Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 - CPU fan not quiet

[Arc.]

Need some help. I recently ditched the stock cooler on my I7 2600K and put on a Zalman CNPS 9900 Max. I can hear it above anything else in my case as it seems to idle around 1300RPMs and gets up to 1400 or so when playing games. With the resister cable put on and attached to the motherboard on cpu fan 1, I can't seem to get it anything below 1300RPM. This is from checking AXTU software.

I have my cpu overclocked to 3.4, is this why RPMs won't go any lower?

CPU Temp idles around 30C, and low 40's when gaming. I have not tried reseating it either as the temps seem to indicate its working.

I thought with the resistor cable on I could get the RPM's alot lower. I've tried messing with the bios settings and not getting much of any change, always idles around 1300.

Any other ideas? What other info can I provide?

Bios: P2.20.

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Re: Z68 Extreme4 Gen3 - CPU fan not quiet

First, a 2600K at 3.4GHz, is not OC'd, that is the normal, non-Turbo speed, so not a high temp OC issue.

It sounds like you are not using the CPU fan speed control in the UEFI/BIOS, which is set to Full On by default. You should also use the AXTU utility that comes with your board, that allows you to set the fan speed when in Windows.

Your cooler's fan is PWM controlled, so be sure to use the CPU Fan header on your board. In the UEFI, set the CPU Fan Control to Automatic, set the speed to Level 5 for a start, and set the Target CPU temp to the lowest value. Save and exit. Install and run AXTU in Windows, where you can then adjust the CPU fan speed down or up, and then clicking on the Apply button. You can try any speed you like, and also monitor the CPU temp on the same screen.

If you have the speed reducer on the cooler now, and don't need to move the fan plug to the CPU Fan header, just try it like that, and reduce the fan speed. You will find that the CPU temp will start to rise at some point as you reduce the fan speed. You could also remove the speed reducer, and have control over the full range of the fans speed, reducing it with AXTU as you like.

With the fan speed control enabled like this, the fan will automatically speed up as the CPU get warmer. That is normal and nothing to worry about, except it will get louder, of course.

The automatic CPU fan speed control is the best thing for noise level and keeping the CPU cool. ALWAYS use it.