Silverstone PWM fan hub question

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suburban_ninja

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Apr 18, 2016
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I am putting my components in a new case with more airflow, its this one

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Carbide-Series-SPEC-02-CC-9011051-WW/dp/B00I0MKMG2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00.

And I will be running its off this

http://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-System-Cables-Black-CPF04/dp/B00VNW556I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1461033950&sr=8-1&keywords=fan+hub

because my mobo only has 3 fan headers. The cpu and 2 chassis headers. I plan on running 6 of these

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1K633D0197&cm_re=af120-_-9SIA1K633D0197-_-Product

My question is basically the best way to hook this up. Is it ok to run these fans at 12v at all times. They are not pwm fans so I planned on leaving my cpu cooler plugged in the cpu header and plugging the 6 case fans in the hub and plugging the hub in a chassis header and the hub power to the sata power cable that comes off the hub. Thanks in advance.
 
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Yes, you can run your fans at full speed all the time. It will shorten their life a bit compared to slower operations, but you already know and accept that. You are correct about the power source.

If you plan to get a manual third-party fan controller also, that changes the picture to one of two choices.

1. Forget the Silverstone Hub. Just buy a fan controller with many outputs, enough to connect all your fans. It could be by a controller with six outputs, OR one with fewer outputs plus a few 3-pin fan Y-splitters. The splitter allows you to connect 2 fans to one controller output port, and I'm sure the controller's ports can handle up to 2 fans per port. Just be sure that the controller you buy has output connectors that are the same...
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Paperdoc

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You did not tell us an important thing - exactly what mobo you are getting.

That Silverstone fan hub is specifically for use with a true 4-pin mobo header that is operating in PWM Mode, AND with 4-pin fans.

You say you plan to use 3-pin fans. If you do that, all of those fans will run at full speed all the time. A 4-pin header or a 4-pin fan hub like this can NOT control the speed of 3-pin fans! If you want to run all your fans at full speed all the time, all you really need to do is use adapters to connect them all to a PSU power output - you don't even need to connect anything to a mobo header that can't control them anyway.

HOWEVER, if you actually expect your mobo to control the speed of all those fans, you MUST buy 4-pin fans. You also need to be sure that the mobo SYS_FAN header you plug the hub into does really use PWM Mode. (There are some mobos that have "fake" 4-pin headers that actually operate as 3-pin headers in Voltage Control Mode with a useless 4th pin.) That is why I asked for the exact mobo you are getting, so we can check its manual for details.

I suggest you get 4-pin fans all around and use the Silverstone hub to connect all the case ventilation fans to one SYS_FAN header for control. Then separately you connect your CPU cooler to the mobo CPU_FAN header so it can be controlled properly by the CPU's internal temperature.
 
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suburban_ninja

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Apr 18, 2016
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I know they will not be able to be controlled. I was basically asking if they are ok to run on 12v at all times. I know that will lessen the life and they will be louder. And I thought since the hub was powered off sata that it wouldn't work the mobo header to hard and fry it. I just wanted to make sure it's fine to run like that. I plan on getting a fan controller to adjust it manually by voltage on the dial. Thanks
 
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Paperdoc

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Yes, you can run your fans at full speed all the time. It will shorten their life a bit compared to slower operations, but you already know and accept that. You are correct about the power source.

If you plan to get a manual third-party fan controller also, that changes the picture to one of two choices.

1. Forget the Silverstone Hub. Just buy a fan controller with many outputs, enough to connect all your fans. It could be by a controller with six outputs, OR one with fewer outputs plus a few 3-pin fan Y-splitters. The splitter allows you to connect 2 fans to one controller output port, and I'm sure the controller's ports can handle up to 2 fans per port. Just be sure that the controller you buy has output connectors that are the same as the "normal" 3-pin ports on a mobo, and not some special type of connector. IMPORTANT: since you will be using only 3-pin fans, you MUST get a controller for 3-pin fans in Voltage Control Mode. A controller with true 4-pin outputs using PWM Mode can't do the job.
2. If you really want to use the Silverstone Hub AND control them as a group using a manual third-party controller, you MUST instead buy a controller that DOES use true 4-pin output in PWM Mode so that the Hub gets a PWM signal to use. MOREOVER, that Hub still cannot control 3-pin fans according to what your manual controller sends it. Your fans will HAVE to be 4-pin fans to give you control using a 4-pin PWM Hub.
 
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suburban_ninja

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Apr 18, 2016
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Thanks doc. As I already have the hub, gave to me by a friend, I'm going to run it until I can get a controller. Thanks for the info on everything, nice to see a helpful community. So I guess I'll be on the hunt for a nice 3 pin voltage controlled fan controller. Thanks!
 
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