After one night of PC building...

[ZedX3]

Ok, despite my trouble with installing the cpu/heatsink/fan earlier the rest of the stuff went ok.

Here is what I accomplished...

Installed DVD rom, CD-RW, floppy, and HD into the case
Installed ram, pci-e card, and processor onto mobo and installed into case.

By that time it was 9:00 pm and I was pooped.

The only thing I am now faced with is hooking up all the power leads. The case and mobo both have instructions for hooking power up. Which is best to follow?

And where does the system fan plug into at? The PSU itself or does it plug into the mobo? The s_fan1 (system fan) is identical to the cpu fan connector (style wise) yet the connector on the system fan is a much bigger power connector and there is a lead coming directly out of the power supply that will fit it. Is that how it is connected?

I'm really nervous about turning it on though, i have a bad feeling it will over heat. :(

[jayb1234]

What case? What motherboard? What PSU? What PCI-E card? By system fan, do you mean case fan?

[Winnipesaukee]

You can plug the case fans into either the PSU or the Mobo

Dont be nervous, just check that your CPU fan is plugged in and seated properly. It wont overheat. Just close your eyes and flip the switch ;)

[blue60007]

Does the fan have a small 3 pin connector, or a large 4 pin molex connector (like the ones you used to hook the HDD to the power supply). What PSU do you have? Fans might have extra cabling that has two molex connection, one you plug into one coming from the PSU, and then using the other end, it could be used on a HDD or optical drives. Basically it allows for you to hook the fan in without using a 4pin molex connection.

If it is the 3 pin type, it will hook into the motherboard, look for a 3 pin connector on the mobo, labeled by small print on the board, SYS_FAN or CHA_1 (I think, the last one is chassis, something like that). Mine is along the bottom of the board, under the bottom PCI slot.

Hmm, you said its identical to the CPU Fan connector, so it's going to be the 3 pin type. If your PSU has a lead for that, then I would think that would work. But again, what PSU do you have?

Power leads? From the PSU for supplying power? or for the power switch and LED leads?

[ZedX3]

Sorry guys, should have listed my stuff.

Case: Antec Sonata II
PSU: Antec 450w SmartPower 2.0
Mobo: MSI K8N Neo4/SLI
PCI-E: Leadtek 6800 GT

And the female connector that comes off the case fan does look like the connector that would be on a hdd, optical drives, etc. (the 4 pin molex type)

But there is no 3 pin (cpu fan type) to be found anywhere.

[blue60007]

Oh, so it's not similar to the CPU fan then. That fan can just be hooked into a 4 pin lead coming from the PSU. That PSU has a 3pin fan sensor. You can hook that into your SYS_FAN connector and allow the mobo to monitor the PSU fans. You won't be able to power a fan with this.

So if you unplugged the power connector for the HDD, could you plug that into the fan?

Your CPU fan doesn't have a 3 pin connector? What CPU and heatsink/fan are you using?

[ZedX3]

No, the cpu has a 3 pin connector. It is hooked up to the mobo "cpu_fan1". So it's good to go.

I just figured the case fan would have this same type of connector (same type as the cpu fan) but it only has the 4 pin molex type. I just figured the case fan would be pluged into the mobo so it can monitor/adjust fan speed.

*edit* I just went and checked the connector on the case fan again and it has both male and female 4 pin molex type connectors.

[blue60007]

OK. In that case, find the nearest unused 4 pin connection coming from the PSU. Plug the case fan in there. With the antec PSU, you'll be bound to have plenty of extra connections. If not use both ends of the connectors to go between a used connector, and the device it's plugged into.

Case fans aren't necessarily going to be plugged into the mobo, in fact, some fans will draw more power than the mobo can output through that connector.