Issue with CPU Fan (PSU problem?)

[RhysAndrews]

Hey guys.
My computer is generally on all the time, but I decided to give it a night off last night (ok, so all my torrent downloads were finished). When I turned it on this morning I heard a loud ugly sound just after the monitor beep played. I assumed it was just a cable hitting the CPU fan, that happens sometimes.

I took off the side, moved the cables around, made sure all the plugs were in tightly... turned it back on, and sure enough the sound stopped. But then I noticed something else... the CPU Fan started spinning at first, but then stopped. An issue I've seen a few times on various systems, now.

The fan has blue LEDs, which seem to be badly dimmed. It also has a controller dial thing at the front of the case, to control the RPM. I found that if I turn the dial up, the LEDs get brighter and the fan DOES start spinning (and starts to spin faster). However, while the dial says it should be spinning at about 2200rpm, it's only spinning at 1388rpm.

While it's cooling the CPU fine at that level, I can't help but worry that it's being underpowered somehow. My power supply is generic (came with the case, which I think is by POWERHOUSE), 500 watts. So it could always be the crappy power supply. The CPU Cooler I have is a Gigabyte G-Power.

Any advice is appreciated!
Thanks
Rhys

 

[Cabbs]

Is it a pre-built computer? Most of them will tone down the voltage to the fan headers to make the fans quieter. Because your fan controller is reducing the already lowered voltage, the fan will have a harder time starting up. Fans have a minimum starting voltage and minimum running voltage. The voltage needed to start the fan is usually higher than the running voltage, so after you get the fan going, it's possible to tone down the fan to a level lower than it would be able to start at.

 

[setishock]

Yeah our eMachines here at work do just that. Rev up and then settle down to a lower rev as it completes the boot up. That's controlled from the bios.
Check there first. Because you're using a fan speed controller you most likely need to disable that. But then your fan controller better be on the ball if the chip starts to get hot. Otherwise you're going to have throttle backs and shut downs. If you're running an AMD cpu chip you can fry it.