...And what's this fan for?

I have a new computer finally and I took the side panel off to add some mroe RAM. Only thing is I didnt realise there was a fan on the inside of it with a wire coming off.
What's this fan for..is it the chasis fan? Do i need to use it because Im not sure if it was plugged in before I opened the case. I've 'plugged' it in now to a very small 3 pin plug thing on the mb and Im pretty sure its running now. Just do I really need it, because I want my new comp to be as quiet as possible.
Does anyone know about this type of fan??
Any help will be appreciated, thanks!

 

On the side panel? Thats probably a blowhole, and I'd keep all fans running to ensure stability.

 

Let me guess. The fan on the side panel is aimed straight at the heatsink on your CPU. Right? Somehow, I don't think you want to deprive your CPU of whatever cooling is available. Today's CPUs throw off as much heat as a 75-watt light bulb, and you have to get that heat out of the case or risk frying the CPU.

The manufacturer apparently thought the cost of building the fan in was worthwhile. Or necessary. Maybe even essential. I'd make sure that it was running, unless (a) you have some way of monitoring CPU temperatures and (b) you therefore know that you can do without it.

 

Side fans they can put at CPU or PCI and vga card, you can check it by login bios "PC health" You will see t* however you take fans out or not.

 

yep the sidefan is like a blowhole type thing which is aimed directly off the ballbearing fan which is on the cpu. I suppose Ill just keep it on. My processor does run cool though, 35 c which is a big difference over my last processor which was a thunderbrid and ran about 58-63c!

 

I wish my CPU ran that cool. But then, my case doesn't have a side fan like yours.

And I think that would suggest that you really do want to keep that side fan running. If it's noisy, spend $15 and replace it with a quieter fan.

 

We will not lose money by moding -5 volt and +12 volt for +7 volt to reduce fan speed
So it will be quiet fan

 

Well its v nice to have a cool room!! Currently processor is at 33c and the noise mostly comes from that side fan.
I think I might try it without the sidefan and see what difference in temperature there is.
Not quite sure about changing voltage and all that? 'Cool and Quiet' changes the voltage automatically anyway.

 

Well if you're running software to manage fan speeds, then no need for the volt mod, since you can manaully set it to 7V anyway!

 

Does the fan have 3 cables or just 2? The 3rd yellow normally is for RPM monitoring, so if you hook it up to a fan controller, you can adjust the speed of it manually or let it run auto depending on the temp of your case.

 

Erm Im not sure about the third wire, i think i remember there being 2, one that i connected to the mb and then 1 i just left. I'll check sometime, but I dont know what a rpm controller looks like/where to attach it to...

 

I wasnt aware motherboard fan pin outs allowed you to control their voltage? I thought they were hardwired into the 12V line
In anycase a drivebay fancontroller gives you more options, with alarms and temperature monitoring and fan speed ( be prepared for flicker on lit up fans though lol unless it uses a none chopping method )