Help on connecting 7 Noctua fans to a NZXT Sentry 3 Controller.

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BNWilliams007

BNWilliams007

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Nov 2, 2015
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Hello, I wish to make a build with 7 noctua rpm 3000 fans to assure maximum cooling performance. However, I understand that this would result in loud fan noises which is why I would like to connect them to a fan controller. I don't really care about dealing with loud fan noise when I'm gaming or doing content creation, but I would like my computer to be as quiet as possible when I'm using my microphone in tasks such as podcasts. My problem however are the pin connectors. From my understanding, the Noctua fans that I'm looking at have a 4-pin connection while the NZXT Sentry 3 controller has a 3-pin connection. In addition to this, I want to have 7 fans while the Sentry only has 5 connectors. This would mean that I would have to buy a 4pinx3pin cable splitter right? Would either of these two cables work? I would like to find a "y" cable spliter where I can connect at least two fans to a single connector on the fan controller.

http://www.amazon.com/Phobya-4-Pin-Molex-Connector-Connection/dp/B004CLDSRU?tag=viglink20237-20
http://www.microcenter.com/product/341752/Akasa_PWM_3-way_Splitter_-_Smart_Fan_Cable

Here is a link to my planned build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/XKs7rH
Thank you for your time.
 
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Lutfij
The NZXT Sentry may be a good fan controller but I wouldn't suggest you hook up multiple fans off one header/channel on your fan controller. The way fan controllers work is having a variable resistor in the path of the power delivered to your fans so the more resistance you offer the more stress the resistor will have to endure. When you multiply this load two fold you can do the math and see where the issue lies. You'd have a far better time having a fan controller that has 7 discrete channels to operate manually though this will cost you more than your average run of the mill controller to which I'd suggest you buy a PWM fan splitter and have them all hooked to your SYS or CPU_Fan header on your motherboard.

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Lutfij

Lutfij

Titan
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Oct 7, 2009
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The NZXT Sentry may be a good fan controller but I wouldn't suggest you hook up multiple fans off one header/channel on your fan controller. The way fan controllers work is having a variable resistor in the path of the power delivered to your fans so the more resistance you offer the more stress the resistor will have to endure. When you multiply this load two fold you can do the math and see where the issue lies. You'd have a far better time having a fan controller that has 7 discrete channels to operate manually though this will cost you more than your average run of the mill controller to which I'd suggest you buy a PWM fan splitter and have them all hooked to your SYS or CPU_Fan header on your motherboard.

Choices include:
Swiftech
EK
Akasa

The benefit you're getting is you get full PWM support + depending on your motherboard, you can set a custom fan curve and have them either ramp up during intensive tasks/CPU temps or set them to run in an inaudible state.

The PWM cable you've chosen will do but it shouldn't be paired with a fan controller since the PWM splitter has a breakaway that provides power via the molex and the PWM signaling comes from the second end.
 
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