The ASUS AT3N7A-I Motherboard Gets A New Fan

[Apoptosis]

The ASUS AT3N7A-I Motherboard Gets A New Fan

While building our NVIDIA Ion powered Mini-ITX computer system we found that the fan used to cool the Intel Atom 330 processor and Nvidia Ion chipset was louder than what we expected from our prototype ASUS AT3N7A-I motherboard. ASUS said they agreed with the feedback and sent us a new fan that is being used on the retail models. Read on to see how loud the new one is!

The 40mm fan on the ASUS AT3N7A-I motherboard is made by EverFlow, runs at ~6400RPM and can be annoyingly loud if you don't like fan noise. ASUS promised us the new fan would be quieter since it would spin slower, but it would have a negative impact on cooling since it didn't have the same airflow ratings.

Article Title: The ASUS AT3N7A-I Motherboard Gets A New Fan
Article URL: http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1079/1/

[stopthekilling77]

I think that a better heatsink would do much more for cooling efficiency than a new fan would. maybe a dual or triple heatpipe setup with one small, low-rpm fan per heatpipe at either end of the case would work.
But thats just my two cents

[Zertz]

They're most likely too far into development/production to redesign a heatsink... meh.

How much is 58 dBA anyway? How loud is it compared to a Xbox 360?

[Apoptosis]

The CPU fan is actually not the loudest thing in the chassis any longer. The 60mm side case fan is by far the loudest. I'll see if I can shoot an HD video of it today to better show you the noise level.

[gwolfman]

Way too loud for what's supposed to be a HTPC setup. I'm sure even with the case cover on you'll hear it hum away.

[Apoptosis]

Way too loud for what's supposed to be a HTPC setup. I'm sure even with the case cover on you'll hear it hum away.

I re-tested the HTPC wth the case fan removed and posted up the new dBA rating in the article.

The system started out at 64 dBA and dropped to 53 dBA (at an inch away from the CPU fan), which is pretty darn impressive as an 11 dBA difference is huge.

[Apoptosis]

I just ordered in two SilenX IXP-34-16 60mm Case Fans for my system...

The fans are ~$10 each, but are has an Air Flow of 18 CFM with a noise level of 16 dBA

[eversteegt]

Hmm... this is an interresting article! Actually, based on the promises Asus made in this article, I bought an AT3N7A-I board (Netherlands here).

But unfortunately, my sample still has the 'old' whining fan. Actually, I even think that Asus has NEVER released the 'new' fan that this article speaks of, If I read the Dutch forums and the Asus forum itself correctly.

To make it even worse, When I send a technical inquiry to Asus tech support, they repeatedly tell me that I:

1) Have to send my board to my retailer if I think it has a defect to get it repaired :S
2) There is NO new replacement fan and I should stop complaining (so much for a 'valued customer')

Maybe you can spend an article on this or trigger the (obviously) PR people of Asus to give tech support a kick and act as they promised?

[Apoptosis]

Hmm... this is an interresting article! Actually, based on the promises Asus made in this article, I bought an AT3N7A-I board (Netherlands here).

But unfortunately, my sample still has the 'old' whining fan. Actually, I even think that Asus has NEVER released the 'new' fan that this article speaks of, If I read the Dutch forums and the Asus forum itself correctly.

To make it even worse, When I send a technical inquiry to Asus tech support, they repeatedly tell me that I:

1) Have to send my board to my retailer if I think it has a defect to get it repaired :S
2) There is NO new replacement fan and I should stop complaining (so much for a 'valued customer')

Maybe you can spend an article on this or trigger the (obviously) PR people of Asus to give tech support a kick and act as they promised?

Which fan do you have based on the picture below:



Notice the screw holes are different on each one.

[sshaikh]

I received my board this week and can confirm that my fan runs (loudly!) at 6k or so. It resembles the one on the left above.

One of the reasons I picked this board was due to the reports of a new fan... so this is a bit disappointing. Are there any aftermarket alternatives?

[eversteegt]

@Apoptosis: Mine also looks like the left one (the loud one mentioned in the article, if I am correct?)

I have already been looking for alternatives myself. In the Netherlands, few other 40mm fans are available but of course, no guarantee they will fit so I am a bit reluctant. For now, it seems that my system keeps running fairly cool without the fan connected and purely relying on the airflow from a 8cm fan exhausting air outside my OrigenAE X10 case at 1000rpm and one 6cm fan at the back, at 80mm.

But of course, the whole point is Asus is acting strange....

[sshaikh]

For now, it seems that my system keeps running fairly cool without the fan connected and purely relying on the airflow from a 8cm fan exhausting air outside my OrigenAE X10 case at 1000rpm and one 6cm fan at the back, at 80mm.

That's encouraging news. I was thinking of disconnecting it and relying on my case fan too...

[eversteegt]

I am still looking for a way to be sure about the question if only some airflow from the case fans is sufficient...

I am using this board in Linux (xbmc) and it looks like the "sensors" readings are still somewhat questionable (using the right chips? Is the kernel module already entirely compatible with the cips?).

When I use the nvidia-settings tool, it shows the GPU core temperature and that temperature reads about 45-50 Celcius after about 0,5 hour 1080p playback.

[sshaikh]

Hmm. The fan is just for the CPU no? I think the BIOS has a temp sensor, otherwise I've just been using Asus Probe.

[Apoptosis]

I'd use the asus probe utility to monitor the temperature with and without the fan. If the difference is not that great then you might be able to use just the case fans.

On the system that I built I removed all the case fans and run just the newer CPU fan.

[eversteegt]

@Apoptosis:

As forum/site managers and having received the new fan, do you have contacts to who you could ask why (seemingly) half the world can not get the new fan?

[Apoptosis]

@Apoptosis:

As forum/site managers and having received the new fan, do you have contacts to who you could ask why (seemingly) half the world can not get the new fan?

I contacted ASUS USA and told them about the situation and sent them a link to this thread to read your comments. They replied with the following e-mail last night:

Hello Nate,

I read through were any of the customers US as we might have handled things differently that other regions. I am still waiting on more feedback from HQ but if you can please see if you can get the serial number information for the user reporting they have the old fan. Thanks for any help you can provide in this regard. Please enjoy the rest of your day.

Basically, it seems like changing the fan might have been region dependent for some reason. If you want to PM me your boards serial numbers I can give it to my ASUS contact for further investigation.

[eversteegt]

Thanx for this great effort, @Apoptosis! I will lookup the number a.s.a.p.

[Apoptosis]

i sent it to asus... will let you know what they say.

[sshaikh]

Hi, I've sent my serial too if that's not too much bother!