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Cooler Master SUF-S12-EB safe for Mobo?

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2005 7:31 am
by rickshobbies
I think I have settled on the Cooler Master SUF-S12-EB but I want to know this fan will be OK to connect to the mobo connector on my Intel 915PGN. The only other fan I have connected to the mobo is the stock Intel CPU fan.

I don't want to overload the fan controller, but I am thinking that a relatively low speed fan like this one should be OK.

Any thoughts?

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2005 7:44 am
by Rusty075
Definitely safe; at 0.6w that's probably drawing less juice than the stock fan on your heatsink is now. If you're really paranoid you could check the label on you Hs's fan now, it probably lists either the watts or the amps, (watts=amps x 12 volts) but generally you're safe up to 3 or 4 watts on the onboard fan header.

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2005 9:32 am
by yeha
i noticed in new abit/asus board's manuals that the fan headers are safe up to 8 watts (!). can't remember what board that was, but it sure surprised me.

the coolermaster is a very nice fan, it won't trouble a motherboard fan header at all. it draws less power than many 80mm fans.

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2005 12:22 pm
by Talz
It's really in the best interest of enthusiast manfucturers to have fan headers that can push a decent wattage. It will save them from returns/warranty repairs on mobos as it's very hard to prove someone overloaded a fan header and it wasn't defective to begin with.

Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2005 12:41 pm
by Rusty075
Talz wrote:It's really in the best interest of enthusiast manfucturers to have fan headers that can push a decent wattage. It will save them from returns/warranty repairs on mobos as it's very hard to prove someone overloaded a fan header and it wasn't defective to begin with.
As with all things, it comes down to money. Sure, they could beef up the mobo fan headers to handle higher loads, but that will cost them more money per board. And since no one uses fan header max wattage as a criteria for selecting a board, but they do use price, its not likely to make them any more money in sales. If they raise the price to cover it, it may even cost them sales. So they do a cost/benefit analysis: is spending $0.10 more motherboard, over a production run of 100,000 boards cheaper than the increased warranty costs of a few blown fan headers?

Since no one seems to care about beefing up the header circuitry, I'm guessing that paying for the warranty work turns out to be cheaper.

Most mobo manu's just go with whatever Intel or AMD says the wattage for the CPU fan should be rated as, to meeet the minimum standard.

Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 10:34 am
by jamesavery22
Rusty075 wrote:... snip =) ...
Most mobo manu's just go with whatever Intel or AMD says the wattage for the CPU fan should be rated as, to meeet the minimum standard.
Pretty sure they are just ATX standards. But yeah Intel had a lot to say in that. Think Intel made a revision to EATX after the Foster core when those 60mm screamers they included on the windtunnels required much more than the previous standard. Man those things were loud.

Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 11:13 am
by Talz
It is a balancing act, but I do believe there's been a trend upwards. Not that 8W is going to be typical anytime soon but it's definately to their benefit to keep not only costs low but returns/repairs low as well. Not only for the costs involved but the product image as well. If you get an image as a board maker with high return/warranty rates some stores will not carry your product due to their hassles, and word of mouth does effect customer purchases.

Yeah a PC Chips can get by meeting the Intel/AMD minimums, but people get annoyed by that kind of thing on a high end board or even mid-range board. It's not a key feature, but the little things add up.

I know I'd pay $20 extra no problems for a mobo with decently powerful fan headers and smart-fan type control. And I think a lot of people would be happy to pay $10-$20 extra, both in the overclocking and silencing communities. Just none of the board makers have made a serious effort here. I know it'd be a lot more important than having 7.1 or 6.1 vs 5.1 integrated sound for most people. I may be going off on a tangent though so I'll stop now. ;)