Just looking before I leap...new PC final thoughts.

In BIOS "PC Health" section I have an alarm set to go off when temp reaches 60 degrees C/140 degrees F & also if CPU fan fails.

GARoss said:

The rear fan is a 2-wire only. The Molex adapter I mentioned apparently isn't the proper 4-pin that would fit into SYS_FAN2 so no go there. I did put the rear on its lowest setting. Here are comparisons; Looks to be 2-3 degrees C higher. Too
hot or OK?

It is much quieter on LOW!

Your temps are fine on the low exhaust fan speed, across the board. Going to low seems to make only a 1 or 2 degree increase at most.

As you are seeing, the ambient room temperature makes a lot of difference. Your room is circa 70, cooler than most. My ambients are perhaps 70 in winter, 75 this time of year, and 80 from May through Sept. My temps right now are several degrees warmer than yours. I would not worry at all unless CPU temps got above 50 consistently or other temps got into the 40s consistently. CPU temps will go high occasionally under load and you will probably see that in video encoding.

Do you see anything odd in the BIOS?

You might consider something like Malware Bytes as an auxiliary app to Microsoft Security Essentials. They don't conflict with each other.

Do you have a backup scheme in place or in mind?

Have you checked your boot time using the tool on this site? Probably down under 30 seconds somewhere? I am fighting the urge to get an SSD, although my boot times are quick for a spinning drive (47 seconds).

ignatzatsonic said:

Do you see anything odd in the BIOS?

You might consider something like Malware Bytes as an auxiliary app to Microsoft Security Essentials. They don't conflict with each other.

Do you have a backup scheme in place or in mind?

Have you checked your boot time using the tool on this site? Probably down under 30 seconds somewhere? I am fighting the urge to get an SSD, although my boot times are quick for a spinning drive (47 seconds).

I'm not sure what might be considered odd in BIOS. I seldom go there. I haven't decided if I want to OC or not. Probably wouldn't hurt.

I don't have a back-up plan, yet. I'll check boot time but I can tell you it is fast!

You can connect your 3 pin fan to a 4 pin header, you just might not be able to control the speed (but it will report the speed). The missing line is for the PWM control and they are meant to be compatible. Many motherboards will let you select between PWM and voltage control of the fan speed for the fan headers, so you may actually be able to control the speed from the processor temp even though it s 3 pin. The MB varies the voltage to control the speed in that case. I have 2 fans in my case that are 3 pin, connected to a sys_fan 4 pin header, and whose speed is controlled by the motherboard.

GeneO said:

You can connect your 3 pin fan to a 4 pin header, you just might not be able to control the speed (but it will report the speed). The missing line is for the PWM control and they are meant to be compatible. Many motherboards will let you select between PWM and voltage control of the fan speed for the fan headers, so you may actually be able to control the speed from the processor temp even though it s 3 pin. The MB varies the voltage to control the speed in that case. I have 2 fans in my case that are 3 pin, connected to a sys_fan 4 pin header, and whose speed is controlled by the motherboard.

Thanks. The rear fan has only 2 wires going into a Molex male/female connector. I have this wired directly from the PSU.

I thought I might be able to use a PSU supplied Molex to 4-pin connector but there are 2 issues. The 4-pin connector on the MB is physically different than the the 4-pin adapter. Also the GND & PWR do not match with the MBs 4-pin alinement. I'm concerned that something might short out on the MB if tried.

GARoss said:

GeneO said:

You can connect your 3 pin fan to a 4 pin header, you just might not be able to control the speed (but it will report the speed). The missing line is for the PWM control and they are meant to be compatible. Many motherboards will let you select between PWM and voltage control of the fan speed for the fan headers, so you may actually be able to control the speed from the processor temp even though it s 3 pin. The MB varies the voltage to control the speed in that case. I have 2 fans in my case that are 3 pin, connected to a sys_fan 4 pin header, and whose speed is controlled by the motherboard.

Thanks. The rear fan has only 2 wires going into a Molex male/female connector. I have this wired directly from the PSU.

I thought I might be able to use a PSU supplied Molex to 4-pin connector but there are 2 issues. The 4-pin connector on the MB is physically different than the the 4-pin adapter. Also the GND & PWR do not match with the MBs 4-pin alinement. I'm concerned that something might short out on the MB if tried.

Yeah, better safe than sorry.

Here are 3 different Sandy Bridge overclocking guides-----if you dare to indulge.

The first one is Gigabyte specific--the others are not.

Sandy Bridge Overclocking Guide

P67 Sandy Bridge Overclocking Guide For Beginners

Intel Sandy Bridge Overclocking Guide | Intel Sandy Bridge,Overclocking,Guide,Performance,Analysis,Servando Silva,Intel Sandy Bridge Overclocking Guide and Performance Analysis by Servando Silva

Did you ever measure a boot time or do any benchmarks at all?

ignatzatsonic said:

Did you ever measure a boot time or do any benchmarks at all?

On the to "do list".:)

When Win 7 boots it goes to a password screen. Is there an easy way to bypass to boot to desktop? I've looked but cannot find one.