Installing a Noctua NH-U12P to a GA-790FXTA-UD5 Motherboard

[teknology9]

Hello All,

I am aiming to install a Noctua NH-U12P to my GA-790FXTA-UD5 Motherboard, I would like to know do I attach one fan connection to the CPU fan header and the other fan connection to the PWR fan header? Also, does it matter which fan either front or rear is attached to these headers or do I attach then to the PSU instead and does the BIOS setting need to be changed?


Please note: I have Corsair XMS memory (CMX8GX3M4B1333C9)   installed in order to allow clearance for the  front fan.


Thanks,

Teknology9

[absic]

Hi there,

Using the motherboard fan headers for this cooler the yes, your choice is OK but, be careful, as you will need to disable the Hardware Thermal Control, CPU Smart FAN Control and System Smart FAN Control under the PC Health Status section of BIOS. You need to do this so that the Noctua Fans will run at full speed and spin up correctly. I am running the Noctua NH-D14 and this is what I have had to do to use the motherboard headers.

The other option is to power the Noctua Fans directly from the PSU or from a dedicated fan controller.

[Dark Mantis]

Yes I would be inclined to use a splitter cable to join the two fan cables up and make sure that you are receiving the same power for both fans as they need to be in unison. I would then connect this directly to the PSU molex connector.

[teknology9]

Hello All,

Thanks for the replies. So if I decide to with either a mobo connection or a psu connection will I still need to disable the Hardware Thermal Control?


Thanks,

Teknology9

[absic]

Hi again,

If you run the fans directly from the PSU you shouldn't need to make any BIOS adjustments as you will have no fans attached to the headers and i twill not affect performance.

[teknology9]

Thanks for the reply absic. I think I'll go the PSU route and take it from there.


Thanks,


Teknology9

[teknology9]

Hello All,

I have installed the Installing a Noctua  NH-U12P onto my GA-790FXTA-UD5 Motherboard and all is fine so far. I wondered if you could tell me if both the System Temp and the CPU Temp are ok or too high? I have got an AMD 1090T with 8Gb of Corsair XMS RAM, This is put inside an NZXT Phantom case. I have attached an image of the temps from the EasyTune 6 utility.


Thanks,

Teknology9

[Dark Mantis]

Don't forget it all depends on your ambient temperture. You can then work out your DeltaT. But on the face of it they don't seem to bad maybe just a tad high.

[teknology9]

Thanks for the reply DM. What is the Delta T and do I work it out?


I have the following case fan configuration in side my NZXT Phantom:


1 * 140mm Noctua fan at the front

2 * NZXT 120mm fans at the side

1 *  NZXT 200mm fan at the top as an exhaust

1 * 120mm Noctua fan at the rear

I have also attached two  120mm Noctua fans  to the Noctua heatsink

I have got a Corsair HX 750w psu with the  fan facing up inside the case, is this likely to affect the temperature also? I have seen some images on the web with the psu fan facing down on the base of the case. If this is not the reason how can I lower the temperature?


Thanks,

Teknology9

[malum]

No that just means that it is drawing air from the case instead of from the bottom of the case.
Basically it is how it works with a top mounted pwr supply.

I'm curious as to why you have the pwr supply mounted like that.

The whole point of having a bottom mounted pwr supply so it can draw cooler air from the
outside of the bottom of the case. Which helps it run cooler which in turn should help the
computer to stay cooler. Also it solves the problem of taking the power supply into account
when considering the airflow in your case.

But other than that I don't think having the power supply mounted with the fan up should be
anything to worry about. Its just not utilizing the whole point of having it mounted on the bottom.

[absic]

Hi there,

I have a NZXT Tempest Evo case with the PSU mounted on the bottom and I have it mounted so the fan is facing down and drawing cool air in through the bottom. As you can see my System temp is about 9C lower than yours. Of course, you need to take into consideration other factors such as Graphic Cards, number of HDD's, ambient temperature etc as to the reasons for the difference but I did notice a rise in temps when I had it mounted the same way as yours.

[teknology9]

Hello All, and thanks for the replies.

I think I will reorientate the psu and see what happens, my local PC shop told me that the psu should me mounted with the fan facing upwards. The technical spec of my PC is as follows:

CPU - AMD 1090T
Memory - Corsair XMS 8gb (2gb * 4)
Graphics - 1 * Sapphire 6870 Vapor X
PSU - Corsair HX 750W
MB GA-790FXTA-UD5
HDD - 2* Seagate Baracuda 500Gb
OS - Win7 64bit

The number of fans are as stated in a previous post.

Thanks,

Teknology9

[absic]

As with all things a little experimentation can work wonders and I have found it wise NEVER to believe what "techies" in computer shops tell you!

I don't know how many PC's I have worked on where the owners have been told that their Hard-drive has failed or is dying and needs replacing when they have taken them to PC shops, when that all has been needed is something much simpler and much less expensive.

It only takes a couple of minutes to turn the PSU over and to see if you notice a difference in temps. It will do no harm and, if you find temps remaining the same you can always turn it back again.

[teknology9]

I have turned the PSU around so that its facing down taking in fresh air and these are the temps (see attached).

There doesn't seem to be alot of difference, I wondering whether to buy a 200m exhaust fan for the top of the case.

Thanks,

Teknology9

[malum]

Well your temps really don't seem to be that bad. What is the temperature of the room where you have the computer?
You could add another fan but it seems like your doing pretty good as far temps go.