Proper Fan Headers: 3 pin to 4 pin

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spinozakantnietzsche

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Jan 2, 2014
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This is my first build in quite a long time. It went off mostly without a hitch; however, I have some cooling questions. Right now, I have 3 case fans each of which are 3 pin while my motherboard only features one 3 pin fan header and I think 7 4 pin headers. Can I plug the case fans into the 4 pin headers? Or should I buy a molex to 3 pin fan cable and plug all my case fans into that single cable? What are the advantages or disadvantages to each? Thanks!

My components are as follows:
ASUS SABERTOOTH Z87 Thermal
Corsair Obsidian 550D
Intel i7 4770K
780 GTX SI
16 GB Dominator Ram
500 GB 840 EVO SSD
 
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spinozakantnietzsche

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Jan 2, 2014
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knightdog56

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Mar 29, 2008
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I would buy three new PWM case fans to plug into the four pin headers on the motherboard otherwise it defeats the purpose of the cooling options of the motherboard. Gelid makes some nice case fans. PWM ( pulse width modulation)
 
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endeavour37a

endeavour37a

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Feb 25, 2013
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No, that will simply power 6 fans from a molex PS cable. 3 pin fans are voltage controlled, the 4 pin fans are PWM controlled. Your MB header is PWM, your fan is not.

Some of the new high end MBs will control 3 or 4 pin fans, like the ASUS PRO, but most will not. Perhaps check your MB manual and see if yours will, but most will not...
 
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