3 pin 4 pin fan header question

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krotos1970

krotos1970

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I have gigabyte GA-990XA-UD5 rev.1.1, I can see that it has 1 cpu header, 1 3 pin fan power header, 1 4 pin system fan1 header and 1 3 pin system fan2 header, I am waiting for my NZXT H440 red on black case, SILVERSTONE TD03-LITE water cooler, also 3 Cooler Master JetFlow red led they are being shipped right now.

few questions please need help with this I will appreciate any help, thank you.

after reading another thread here talking about some mobos with 3 pins headers can PWM, is my mobo capable of doing this? and it is can I run 3 or all 4 stock fans via my mobo's 3 pin header or should I just use the case's controller? reason I ask this is because I rather have the bios deal with it.

correct me if anyone thinks of a better way, I am going to put the radiator on the top front of the case pulling out air fan over radiator, I don't know if I have to connect the pump on the cpu header or have constant dc and connect the radiator fan to the cpu header.

the other fans I'm thinking of putting 2 on top rear and middle pulling air out and the other 1 to replace the 140mm in the exhaust.
is this a good set up?

and if my asus 970 gtx over heats I will buy 3 cooler master blade master R4-BMBS-20PK-R0 for the front intake, those have 3.9 mm H20 and 76.8 CFM, I read another thread that the strix cooler doesn't do a very good job.

thanks for any help
 
Solution
Ra_V_en


I'm gonna make a correction here...
It's PWM, pulse-width modulation and no it's not the only way to control fan speed, actually it's not the first either. Actually you don't even need 3 pin to control the fan since the 3rd wire is to measure RPM, the very simplest way to do it is to control the voltage from ~5v (which is the minimum for most to start working) - 12V (max from PSU). Usually to do so you can use either stabilizer or transistor with potentiometer.
There is even dozen of fan control modules which is working on this basis and don't require 4 pin fan.

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Gingerbread

Gingerbread

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Water cooling pump is always in the CPU_FAN header so that your motherboard can adjust the speeds depending on load. 4pin only supports PWN, while 3pins don't. Normally 3pins will run constantly at full speed. If you want the fans to run at full speed then you can attach them directly to the PSU, if you want the motherboard to have control over them then use the 3pins and 4pins as the motherboard can regulate the voltage on them. Also those are a bit too many fans if you ask me. You are going to spend a lot on case and fans and use a bad CPU which generates a lot of heat, your money will be better spend towards an entry-level case with built in fans and a better CPU - an i5 for example with stock cooling (or just with a $30 aftermarket cooler, with some overclock). But my guess is that you already have all the parts so then yeah.
 
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Ra_V_en

Ra_V_en

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I'm gonna make a correction here...
It's PWM, pulse-width modulation and no it's not the only way to control fan speed, actually it's not the first either. Actually you don't even need 3 pin to control the fan since the 3rd wire is to measure RPM, the very simplest way to do it is to control the voltage from ~5v (which is the minimum for most to start working) - 12V (max from PSU). Usually to do so you can use either stabilizer or transistor with potentiometer.
There is even dozen of fan control modules which is working on this basis and don't require 4 pin fan.

 
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krotos1970

krotos1970

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on my CM Storm case with a CM V8 air cooler, I always run the turbo on my cpu at 4.6 - 4.8 Ghz as long as I kept the cooler clean the CPU would always stay below 55c on idle and below 45 on loads and even though the cooler has a manual control the mobo still regulates the speed of the fans in the cooler they are the loudest fans in this case, the 3 stock fans have been running of the molex straight from the PSU, I was going to buy a higher model amd cpu but I found out that all the 8 core am3+ cpu's are the same chip they just use different instruction, and yes I can't compare it to a 5th or 6th Gen intel but this is what I have right now, eventually I will buy an intel board and put this board back in the CM case with the XFX amd GPU, and keep the Asus GPU with the new board, I am getting the H440 and the water cooler today, the fans I will probably receive them next week this seller hasn't even shipped them yet, the new case is to accommodate the ASUS GPU, the CM case I have was made before cards were over 8 inches long I had to remove the unrevable HDD racks so I can put it in the 3rd PCIe slot, but still I could not put it on the first PCIe slot and for some reason ASUS is blaming that for the new driver not updating.

and yeah I was thinking they were too many fans for this board, I will only run the CM Fans on the board when I get them, thanks for the fast replies.

but anybody think of a better place of putting the rad other then the top front, I got the 120 rad cause I've read so many threads saying that this case has low air flow with 240 and 280 rads.
thanks again I will update later tonite.
 
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JimF_35

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The newer all in one coolers have fan headers on them to control the fans connected to the radiator and one pump/control wire that goes to your CPU header. This way when your CPU heats up, it not only increases your pump speed but the fans on the radiator too. (This depends on the mode your get) Some models even have USB connectors to allow you to control this through software. It depends on how much you are willing to pay. You can always get the cheaper solutions and add USB fan controller modules later like...

http://www.aquatuning.us/air-cooling/controllers/6273/fancontroller-t-balancer/mining?sPartner=googleshoppingusa&gclid=CjwKEAiA3Ou1BRDso5XyhduuwFASJABP3PEDSrsDdy0P7FTdGOQaXrs1_XPDUtoaPJFMqnhpriIvEhoCOTHw_wcB

The controllers hook to one of your USB ports on your motherboard and come with software you can install to allow you to set your fan curves through software and not nobs. I hate nobs hanging out of my computer but that is my personal preference.

"but anybody think of a better place of putting the rad other then the top front, I got the 120 rad cause I've read so many threads saying that this case has low air flow with 240 and 280 rads.
thanks again I will update later tonite."

This depends on what you want. It makes very little difference where you put the radiator. Watch this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCZ5iP5cu8g

As for fan selection there is really one rule in my book, "Silence". But, yes there is a difference in static pressure and where to use them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXAFYNE7Cl0

I like 280 Rads as they have larger fans and more surface area. The larger the fan the quieter the fan so according to my rule get large fans if you can. Not all cases support his though so you have to get what fits too. I like Air Penetrators or Noctua fans.

Hope this helps.
 
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krotos1970

krotos1970

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yeah I've seen a similar video of radiator placement, and the second one I did already, it was actually JayzTwoCents that helped me choose the JetFlo's , I'm just going with some threads I've read about this case and strix coolers, hopefully I will not have any problem.

on the fan part I chose Cooler Master JetFlo's because they have the unique rubber and metal threading and the looks of it, I really don't mind 35 - 40 db especially with this H440 case being insulated, and even though SP120 has wider fins it is rated lower then the JetFlo's in air flow, the static pressure is only 0.4mm h20 higher then the JetFlo's, now the other ones I would buy for the front intakes 1 model is 3.9 mm h20 and another is 4.8 mm h20, but the higher one I seen it in amazon for 22 bucks I think, and the 3.9 ones in newegg for 15 bucks plus they give a 5 MIR, I've heard a lot on the noctuas but their just too expensive and the silver stone I just looked up the cooler I bought and found out that the fan included has 3.5mm h20 so thats good, these are new to me I just bought this one for the price and higher MM H20 over the Corsairs, I've been a fan of cooler master for years, but when I seen the h440 I just thought it was the best looking case out there.

but anyways thanks for your help, I got the water cooler still waiting for the case, should be here in a couple hours, fans I dunno the seller is taking his time in shipping them, I'll start moving components over to the new case as soon as it gets here, I'll update, thanks again.

 
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krotos1970

krotos1970

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it took me about 3 hours fighting with the case and keeping my 5 YO away from my office, everything is so compact, but cable management is awesome, it's blowing lots of cold air out the vents lol, now I just need the LED's.

something weird though, I thought the fan controller had an analog control on the case, dunno what I was thinking, and the hub in the back I thought it was suppose to be for 10 fans, but as soon as I looked at it I notice it an input for 4 pins, the wire said for PWM, and another that's an extension, I guess its a convenient to just run the top fans to that extension, because to stock fans don't seem to be controlled at all, they are running at max.

windows installed nvidia drivers but I'm going to the website to see if it's up to date, windows are flickering.
thanks guys for the input, it was all helpful.

how do you put a pic here?
 
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