55.00 ns)
tWR 6 clocks (15.00 ns)


DIMM #4

General
Memory type DDR2
Module format Regular UDIMM
Manufacturer (ID) Corsair (7F7F9E0000000000)
Size 1024 MBytes
Max bandwidth PC2-6400 (400 MHz)
Part number CM2X1024-6400C4
Manufacturing date Week 23/Year 06

Attributes
Number of banks 2
Data width 64 bits
Correction None
Nominal Voltage 1.80 Volts
EPP yes (1 profiles)
XMP no

Timings table
Frequency (MHz) 270 400
CAS# 4.0 5.0
RAS# to CAS# delay 4 5
RAS# Precharge 4 5
TRAS 13 18
TRC 15 22

EPP profile 1 (full)
Voltage level 2.100 Volts
Address Command Rate 2T
Cycle time 2.500 ns (400.0 MHz)
tCL 4.0 clocks
tRCD 4 clocks (10.00 ns)
tRP 4 clocks (10.00 ns)
tRAS 12 clocks (30.00 ns)
tRC 22 clocks (55.00 ns)
tWR 6 clocks (15.00 ns)





Monitoring
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mainboard Model NF4AM2 (0x188 - 0x5BB040)

LPCIO
-----------------------------------------------------
Vendor ITE
Model IT8716
Vendor ID 0x90
Chip ID 0x8716
Revision ID 0x0
Config Mode I/O address 0x2E

Dump config mode register space, LDN = 0x4
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 04 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
10 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
20 87 16 00 01 00 00 F0 20 00 28 3F 00 00 00 00 00
30 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
40 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
50 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
60 02 90 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
70 00 02 00 00 04 04 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00


Hardware monitor
-----------------------------------------------------

ITE IT87 hardware monitor

Voltage sensor 0 1.36 Volts [0x55] (CPU VCORE)
Voltage sensor 1 1.52 Volts [0x5F] (VIN1)
Voltage sensor 2 3.28 Volts [0xCD] (+3.3V)
Voltage sensor 3 4.95 Volts [0xB8] (+5V)
Voltage sensor 4 11.90 Volts [0xBA] (+12V)
Voltage sensor 5 -7.74 Volts [0x79] (-12V)
Voltage sensor 6 -4.74 Volts [0x4A] (-5V)
Voltage sensor 7 4.92 Volts [0xB7] (+5V VCCH)
Voltage sensor 8 3.36 Volts [0xD2] (VBAT)
Temperature sensor 2 29°C (84°F) [0x1D] (TMPIN2)
Fan sensor 0 2336 RPM [0x121] (FANIN0)
Fan sensor 1 2090 RPM [0x143] (FANIN1)

Dump hardware monitor
LPC Register space, base address = 0x0290

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
00 13 11 FF 03 FF FF 03 00 00 80 60 09 07 20 44 00
10 D0 FF FF 30 87 82 81 80 01 01 00 00 FF FF FF FF
20 55 5F CD B8 BA 79 4A B7 D2 7F 7F 1E 25 BE BE BE
30 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
40 4D 7F 4D 7F 4D 7F 00 0D 2D FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
50 FF 1C 7F 7F 7F 50 00 00 90 E7 32 12 60 00 00 00
60 14 19 48 00 BA 05 FF FF 7F 7F 7F 00 00 05 FF FF
70 7F 7F 7F 00 00 7F FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
80 00 00 00 00 FF FF FF FF 00 00 FF CA 02 00 99 99
90 7F 7F 7F 00 00 7F FF FF 7F 7F 7F 00 00 7F FF FF
A0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
B0 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
C0 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
D0 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
E0 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
F0 FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF



Hardware monitor
-----------------------------------------------------

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ hardware monitor

Temperature sensor 0 32°C (89°F) [0x51] (core #0)
Temperature sensor 1 39°C (102°F) [0x58] (core #1)

Dump hardware monitor



PCI Device List
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Memory Controller
bus 0 (0x00), device 0 (0x00), function 0 (0x00)
Common header
Vendor ID 0x10DE
Model ID 0x005E
Revision ID 0xA3
PI 0x00
SubClass 0x80
BaseClass 0x05
Cache Line 0x00
Latency 0x00
Header 0x00
PCI header
Subvendor ID 0x1565
Subsystem ID 0x3402
Int. Line 0xFF
Int. Pin 0x00
Capabilities
HyperTransport Capability
Offset 44h
Revision 1.03
Interface type Slave/Primary
Link 0 width (in/out) 16 bits/16 bits
Link 0 frequency 1000MHz
Link 1 width (in/out) 8 bits/8 bits
Link 1 frequency 200MHz
HyperTransport Capability
Offset E0h
Interface type MSI Mapping




DMI
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DMI BIOS
--------
vendor Phoenix Technologies, LTD
version 6.00 PG
date 08/24/2006


DMI System Information
----------------------
manufacturer SYX
product snc302eeh
version unknown
serial unknown
UUID B21C094D-E000FFFF-FFFFFFFF-FFFFFFFF


DMI Baseboard
-------------
vendor Biostar
model NF4AM2
revision Nvidia Nforce4
serial unknown


DMI System Enclosure
--------------------
manufacturer unknown
chassis type Desktop
chassis serial unknown


DMI Processor
-------------
manufacturer AMD
model AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5000+
clock speed 2730.0MHz
FSB speed 210.0MHz
multiplier 13.0x


DMI Processor
-------------
manufacturer AMD
model AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5000+
clock speed 2730.0MHz
FSB speed 210.0MHz
multiplier 13.0x


DMI Memory Controller
---------------------
correction 64-bit ECC
Max module size 4096MBytes


DMI Memory Module
-----------------
designation A0
size 1024 MBytes (double bank)


DMI Memory Module
-----------------
designation A1
size 1024 MBytes (double bank)


DMI Memory Module
-----------------
designation A2
size 1024 MBytes (double bank)


DMI Memory Module
-----------------
designation A3
size 1024 MBytes (double bank)


DMI Port Connector
------------------
designation PRIMARY IDE (internal)
connector On Board IDE


DMI Port Connector
------------------
designation SECONDARY IDE (internal)
connector On Board IDE


DMI Port Connector
------------------
designation FDD (internal)
port type 8251 FIFO Compatible
connector On Board Floppy


DMI Port Connector
------------------
designation COM1 (internal)
port type Serial Port 16450
connector 9 Pin Dual Inline (pin 10 cut)
connector DB-9 male


DMI Port Connector
------------------
designation COM2 (internal)
port type Serial Port 16450
connector 9 Pin Dual Inline (pin 10 cut)
connector DB-9 male


DMI Port Connector
------------------
designation LPT1 (internal)
port type Parallel Port ECP/EPP
connector DB-25 female
connector DB-25 female


DMI Port Connector
------------------
designation Keyboard (internal)
port type Keyboard Port
connector PS/2
connector PS/2


DMI Port Connector
------------------
designation PS/2 Mouse (internal)
port type Mouse Port
connector PS/2
connector PS/2


DMI Port Connector
------------------
designation USB0 (external)
port type USB


DMI Extension Slot
------------------
designation PCI0
type PCI
width 32 bits
populated yes


DMI Extension Slot
------------------
designation PCI1
type PCI
width 32 bits
populated yes


DMI Extension Slot
------------------
designation PCI2
type PCI
width 32 bits
populated no


DMI Extension Slot
------------------
designation PCI3
type PCI
width 32 bits
populated no


DMI Extension Slot
------------------
designation PCI4
type PCI
width 32 bits
populated no


DMI Physical Memory Array
-------------------------
location Motherboard
usage System Memory
correction None
max capacity 16384MBytes
max# of devices 4


DMI Memory Device
-----------------
designation A0
format DIMM
type unknown
total width 64 bits
data width 64 bits
size 1024 MBytes


DMI Memory Device
-----------------
designation A1
format DIMM
type unknown
total width 64 bits
data width 64 bits
size 1024 MBytes


DMI Memory Device
-----------------
designation A2
format DIMM
type unknown
total width 64 bits
data width 64 bits
size 1024 MBytes


DMI Memory Device
-----------------
designation A3
format DIMM
type unknown
total width 64 bits
data width 64 bits
size 1024 MBytes


Software
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Windows Version Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 3 (Build 2600)
DirectX Version 9.0c

It blows air inside whether Heat sink or chasis, if talking about the chasis fan.