What fan splitter do I need

Hayden1834

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Jun 30, 2015
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Hi i am currently building my first pc using a Asus maximus vii hero with the nzxt h440 case. I have 8 fans plus a nzxt krakenx61
Fans:
3x corsair af 140 ( 1 for rear exhaust 2 for the nzxt kraken x61)
1x corsair sp 120 ( front panel fan )
2x noctua nf 120 ( 2 for the front panel)
2x noctua nfa 140 ( 2 for a push pull on the nzxt kraken x61

Ovbiously the motherboard doesn't have enough fan headers so what splitters do I need to connect them all
 
Solution
This takes a bit of thought because of the Kraken X61 liquid cooling system. I presume from your description that you are ignoring the fans that come with that, and using the fans you've listed. I presume, also, that you already have these fans. That's a factor because there are some compatibility issues here.

First, let's separate into two groups: CPU cooling with the Kraken unit, and case ventilation. Kraken unit first. It is designed for and supplied with 140 mm PWM type (4-pin) fans. Your post says you plan to use with its radiator two Corsair AF140 fans, plus two Noctua NFA 140 fans. The Corsair website appears to say that the AF140 fans are 3-pin (Voltage Control) fans. It also lists NO 140 mm size units among their PWM (4-pin)...

George Mulligan

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Sep 20, 2014
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Paperdoc

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This takes a bit of thought because of the Kraken X61 liquid cooling system. I presume from your description that you are ignoring the fans that come with that, and using the fans you've listed. I presume, also, that you already have these fans. That's a factor because there are some compatibility issues here.

First, let's separate into two groups: CPU cooling with the Kraken unit, and case ventilation. Kraken unit first. It is designed for and supplied with 140 mm PWM type (4-pin) fans. Your post says you plan to use with its radiator two Corsair AF140 fans, plus two Noctua NFA 140 fans. The Corsair website appears to say that the AF140 fans are 3-pin (Voltage Control) fans. It also lists NO 140 mm size units among their PWM (4-pin) fans. So that's a problem. You see, assuming that the Kraken unit really does require PWM type fans as it shows, it cannot control the speed of those 3-pin fans. A 3-pin fan plugged into a 4-pin port can only run at full speed all the time. You may have to use the original two 140 mm fans supplied with the Kraken unit instead of the Corsair AF140's.

You say you will use two Noctua NFA 140 fans. Well, I presume you mean one of the NF-A14 fan line. But that line includes 3 models, with suffixes of PWM, FLX or ULN. Of those, only the NF-A14 PWM model is a PWM type (4-pin) fan, so I HOPE that is what you have to use with the Kraken unit.

All four of the fans you plan to use in a push / pull configuration with the Kraken unit can be plugged into ONE wiring harness that is part of the Kraken system. Its installation instructions show that it comes with a fan header cable into which you plug up to four 4-pin fans. None of these plug into any mobo fan headers. There is one connector from the Kraken unit to a mobo 3-pin fan header for communication with the mobo automatic CPU cooling control system, but the radiator fans themselves do not.

So, now we are down to the other four fans you plan to use for case ventilation: one Corsair AF140 for the rear exhaust, one Corsair SP120 for front intake, and two Noctua NF 120's also for front intake. Both Corsair fans are 3-pin ones, UNLESS you actually have one SP120 PWM model that is 4-pin. Which do you have? If they are both 3-pin models, you can use them as such, and even connect both to one 3-pin Y-splitter and plug that into a mobo 3-pin fan port. The potential "problem" is that your mobo has all of its CHA_FAN ports as 4-pin. A true 4-pin port cannot control the speed of a 3-pin fan. HOWEVER, some mobos allow you to set in BIOS Setup whether the 4-pin port acts as a true 4-pin port or a true 3-pin port. I can't get at your mobo manual to check on this. So IF you can set at least one of your fan ports to 3-pin (Voltage Control Mode), you can use these 3-pin fans that way.

Next, the "Noctua NF 120" fans. In their 120 mm NF line, they have three PWM (4-pin) type fans: the NF-F12 PWM, the NF-P12 PWM, and the NF-S12A PWM. Then they have three 3-pin fans models: the NF-P12, the NF-S12A FLX, and the NF_S12A ULN. Which of those do you have? If you have two 4-pin type units, they can be used with a 4-pin Y-splitter on another mobo CHA_FAN port in 4-pin (PWM) mode. If instead they are both 3-pin type fans, use them with a 3-pin Y-splitter on a port set to 3-pin (Voltage Control Mode) if that is possible.

So, IF your mobo CHA_FAN ports can be adjusted for either 3pin or 4-pin operation, you probably can connect all four of your case ventilation fans to two ports using two Y-splitters of the correct type.
 
Solution