Which fan connector is the CPU's on a X11SSM-F?

[Jon Smark]

Sorry if the answer to this question is obvious to you guys, but it's not to me. On page 11 of the Supermicro X11SSM-F manual they show the locations of five fan connectors, labeled FAN1, FAN2, FAN3, FAN4, and FANA. Later the same manual refers to the CPU fan connector, but doesn't specify (or have I missed it?) which of those five it's supposed to be... (Note that I still haven't received the actual board, and I'm rehearsing the build based on the manual.)

 

[Spearfoot]

Sorry if the answer to this question is obvious to you guys, but it's not to me. On page 11 of the Supermicro X11SSM-F manual they show the locations of five fan connectors, labeled FAN1, FAN2, FAN3, FAN4, and FANA. Later the same manual refers to the CPU fan connector, but doesn't specify (or have I missed it?) which of those five it's supposed to be... (Note that I still haven't received the actual board, and I'm rehearsing the build based on the manual.)

95+% of the time, FAN1 is the CPU fan on Supermicro systems.

 

[Jon Smark]

95+% of the time, FAN1 is the CPU fan on Supermicro systems.

Thanks! I just found a high-resolution photo of the board, and there is indeed a "CPU fan" marking next to FAN1. Still don't know why the manual doesn't mention this...

And since we're on the subject, do you happen to know why FANA does not follow the same naming pattern as the others?

 

[Spearfoot]

Thanks! I just found a high-resolution photo of the board, and there is indeed a "CPU fan" marking next to FAN1. Still don't know why the manual doesn't mention this...

And since we're on the subject, do you happen to know why FANA does not follow the same naming pattern as the others?

Yes, sir. FANA is designated for auxiliary devices; VGA cards for example.

 

[Glorious1]

Just to expand a bit, your board has 2 fan zones. One zone is designated with letters, the other with numbers. The zones are each controlled the same way. So your fan headers FAN1, FAN2, FAN3, and FAN4 will all get the same control based on sensor temperatures. The way Supermicro sets up the zones is:

Zone 0 - CPU/System fans, headers named with a number (e.g., FAN1, FAN2, etc.)
Zone 1 - Peripheral fans, headers named with a letter (e.g., FANA, FANB, etc.).

So you have one peripheral header, and 4 CPU/system headers. It isn't clear (to me at least) which temperature sensors are used to control each zone. And I'm not sure to which zone Supermicro envisions HDD cooling fans being connected. The board doesn't know what the HDD temperatures are anyway.

You can use fan control scripts to regulate temperatures of drives as well as CPU/system. Mine and Stux's