ASUS A88X-PLUS has two 4-pin fan connectors, but my two fan connectors have 3 pins

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SkywayTraveler

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My ASUS A88X-PLUS mobo has two 4-pin male fan connectors, but my two Corsair fans that came with my Corsair Carbide 200R case have 3-pin female connectors. Do I need to change fans? The front fan looks very hard to get to.

I read somewhere if I try to use a 4-pin to 3-pin adapter that my variable fan function will not work, because it needs that 4th pin to do that, right? Or can I swap out the fans, if that is the only solution?

Thanks for helping!
 
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volcanoscout
Ummm, no. If you're going to use hardware fan control (either integrated case fan controller or aftermarket fan controller), it won't matter whether your fans are 3-pin or 4-pin, they're still going to be controlled through voltage adjustments.

The BIOS fan control for your CHA_FAN1 header will only be static if you set it that way. The default setting is "Auto" - you can change that to "Manual" and select one of four profiles, or set your own modified profile (which could be static if you want it to be). Either way, the fans will ramp up and down based on your CPU temp. The difference in modes is how aggressively they ramp up. For that header, there would be no difference in fan behavior between a 3pin and 4pin fan.

If you...
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volcanoscout

volcanoscout

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Your CPU_FAN and CHA_FAN2 are both PWM headers, so if you connect 3pin fans to these, they'll only run at full speed. Your CHA_FAN1 header (below the CPU dock) is a voltage control header - you should be able to connect both case fans to it with a 3pin fan splitter and control their speed using the BIOS setting options or using fan control software.
 
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SkywayTraveler

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volcanoscout, If I read between the lines, I will need to replace the 3-wire fans with 4-wire fans to use hardware fan control?

Otherwise, I need to use a spillter to put both fans on CHA_FAN1 and use BIOS or s/w control.

I assume BIOS control would be static, so I would need software control to be dynamic with temperature variances, correct? If I choose the s/w solution, would I need mobo vendor s/w, public download s/w or purchase s/w?

Since I will be running more at normal speed than overclocked, I really don't want the fan running fast all the time.
 
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volcanoscout

volcanoscout

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Ummm, no. If you're going to use hardware fan control (either integrated case fan controller or aftermarket fan controller), it won't matter whether your fans are 3-pin or 4-pin, they're still going to be controlled through voltage adjustments.

The BIOS fan control for your CHA_FAN1 header will only be static if you set it that way. The default setting is "Auto" - you can change that to "Manual" and select one of four profiles, or set your own modified profile (which could be static if you want it to be). Either way, the fans will ramp up and down based on your CPU temp. The difference in modes is how aggressively they ramp up. For that header, there would be no difference in fan behavior between a 3pin and 4pin fan.

If you want to run your fans via software, you can use the software that came with your mobo or third-party software like Speed Fan. The main difference between that and BIOS control is that you can change your fan settings and profiles on-the-fly from within Windows, rather than having to boot into BIOS to make a change.
 
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