heatsink and fan problems

[dickdb]

Completed my first build two weeks ago and felt pretty good about it. Everything went fine until now. My case has a window, thankfully, and I noticed that the cpu fan was not spinning. I hurried up and shut down the computer, waited 10 minutes and rebooted. On boot everything seemed to be fine. A little later I noticed the fan had stopped spinning again so shut down again. The heatsink and fan is the stock Intel unit on a Duo Core 2 E6550. First question is: is the fan supposed to run constantly? If so, where would my problem be. Fan unit, motherboard connection or power supply? I really don't want to spend any more but can't jeopardize a new cpu and mobo either. Any thoughts or suggestions?

[The Wise Monkey]

Newer CPU fans do not run constantly - they only run when needed.

Use a program like CoreTemp to check the temperature of your CPU, and it should be about 30-40C.

[dickdb]

Thanks for the info. I thought the fan was supposed to run constantly. Since this is the first comp with a side window, I've never noticed the fan activity before. So I guess what you're saying is that I shouldn't worry, that this is normal.

[Jamie Nixx]

When the fan stops spinning, check your temps using core temp, if there is a rise in temp every couple of seconds turn it off the comp and check to see if the fan is connected properly.

[dickdb]

Thanks. I'll check the connection when I get home from work tonight. I am using a GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3P mobo with a Easy Tune Utility that can monitor the temps, so I'll check that also.

[The Wise Monkey]

I have a very similar motherboard to you, and I don't recommend Easy Tune - the temperatures can be slightly off. I'd recommend either CoreTemp or Intel TAT for monitoring temperatures.

[dickdb]

Thanks to everone for their comments. I called Intel tech support today and got what I should hope is a definitive answer. The rep said that the fan would not run constantly, only when it is needed. I have not checked my mobo bios yet to see if there is a way to keep the fan running but right now my CPU temp is 24 degree Celsius and the system temp is 34. Of course there is not much load since only media player and firefox is running.

[Jamie Nixx]

No worries, glad its turned out ok :)