Z77 Mpower PWM Issues

[agentsmith23]

I just got an MSI Z77 Mpower motherboard a few days ago and so far it has been great except one issue. The fan headers are all supposed to be PWM but only two seem to function as PWM. The CPU fan and sysfan 2, seem to work fine but sysfan 1,3 and 4 will only run at 100%. I have set all of the sys fan headers to 50% in the BIOS and I have also tried controlling them through the control center and nothing seems to work. Is there something I am missing in the BIOS settings? I have tried multiple fans and all of them act the same way.

 

[Robert17]

Did you read section 2, page 8 of the user manual? The hardware monitor adjustments are discussed there.

 

[agentsmith23]

Yes I did read that section. First let me explain my setup. I am water cooling and have 12 fans in my case. The case is a 900D and has a 480mm rad at the top with 8 fans in push pull, I have 3 intake fans in the front and 1 exhaust at the rear. I have all of the fans connected to two Swiftech 8 way PWM splitters. One is the older molex powered splitter and one is the newer SATA powered version. They have a pwm connector that goes to the motherboard just for the PWM signal. The molex splitter that goes to the CPU header works great, the SATA splitter that I have connected to any of the other headers is 100% all the time even though I have it set to 50% in the BIOS.

I did another test this morning with a different fan, a Swiftech 120mm PWM Helix and that one worked fine when plugged directly to any of the headers on the motherboard. So it seems like the headers are working correctly. All of my other fans are Corsair SP120 Performance fans. Any suggestions as to what might be causing this?

 

[agentsmith23]

The more I think about this it sounds like the SATA pwm splitter may be bad. I will have to check out a few more things when I get home from work.

 

[Robert17]

Well, that, and I don't see where the Corsair's are PWM. The website shows one speed for the Performance series. Maybe you need to look at any version of rheostat to manage your needs ????

 

[EarthDog]

Exactly. Those corsair fans are 3 pin, not 4 pin (PWM).

 

[agentsmith23]

I have the PWM version.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181040

 

[Robert17]

I had looked at Corsair's website before posting. I believe you're mistaken.

 

[EarthDog]

I have the PWM version.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181040

It is a 4 pin female connector (with four wires coming out) on the end of yours or 3 pin?

 

[agentsmith23]

They are 4 pin PWM fans

 

[Robert17]

So we're back to square one.

There are several SATA ports on our board, some using Intel controllers, some Marvell IIRC. Do you have the drivers updated, therefore, which SATA port controller is your PWM splitter connected to?

My latest thoughts......

 

[agentsmith23]

Umm...the PWM splitter isn't connected to a SATA port on the motherboard it is connected to a SATA power connector from the power supply.

 

[Robert17]

MY bad. Did you test that ribbon for power? Try another? Test the connection?

Running out of ideas. I use all the fan headers on my board and have a 5 port fan controller as well which obviates the need for splitters.

 

[agentsmith23]

Are you referring to the SATA power connector as "the ribbon"? If so then it definitely has power I have 5 fans running full blast making one hell of a racket, all powered by that connector.

 

[Robert17]

Yeah, old school, ribbons and such.

Five fans on one splitter to one power cable (ribbon)? Strikes me as a quite a bit of juice flowing through just one. What is the power rating vs. requirement? Perhaps you need to split up the split?

 

[agentsmith23]

Each fan is .25 amps and I have an 850W PSU. I was also thinking that the fans may be too much for one controller but I hadn't looked into it very far.

This is my PSU http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/products-model.aspx?id=C_00001995

 

[Squadfer]

Question, might have over read it. So CPU and sysfan2 work fine with regards to the PWM? Have you tried switching the molex powered splitter with the sata powered splitter? meaning, the PWM that connects to the motherboard, have you tried swapping those two connections between each other to see if the sata powered one is faulty or if the problem fixes on the sata board but returns now on the molex board instead? (hopefully this was clear?)

 

[agentsmith23]

I beleieve I did try that, I tried a lot of different methods last night. I am going to try it again when I get home and see what happens. Still have about 2 hours of work to go.

 

[EarthDog]

Each fan is .25 amps and I have an 850W PSU. I was also thinking that the fans may be too much for one controller but I hadn't looked into it very far.

This is my PSU http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/products-model.aspx?id=C_00001995

I wouldn't go over 1A on a mobo header.... Is it possible the splitter is mucking things up? I know that with a splitter the RPMs get whacked out unless you only go with one input... perhaps that is the same with PWM power? No clue.

Did you say one of these fans alone worked on the header?

 

[agentsmith23]

The header is only being used for the PWM signal the power is coming from a SATA power connector straight off of the power supply. The only fan that has worked directly on the header has been a Swiftech 120mm PWM Helix. It is possible that the splitter is causing the issues and that is what I am currently leaning towards. Testing will continue soon.