if it really is total overkill just hook up the CPU fan to 5V and be done with it, imo. or you could go 7V too with the usual adapters.

What is the goal specifically?

If the intent is just to reduce fan noise, I'd recommend using quiet fans to begin with (e.g. Noctua fans) and use things like inline resistors to reduce fan speed .

IMHO, fan controllers aren't really a needed thing unless you specifically want to adjust fan speed up and down.

Thanks for the replies, just looking to reduce fan noise, no overclocking involved, just normal gaming from time to time. If you are familiar with alternatives for cheap silent fans please do tell, thanks. I'm open to all methods, I'm not familiar with any of this at all

you haven't mentioned what kind of cooler you are using, but noctua has a lot of small fans that possibly could be swapped in.

if you want to try tweaking your current fan without buying anything, try speedfan, which apparently first released in 2001 and should have some version available that will run on 9x and certainly XP. then just set some fixed lower RPM and see if temps/noise are to your liking.

andre_6 wrote on 2022-12-30, 03:54:

Thanks for the replies, just looking to reduce fan noise, no overclocking involved, just normal gaming from time to time. If you are familiar with alternatives for cheap silent fans please do tell, thanks. I'm open to all methods, I'm not familiar with any of this at all

What sort of setup do you have? How many fans, what sizes? What sort of hardware are they connected to?

Depending on what is specifically making noise will partially determine how to go about quieting it down.

auron wrote on 2022-12-30, 04:01:

you haven't mentioned what kind of cooler you are using, but noctua has a lot of small fans that possibly could be swapped in.

if you want to try tweaking your current fan without buying anything, try speedfan, which apparently first released in 2001 and should have some version available that will run on 9x and certainly XP. then just set some fixed lower RPM and see if temps/noise are to your liking.

Shponglefan wrote on 2022-12-30, 04:03:

andre_6 wrote on 2022-12-30, 03:54:

Thanks for the replies, just looking to reduce fan noise, no overclocking involved, just normal gaming from time to time. If you are familiar with alternatives for cheap silent fans please do tell, thanks. I'm open to all methods, I'm not familiar with any of this at all

What sort of setup do you have? How many fans, what sizes? What sort of hardware are they connected to?

Depending on what is specifically making noise will partially determine how to go about quieting it down.

Win98SE has a basic socket 370 cooler, Tualatin a socket A 462 one, and the XP has a stock AMD socket 754 one. No extra fans on these builds, cpu coolers only, standard vertical ATX period correct builds. As for the gpu coolers they don't demand anything else to be done in particular IMO. I was under the impression that speedfan didn't work in Win9x but will check it out.

I would just like a method that manages to set a sweet spot for normal gaming and set it that way for good, I wouldn't even tweak it lower or higher after that

andre_6 wrote on 2022-12-30, 04:44:

Win98SE has a basic socket 370 cooler, Tualatin a socket A 462 one, and the XP has a stock AMD socket 754 one. No extra fans on these builds, cpu coolers only, standard vertical ATX period correct builds.

For CPU fans, I'd recommend replacing whatever stock fans you have with Noctua 60mm fans. Much quieter (virtually silent) in my experience.

I've got a couple builds (Athlon XP 2000+ and Pentium 133) where I use these fans and they work great (see pics).

As for the gpu coolers they don't demand anything else to be done in particular IMO. I was under the impression that speedfan didn't work in Win9x but will check it out.

Are they putting out noise though?

For instance, I have a GeForce 4200 in my Athlon XP 2000+ build that was extremely noisy so I replaced the stock cooler with a fanless option.

Shponglefan wrote on 2022-12-30, 04:58:

For CPU fans, I'd recommend replacing whatever stock fans you have with Noctua 60mm fans. Much quieter (virtually silent) in my […]
Show full quote

andre_6 wrote on 2022-12-30, 04:44:

Win98SE has a basic socket 370 cooler, Tualatin a socket A 462 one, and the XP has a stock AMD socket 754 one. No extra fans on these builds, cpu coolers only, standard vertical ATX period correct builds.

For CPU fans, I'd recommend replacing whatever stock fans you have with Noctua 60mm fans. Much quieter (virtually silent) in my experience.

I've got a couple builds (Athlon XP 2000+ and Pentium 133) where I use these fans and they work great (see pics).

As for the gpu coolers they don't demand anything else to be done in particular IMO. I was under the impression that speedfan didn't work in Win9x but will check it out.

Are they putting out noise though?

For instance, I have a GeForce 4200 in my Athlon XP 2000+ build that was extremely noisy so I replaced the stock cooler with a fanless option.

Looks great, I would like to keep the hardware as stock as possible, as I don't use these builds every day, and when I do it's for an hour, two tops. I would just like to make them quieter, if you think that a 12v to 7v adapter would do the trick while still at a safe cooling level for some games then I'd start there. The gpus aren't particularly noisy, they're practically drowned out by the cpu coolers. I would like to cut the cpu's volume by around 30% and that's about it, if it gets too silent it starts detracting from the older pc experience if that makes any sense

andre_6 wrote on 2022-12-30, 05:08:

Looks great, I would like to keep the hardware as stock as possible, as I don't use these builds every day, and when I do it's for an hour, two tops. I would just like to make them quieter, if you think that a 12v to 7v adapter would do the trick while still at a safe cooling level for some games then I'd start there.

Without monitoring the temps of your system, I can't say whether it would be safe or not. There are a lot of variables involved in cooling, so you'll have to try things out for yourself.

Undervolting fans will make them slower and quieter, but also less effective. That's one of the reasons I recommend switching to something like Noctuas, because they are designed to push a decent amount of air while also being quiet.

In contrast, older fans will not work as effectively when slowed down. You can certainly try that approach, but you'll want to make sure you don't run into overheating where CPUs can be damaged (more of a concern on older AMD systems specifically).

andre_6 wrote on 2022-12-30, 04:44:

Win98SE has a basic socket 370 cooler, Tualatin a socket A 462 one, and the XP has a stock AMD socket 754 one. No extra fans on […]
Show full quote

auron wrote on 2022-12-30, 04:01:

you haven't mentioned what kind of cooler you are using, but noctua has a lot of small fans that possibly could be swapped in.

if you want to try tweaking your current fan without buying anything, try speedfan, which apparently first released in 2001 and should have some version available that will run on 9x and certainly XP. then just set some fixed lower RPM and see if temps/noise are to your liking.

Shponglefan wrote on 2022-12-30, 04:03:

andre_6 wrote on 2022-12-30, 03:54:

Thanks for the replies, just looking to reduce fan noise, no overclocking involved, just normal gaming from time to time. If you are familiar with alternatives for cheap silent fans please do tell, thanks. I'm open to all methods, I'm not familiar with any of this at all

What sort of setup do you have? How many fans, what sizes? What sort of hardware are they connected to?

Depending on what is specifically making noise will partially determine how to go about quieting it down.

Win98SE has a basic socket 370 cooler, Tualatin a socket A 462 one, and the XP has a stock AMD socket 754 one. No extra fans on these builds, cpu coolers only, standard vertical ATX period correct builds. As for the gpu coolers they don't demand anything else to be done in particular IMO. I was under the impression that speedfan didn't work in Win9x but will check it out.

I would just like a method that manages to set a sweet spot for normal gaming and set it that way for good, I wouldn't even tweak it lower or higher after that

You mounted a s754 cooler onto an AthlonXP? How did you manage that? With cooler, do you mean just the fan or the entire heatsink including fan?

Pics?

Regarding case fans, I'd recommend you use at least one rear exhaust case fan as this may actually reduce noise. If your system temps go up, CPU fans may actually start running faster. Case fans are usually larger and thus can be made to run more quiet but again this depends on your particular setups, for which pics would also help.

Personally I'd rather not use a 7v (or 5v) adapter for a CPU fan as, as the fan ages, it becomes more likely the fan will stop starting to spin up when powering on your system.
I've used a CPU fan with 7v adapter once (was a s754 system iirc) as I found the Zalman copper HSF too loud when run at full speed (the onboard fan header was dead, so this was my solution). I made it a habit to leave the side panel off so I could check if the CPU fan started running as I pressed the power button.

I have used a 7v adapter more often on exhaust case fans though.

Tetrium wrote on 2022-12-30, 15:18:

You mounted a s754 cooler onto an AthlonXP? How did you manage that? With cooler, do you mean just the fan or the entire heatsin […]
Show full quote

You mounted a s754 cooler onto an AthlonXP? How did you manage that? With cooler, do you mean just the fan or the entire heatsink including fan?
Pics?
Regarding case fans, I'd recommend you use at least one rear exhaust case fan as this may actually reduce noise. If your system temps go up, CPU fans may actually start running faster. Case fans are usually larger and thus can be made to run more quiet but again this depends on your particular setups, for which pics would also help.
Personally I'd rather not use a 7v (or 5v) adapter for a CPU fan as, as the fan ages, it becomes more likely the fan will stop starting to spin up when powering on your system.
I've used a CPU fan with 7v adapter once (was a s754 system iirc) as I found the Zalman copper HSF too loud when run at full speed (the onboard fan header was dead, so this was my solution). I made it a habit to leave the side panel off so I could check if the CPU fan started running as I pressed the power button.

I have used a 7v adapter more often on exhaust case fans though.

Just a normal stock AMD fan with its heatsink, the CPU's a Sempron actually, came built from the store at the time, looks pretty stock to me (see pic). Can't take some pics as the PC's are in some hard reaching places which is a problem for me in my current state, sorry. I do think I have an extra case fan or two, I'll try and find them to test them out when I'm able to in the future, thanks.

Shponglefan wrote on 2022-12-30, 05:45:

Without monitoring the temps of your system, I can't say whether it would be safe or not. There are a lot of variables involved […]
Show full quote

andre_6 wrote on 2022-12-30, 05:08:

Looks great, I would like to keep the hardware as stock as possible, as I don't use these builds every day, and when I do it's for an hour, two tops. I would just like to make them quieter, if you think that a 12v to 7v adapter would do the trick while still at a safe cooling level for some games then I'd start there.

Without monitoring the temps of your system, I can't say whether it would be safe or not. There are a lot of variables involved in cooling, so you'll have to try things out for yourself.

Undervolting fans will make them slower and quieter, but also less effective. That's one of the reasons I recommend switching to something like Noctuas, because they are designed to push a decent amount of air while also being quiet.

In contrast, older fans will not work as effectively when slowed down. You can certainly try that approach, but you'll want to make sure you don't run into overheating where CPUs can be damaged (more of a concern on older AMD systems specifically).

From what I'm reading from you guys/girls, if the 5v trick or using a 7v adapter is too binary of an option, I wouldn't mind to then just get a fan controller and run some benchmarks while keeping an eye on SpeedFan for temps and RPM so I can find the sweet spot, even if I end up decreasing only 15% or 20% for example. If it's just a question of finding the sweet spot then I'm willing to give it a go, as long as reducing the voltage just a notch isn't detrimental for these older fans regarding their lifespan for some reason.

I understand Noctua's advantages and I have seen from people's tweakings and projects that they are worth it, but for me in this particular instance I wouldn't need or even want silent or practically silent builds as like I said it detracts from the experience of using these older PCs. Adding to the fact that I would be playing games at a normal speaker volume, I would just need to bring the "case volume" down a notch to the point where it moves just a little further to background in relation to what I'm playing.

With my socket A 462 cooler/Tualatin combination I'm pretty sure it's running way above what would be needed, so I'm very confident I could decrease it to a nice level while keeping it cool, and as that's the worst example I have I would start there.

If someone can please explain how I would install something like this in the link I will be very grateful, thanks in advance: https://pt.aliexpress.com/item/10050045 ... AGho2zuer7

andre_6 wrote on 2022-12-30, 16:51:

If someone can please explain how I would install something like this in the link I will be very grateful, thanks in advance: https://pt.aliexpress.com/item/10050045 ... AGho2zuer7

In the past I used do-it-yourself soldered fan controllers, but the downside is that I needed to be careful they don't wander around the system/case and cause a short.
Later I bought a bunch of Gelid branded fan controllers. AKA "Gelid Solutions Manual speed controller". See image. These are excellent. They also have an adjustment dial, of course. I measured they can be set as low as 7V. (Maybe even lower, but that may not reliably start a 12V fan.)

andre_6 wrote on 2022-12-30, 16:51:

I understand Noctua's advantages and I have seen from people's tweakings and projects that they are worth it, but for me in this particular instance I wouldn't need or even want silent or practically silent builds as like I said it detracts from the experience of using these older PCs.

For clarity, a Noctua fan running full blast isn't going to be silent. It's just going to be a quieter than a generic fan, while the Noctua will output a higher CFM of airflow.

Using the included resistor adapters a Noctua fan can be reduced to near silence. Basically no different than how a fan controller works, it's just using specific resistors instead of a variable potentiometer.

If someone can please explain how I would install something like this in the link I will be very grateful, thanks in advance: https://pt.aliexpress.com/item/10050045 ... AGho2zuer7

Since that particular fan controller just comes with bare power leads, you'd need to attach a connector for power. Since that looks like it's designed for a 12V power source, your best bet would be to get a molex connector and crimp it in a manner with the red + wire to the 12V line and black - wire to ground.

Then you would connect the fan controller to a spare PSU output and the fan to the fan controller via the attached header pins.

The other issue mentioned above is securing the fan controller itself inside the case and ensuring the circuit board doesn't end up hitting bare metal and shorting out.

An alternative would be getting a fan controller that already has some sort of case and proper adapters included, or using something like a drive bay mountable fan controller.

andre_6 wrote on 2022-12-30, 16:51:

Tetrium wrote on 2022-12-30, 15:18:

You mounted a s754 cooler onto an AthlonXP? How did you manage that? With cooler, do you mean just the fan or the entire heatsin […]
Show full quote

You mounted a s754 cooler onto an AthlonXP? How did you manage that? With cooler, do you mean just the fan or the entire heatsink including fan?
Pics?
Regarding case fans, I'd recommend you use at least one rear exhaust case fan as this may actually reduce noise. If your system temps go up, CPU fans may actually start running faster. Case fans are usually larger and thus can be made to run more quiet but again this depends on your particular setups, for which pics would also help.
Personally I'd rather not use a 7v (or 5v) adapter for a CPU fan as, as the fan ages, it becomes more likely the fan will stop starting to spin up when powering on your system.
I've used a CPU fan with 7v adapter once (was a s754 system iirc) as I found the Zalman copper HSF too loud when run at full speed (the onboard fan header was dead, so this was my solution). I made it a habit to leave the side panel off so I could check if the CPU fan started running as I pressed the power button.

I have used a 7v adapter more often on exhaust case fans though.

Just a normal stock AMD fan with its heatsink, the CPU's a Sempron actually, came built from the store at the time, looks pretty stock to me (see pic). Can't take some pics as the PC's are in some hard reaching places which is a problem for me in my current state, sorry. I do think I have an extra case fan or two, I'll try and find them to test them out when I'm able to in the future, thanks.

Ah waaaait, the Sempron is a s754 one, right? That would make sense.
I wish we could use stock s754 HSFs on sA 🤣

If your board is a s754 one, it would change things significantly as there is (in theory at least) a wide range of HSFs compatible with a wide range of AMD CPU sockets, ranging from s754 all the way to AM3 and beyond. Depending on the TDP of course but afaicr Sempron for s754 didn't have a very high TDP anyway.

Tetrium wrote on 2022-12-30, 18:30:

Ah waaaait, the Sempron is a s754 one, right? That would make sense.
I wish we could use stock s754 HSFs on sA 🤣

If your board is a s754 one, it would change things significantly as there is (in theory at least) a wide range of HSFs compatible with a wide range of AMD CPU sockets, ranging from s754 all the way to AM3 and beyond. Depending on the TDP of course but afaicr Sempron for s754 didn't have a very high TDP anyway.

I wondered why it would sound so strange to you but as a learning user I always think there may be something I don't know 🤣. It's my XP build I had from the era and for that reason I kept it as original as possible, I had to change GPU and RAM to bring it up a notch to be able to cope with all the games I wanted from roughly 2002-2007. Sometimes I think about changing the Sempron to an Athlon 64 3700+ and be done with it, but the Sempron feels like the remaining piece that made the PC what it was, and it's not like I can't play anything to good specs on the PC already.

gerwin wrote on 2022-12-30, 17:35:

andre_6 wrote on 2022-12-30, 16:51:

If someone can please explain how I would install something like this in the link I will be very grateful, thanks in advance: https://pt.aliexpress.com/item/10050045 ... AGho2zuer7

In the past I used do-it-yourself soldered fan controllers, but the downside is that I needed to be careful they don't wander around the system/case and cause a short.
Later I bought a bunch of Gelid branded fan controllers. AKA "Gelid Solutions Manual speed controller". See image. These are excellent. They also have an adjustment dial, of course. I measured they can be set as low as 7V. (Maybe even lower, but that may not reliably start a 12V fan.)

Shponglefan wrote on 2022-12-30, 17:53:

For clarity, a Noctua fan running full blast isn't going to be silent. It's just going to be a quieter than a generic fan, while […]
Show full quote

For clarity, a Noctua fan running full blast isn't going to be silent. It's just going to be a quieter than a generic fan, while the Noctua will output a higher CFM of airflow.

Using the included resistor adapters a Noctua fan can be reduced to near silence. Basically no different than how a fan controller works, it's just using specific resistors instead of a variable potentiometer.

If someone can please explain how I would install something like this in the link I will be very grateful, thanks in advance: https://pt.aliexpress.com/item/10050045 ... AGho2zuer7

Since that particular fan controller just comes with bare power leads, you'd need to attach a connector for power. Since that looks like it's designed for a 12V power source, your best bet would be to get a molex connector and crimp it in a manner with the red + wire to the 12V line and black - wire to ground.

Then you would connect the fan controller to a spare PSU output and the fan to the fan controller via the attached header pins.

The other issue mentioned above is securing the fan controller itself inside the case and ensuring the circuit board doesn't end up hitting bare metal and shorting out.

An alternative would be getting a fan controller that already has some sort of case and proper adapters included, or using something like a drive bay mountable fan controller.

Thank you both very much for your help and explanations, I have basic soldering skills so that would be within my abilities, but all considering I'm drawn to the Gelid fan controller, seems like the easier solution to turn down the fans just a notch and quickly undo something if need be. Wish I knew about them years ago, but better late than never I guess!

I ended up getting the Gelid fan controller at the time and was quite happy with it, even after finding the sweet spot between cooling performance and noise the difference was clear throughout my Win98SE/WinME/WinXP builds.

But I'd like to add the absolute biggest difference maker that I was ignoring at the time: Old vs. new PSUs. With the new PSUs in those 3 builds the noise was hugely reduced, and the fan controller almost wouldn't have been needed after removing the old PSUs. Specially the EuroTech PSU in my WinXP machine that was driving me crazy!