can i put a 3pin fan in a 4 pin fan connector

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Karl Hermann

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Aug 13, 2014
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Hey
i am going to by an asus Maximus vii hero and i was wandering if it is ok to plug in a 3 pin fan in its 4 pin fan connectors and control it with the motherboard software . And pls can you recommend me a fan controller that can fit in my h440
 
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DeViL5o5


that's true, but he was asking for an answer regarding the maximus vii hero, and it does accept pwm or non-pwm fans for its fan connectors. the mobo software and the bios detects, and sets an optimized setting for each fan. he could customize the settings depending on his needs. ;)
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photonboy

photonboy

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Jun 20, 2006
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Incorrect.
A 3-pin fan attaches directly to a 4-pin fan header on the motherboard.

*Your motherboard may be able to control your 3-pin Voltage fan directly using its fan control software. My Z77 Sabertooth supports only PWM 4-pin fans for the CPU but supports both 3-pin and 4-pin for the case fans.

**Your fan must still be a VARIABLE SPEED fan or else you can't control the speed. Such as 500RPM to 1800RPM.

If it's not, then maybe buy another one at which point I'd recommend a PWM version that is 500RPM to 1800RPM or similar.

If you support 3-pin speed control but don't have one, here's a great deal (I'd link a PWM but the best deal was this one):
http://www.ncix.com/detail/arctic-cooling-arctic-f12-120mm-7c-68297-1716.htm

This one can drop to 300RPM in theory but may be about 600RPM since most motherboards don't support below 40% of max. So for a case fan you want the lowest possible RPM as well as a low ratio of max/min otherwise they spin faster than they need to since you rarely need more than 600RPM on a typical fan.
 
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photonboy

photonboy

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Jun 20, 2006
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Who are you talking to?

If I understand correctly, you're saying the Sentry 2 adjust fan speed with a variable resistor thus reducing the current (not voltage) to the fan. You may be right. Normally on the motherboard I believe they just vary the VOLTAGE instead (the fan is a resistance source still).

So if his fans are NON-VARIABLE then he needs this potentiometer method, and if they are VARIABLE he can use the motherboard likely...

*I still recommend NOT bothering with the Sentry 2 if your case fans are variable since you can control the fans right from the motherboard. On my computer they run completely silent at about 600RPM and rarely go above this even though they could.

MANUAL CONTROL is nice and all, but why bother when your motherboard can do this automatically for you.
 
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DeViL5o5

DeViL5o5

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Aug 6, 2014
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that's true, but he was asking for an answer regarding the maximus vii hero, and it does accept pwm or non-pwm fans for its fan connectors. the mobo software and the bios detects, and sets an optimized setting for each fan. he could customize the settings depending on his needs. ;)
 
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Solution
photonboy

photonboy

Titan
Jun 20, 2006
21,567
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85,015
*Yes, the motherboard does support 3 or 4-pin fans for the Fan Headers. That, plus the motherboard software for fan control is the ideal method.

HOWEVER, not all fans are variable. That's why I made a link to a fan that was on sale at NCIX that was variable. Use 3-pin only if cheaper.

My understanding is that the MOTHERBOARD only supports varying the voltage to the fan directly to change its speed (for 3-pin fans; PWM is different). There are Fan Controllers with knobs but they use a variable resistor (a potentiometer) however that uses more power as the resistor uses energy.

*It's my understanding that most NON-VARIABLE fans don't work at all unless the voltage is within 10% of the rating (i.e. 12V +/- 10%). So giving a fan 6Volts wouldn't run it at 50%, rather it wouldn't even start.
 
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