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2 Fans 1 Four Pin Header

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  • Cooler Master
  • ASrock
  • Cable
  • Silverstone
  • Motherboards
  • Connection
  • Fan
  • Components
  • Cases
Last response: in Components
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October 12, 2013 12:08:58 PM

Motherboard:
ASRock 970 Extreme4
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Case Fans:
Coolermaster Sickleflow 120mm - 4 Fans Total
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Splitter Cables:
Silverstone Model CPF01 3.94" PWM Fan Splitter Cable
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

So I'll connect my CPU fan and front intake to a splitter, and then I'll connect the rear exhaust and bottom fan to the other splitter, leaving my two top fans connecting to the 3 pin headers. Will that work ok? Am I able to connect those two fans to one header? Any input?

More about : fans pin header

a b V Motherboard
October 12, 2013 12:18:34 PM

Yes, it will be OK. I'm not sure if the pins and BIOS configurations are the same for me (I have the Z77 Extreme3), but all 4 fans will be tied up to your CPU temps.
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a b V Motherboard
October 12, 2013 12:20:03 PM

im pretty sure theres enough fan headers on your board to avoid using splitters. I don't think its a good idea to have a splitter on the cpu fan header, since it can mess up how fast your cpu fan is going (or should be going)
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a c 519 V Motherboard
October 12, 2013 12:21:11 PM

You must connect the CPU's cooler fan to its own specified header... alone. The BIOS determines the RPM based on the fan's tach feedback to regulate CPU temps. The other headers can be split between fans as long as you don't exceed the current rating of the headers. But if the BIOS displays fan RPM, it will be inaccurate due to more than one fan per header.
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October 12, 2013 2:09:11 PM

oczdude8 said:
im pretty sure theres enough fan headers on your board to avoid using splitters. I don't think its a good idea to have a splitter on the cpu fan header, since it can mess up how fast your cpu fan is going (or should be going)


If you look at the splitter, one has all 4 pins and the other one has three, so I can connect the CPU fan into that one. It would basically be an extender in sense. The other splitter will simply match the speed of the other fan. So instead of having two signals for each splitter, its one signal for both. I'm pretty sure it won't be a problem.
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a b V Motherboard
October 12, 2013 2:11:46 PM

Dedicated_Blade said:
oczdude8 said:
im pretty sure theres enough fan headers on your board to avoid using splitters. I don't think its a good idea to have a splitter on the cpu fan header, since it can mess up how fast your cpu fan is going (or should be going)


If you look at the splitter, one has all 4 pins and the other one has three, so I can connect the CPU fan into that one. It would basically be an extender in sense. The other splitter will simply match the speed of the other fan. So instead of having two signals for each splitter, its one signal for both. I'm pretty sure it won't be a problem.


yes you are right, but that cable only works with 2 pwn fans, not 1 pwn fan and 1 3pin fan. the sickle fans are 3pin. if you use a 3pin fan with it, the 3pin fan will run at 100% speed, since only ground and +12V is connected to it.

again, why not connect all your fans to your mobo fan headers? I counted 5 fan headers not including the cpu one.
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October 12, 2013 2:20:04 PM

clutchc said:
You must connect the CPU's cooler fan to its own specified header... alone. The BIOS determines the RPM based on the fan's tach feedback to regulate CPU temps. The other headers can be split between fans as long as you don't exceed the current rating of the headers. But if the BIOS displays fan RPM, it will be inaccurate due to more than one fan per header.


oczdude8 said:
Dedicated_Blade said:
oczdude8 said:
im pretty sure theres enough fan headers on your board to avoid using splitters. I don't think its a good idea to have a splitter on the cpu fan header, since it can mess up how fast your cpu fan is going (or should be going)


If you look at the splitter, one has all 4 pins and the other one has three, so I can connect the CPU fan into that one. It would basically be an extender in sense. The other splitter will simply match the speed of the other fan. So instead of having two signals for each splitter, its one signal for both. I'm pretty sure it won't be a problem.


yes you are right, but that cable only works with 2 pwn fans, not 1 pwn fan and 1 3pin fan. the sickle fans are 3pin. if you use a 3pin fan with it, the 3pin fan will run at 100% speed, since only ground and +12V is connected to it.

again, why not connect all your fans to your mobo fan headers? I counted 5 fan headers not including the cpu one.


Oh snap.
http://www.microcenter.com/product/370700/Advance_Serie...

Then two of these 4 pin fans should work just fine right? I'm looking around $10 at most for a 4 pin fan. These look pretty decent at the Denver Microcenter. Well 2 of them should work on the splitter just fine right?

I'm going for having my intake, exhaust, cpu, and bottom fans to be run by the mobo, and the top fans will be run by 3 pins.
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October 12, 2013 2:25:15 PM

clutchc said:
You must connect the CPU's cooler fan to its own specified header... alone. The BIOS determines the RPM based on the fan's tach feedback to regulate CPU temps. The other headers can be split between fans as long as you don't exceed the current rating of the headers. But if the BIOS displays fan RPM, it will be inaccurate due to more than one fan per header.


The splitter receives only one signal instead of two for each splitter. So the CPU fan plugs into one end of the splitter and the case fan into the other. The case fan end simply will match the CPU fan speed. So there is no problems there. Just read through the customer reviews.

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a b V Motherboard
October 12, 2013 2:30:58 PM

I cant really tell if that fan is 4pin or 3pin. This description is really vague "3-pin Power Connector, 4-pin Power Connector" From the picture, it looks like a 3pin to me. I think by that they mean it comes with a 3pin to 4pin MOLEX adapter. it is not a pwn fan. this is a 4pin pwm fan:http://www.microcenter.com/product/322507/Blade_Master_...

I recommend you stick with the sickle fans, and use splitters on your 3 pins. There really isn't any good reasons/performance gain in using PWN case fans that justify the cost. In case you didn't know, 3pin fans can also be controlled and throttled by the motherboard.

if you still want to use 4pins, look for PWN case fans.
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October 12, 2013 2:38:13 PM

oczdude8 said:
I cant really tell if that fan is 4pin or 3pin. This description is really vague "3-pin Power Connector, 4-pin Power Connector" From the picture, it looks like a 3pin to me. I think by that they mean it comes with a 3pin to 4pin MOLEX adapter. it is not a pwn fan. this is a 4pin pwm fan:http://www.microcenter.com/product/322507/Blade_Master_...

I recommend you stick with the sickle fans, and use splitters on your 3 pins. There really isn't any good reasons/performance gain in using PWN case fans that justify the cost. In case you didn't know, 3pin fans can also be controlled and throttled by the motherboard.

if you still want to use 4pins, look for PWN case fans.


I thought the mobo didn't regulate the 3 pin fan speed at all. It's just full speed 24/7?
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a c 519 V Motherboard
October 12, 2013 2:38:35 PM

Dedicated_Blade said:
clutchc said:
You must connect the CPU's cooler fan to its own specified header... alone. The BIOS determines the RPM based on the fan's tach feedback to regulate CPU temps. The other headers can be split between fans as long as you don't exceed the current rating of the headers. But if the BIOS displays fan RPM, it will be inaccurate due to more than one fan per header.


The splitter receives only one signal instead of two for each splitter. So the CPU fan plugs into one end of the splitter and the case fan into the other. The case fan end simply will match the CPU fan speed. So there is no problems there. Just read through the customer reviews.



I guess I didn't catch that the splitter had 1 x 4 pin and 1 x 3 pin male ends. Yes, as long as the PWM signal is isolated, the BIOS should not be confused. But... Looking at the pic a bit closer now, it appears that the only pin missing in the one header is the tach feedback. The PWM is still present. Don't know how that would work with both fans having PWM control. If it was just case fans that were involved, it wouldn't be a big deal. But keeping the CPU cool is something I'd not mess with personally. Not when there are other solutions. Let us know how it works out for you.
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a c 519 V Motherboard
October 12, 2013 2:43:55 PM

Dedicated_Blade said:


I thought the mobo didn't regulate the 3 pin fan speed at all. It's just full speed 24/7?


You'll have to check your MB manual/BIOS section. Some boards allow for speed control thru varying the voltage from +12V down to +5V.
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Best solution

a b V Motherboard
October 12, 2013 2:49:31 PM

Dedicated_Blade said:
oczdude8 said:
I cant really tell if that fan is 4pin or 3pin. This description is really vague "3-pin Power Connector, 4-pin Power Connector" From the picture, it looks like a 3pin to me. I think by that they mean it comes with a 3pin to 4pin MOLEX adapter. it is not a pwn fan. this is a 4pin pwm fan:http://www.microcenter.com/product/322507/Blade_Master_...

I recommend you stick with the sickle fans, and use splitters on your 3 pins. There really isn't any good reasons/performance gain in using PWN case fans that justify the cost. In case you didn't know, 3pin fans can also be controlled and throttled by the motherboard.

if you still want to use 4pins, look for PWN case fans.


I thought the mobo didn't regulate the 3 pin fan speed at all. It's just full speed 24/7?


no, motherboards can vary the voltage sent to the fan based on the speed reading acquired from the 3rd pin. so instead of sending 12V, it sends 7V, thus reducing the fan speeds. MOST motherboards can do this. check out pg 63 of your mobos usrer manual:http://download.asrock.com/manual/970%20Extreme4.pdf
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October 12, 2013 3:26:20 PM

oczdude8 said:
Dedicated_Blade said:
oczdude8 said:
I cant really tell if that fan is 4pin or 3pin. This description is really vague "3-pin Power Connector, 4-pin Power Connector" From the picture, it looks like a 3pin to me. I think by that they mean it comes with a 3pin to 4pin MOLEX adapter. it is not a pwn fan. this is a 4pin pwm fan:http://www.microcenter.com/product/322507/Blade_Master_...

I recommend you stick with the sickle fans, and use splitters on your 3 pins. There really isn't any good reasons/performance gain in using PWN case fans that justify the cost. In case you didn't know, 3pin fans can also be controlled and throttled by the motherboard.

if you still want to use 4pins, look for PWN case fans.


I thought the mobo didn't regulate the 3 pin fan speed at all. It's just full speed 24/7?


no, motherboards can vary the voltage sent to the fan based on the speed reading acquired from the 3rd pin. so instead of sending 12V, it sends 7V, thus reducing the fan speeds. MOST motherboards can do this. check out pg 63 of your mobos usrer manual:http://download.asrock.com/manual/970%20Extreme4.pdf


Ohhhh ok. So the motherboard can vary the voltage automatically for me as the CPU heats up and cools down? In that case, what 3 pin/4 pin molex 120mm fans would you recommend for budget gaming. I don't plan on overclocking so it won't get too toasty. AMD 6300 with MSI Radeon HD 7850 2GB. I don't want a wind tunnel but my headset does block out some noise.
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a c 519 V Motherboard
October 12, 2013 3:44:21 PM

The MB will not properly control the CPU fan by varying the voltage if not connected to the CPU FAN header! It needs the PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) control from the BIOS. If you have an air cooler, you need to plug its fan in the correct header.
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a b V Motherboard
October 12, 2013 4:19:03 PM

clutchc said:
The MB will not properly control the CPU fan by varying the voltage if not connected to the CPU FAN header! It needs the PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) control from the BIOS. If you have an air cooler, you need to plug its fan in the correct header.


we are talking about case fans.
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a b V Motherboard
October 12, 2013 4:21:43 PM

the sickle fans you had were fine. also you don't need more then 4 fans. Connect each fan to its own separate 3pin header on the motherboard (your motherboard has 5 of this) and connect the cpu fan to the CPU_FAN header (4pin).

this way, the cpu fan will adjust according to cpu temps, and the motherboard can automatically adjust (or you can manualy) adjust the other 4 case fans(based on mobo temps).

Edit: no sure how much you want to spend on fans, but these are also good :http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
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October 12, 2013 4:33:04 PM

clutchc said:
The MB will not properly control the CPU fan by varying the voltage if not connected to the CPU FAN header! It needs the PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) control from the BIOS. If you have an air cooler, you need to plug its fan in the correct header.


oczdude8 said:
the sickle fans you had were fine. also you don't need more then 4 fans. Connect each fan to its own separate 3pin header on the motherboard (your motherboard has 5 of this) and connect the cpu fan to the CPU_FAN header (4pin).

this way, the cpu fan will adjust according to cpu temps, and the motherboard can automatically adjust (or you can manualy) adjust the other 4 case fans(based on mobo temps).

Edit: no sure how much you want to spend on fans, but these are also good :http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...


You plug a 4 pin extender cable into a 4 pin header, it would do the exact same thing. If I ever did or would get that splitter. The end with the 4 pins does the exact same thing as if it was plugged into the motherboard. All the reviews said it worked fine with multiple motherboards. But regardless I figured out I'll go with 3 pins instead.
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