Is it safe to run a fan at 7v?

[kunno]

I just set up my delta black lable fan to run at 7 Volts. I just want to know if it's safe to run the fan like this. It wasn't ment to be run like this and so i want to know if i can potentialy damage my power supply or anything else.

also what do you think about these fans? They seem to be pretty quiet according to the package.
http://www.bigfootcomputers.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=Bigfoot&Product_Code=1430HSTT&Category_Code=0100


http://www.bigfootcomputers.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=Bigfoot&Product_Code=1431HSTT&Category_Code=0100

[touser]

if 7v is below the default voltage then ya wont hurt anything,just reduce noise :) if it is over the default voltage you could blow the fan..

[The Doors]

I agree absulutly with touser,
7v is safe for your 12v fan and your hears, not 15 or 17v.

[kunno]

I'm not that worried about the fan. What i was thinking about was the way in which i got the 7volts. I rewired my molex to acheive this as many of you would know. it's 12 volts fighting against 5 volts to achieve 7. I was just wondering if it was good for my power supply.

[TranceBear]

It is fine, I ran this setup for many months with no problems.

[dimmreaper]

Believe it or not, most fans actually have a rating of 12V +/-2.5V, but are engineered to have their longest life expectancy at 12V.

The reason why the fans have this +/-2.5V tolerance, is to make system integration less of a trouble, for example using the fan in a 13.8V powersupply without the addition of a regulator.

Increasing a Delta38 to 14V should provide 44CFM, provided the flow is linier with voltage (which it isn't, so realisticaly expect 42CFM)

That would be a motherboard feature I would like to see. Fan header voltage control within the bios. It could let you set the fan to either plus or minus two volts, or you could set it to be CPU or Case temperature controlled. That would be worth an extra $5 or so in my book, as long as the header(s) can handle 1.25A a piece that is.

[el]

get an LM317 and do it right. this might not hurt anything but you will be pulling a lot more current at 7v than at 12v so just be mindful of the extra load you are asking your powersupply to handle. if one fan np if 12 fans could be a problem with 5v supply but if you have a good 400watts ps you are fine either way.

[Cocytus]

Ya it dosent sound like you should have any problems.Also that would be great if a motherboard came with some options like that.

[dimmreaper]

Originally posted by Cocytus
Also that would be great if a motherboard came with some options like that. Yeah, I know. I passed the Idea on to a friend who works for EPoX. EPoX seems to be in the business of pleasing overclockers with some of their newer premium boards.

[YMAN]

The 7 volt trick, Can cause a fried Power Supply :eek:, but as long as
you have a good one you should be fine.

I recommend a resistor or something that was created to
to it!