SPCR

Hello,

I bought an Antec Sonata II case. In the user guide Antec recommends running Sonata without any fans; I think this means that I should remove the CPU cooler. However, when I removed the CPU cooler from my AMD Burton 2500+, after 3 seconds from the power on the system shuts down.

1. Antec does it really mean that I can use Sonata without CPU cooler?
2. If yes, how can I bypass the CPU cooler check on Asus A7N8X?

Thank you,
Best regards,
Lucian.

I never had a sonata or read any user guides, but I find it hard to believe that they tell you just to remove the fan. They might of recommended you to use a big heatsink that can rely on the case fan's airflow to be sufficiently cooled.

If your motherboard is shutting down just because it doesn't sense a cpu fan attached, you can probably disable the checking for that in the BIOS, either there is an option for monitoring the CPU fan, or else in the hardware monitor section, go over the cpu fan's rpm and change the option to ignore. Make sure you look at the cpu temps so that it doesn't get too hot.

But you said you removed your CPU cooler do you mean the heatsink and the fan? If this is the case PUT YOUR HEATSINK BACK ON, and send Asus a thank you letter

Oh and, Welcome to SPCR!!!

Wow, never seen this asked before.

You ABSOLUTELY need a heatsink on any desktop x86 processor since the 486SX...even my Pentium 75mhz had a heatsink (no fan mind you). The stock cooler for a 2500+ Barton will not be enough to cool it without a fan. If you did see something like that, they were most likely talking about not using the rear exhaust fan.

Yeah I'm sure they mean remove the case fans - fans attached to the inside of the case. The fans on the motherboard, and possibly the video card, are called active coolers or heat sinks. The fans on those are part of the cooling devices and need to stay.

You absolutely need active cooling on a Barton 2500 / a7n8x. I have that same config sitting right next to me, it's a very trusty setup but the heat sink on the cpu is crucial. I actually let the dust build up in mine a bit (4 year old box) and a layer like a little felt blanket collected between the fan and the sink. I started getting shut downs on load all the time. When I opened the box, the sink was burning hot so I removed the fan to take a look. I saw the layer of thick dust and removed it and it's run like clock work ever since. This is even less dangerous than having no fan there, so don't do it!

I'd recommend monitoring your system's temps with and without fans to see the difference just in case it starts to act funny down the road. Also, why not just leave the fans there but don't plug them in unless it's heating up? It would be a pain to find out that your ambient temps (room temps) in summer are high enough to cause overheating. If the fans were there you could just plug them in for summer.

And I quote:

This manual is intended only as a guide for Antec's Computer Enclosures. For more comprehensive instructions on installing your motherboard and peripherals, please refer to the user's manuals which come with your components and drives.

This manual does not cover CPU, RAM, or expansion card installation.

COOLING SYSTEM
The Rear Exhaust TriCool Fan
The Sonata II comes with one 120mm TriCool fan preinstalled with silicone grommets in the rear.
Note: The default setting of the fan is Low. We recommend this speed to maximize the quiet computing experience.

Note: We recommend NOT using the front fan for maximum quiet computing.

Note We strongly recommend using the ACAG[Advanced Chassis Air Guide] without any fans since adding fans means adding noise.

And so sayeth the Lor-- I mean SONATA II User's Manual.

Nowhere in here is there ANY mention of removing all your fans.
And for crying out loud, a heatsink is REQUIRED to operate a CPU. If the chip could survive on its own, there would be no market for the heatsinks, eh.

Welcome to the world of computers.

To bypass the CPU fan check, connect your Sonata II's PSU's lead to the CPU fan connector.

thank you all, guys! you were right!