need help choosing fan controller

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FrogPantsFan

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Jun 14, 2016
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I just bought and installed some 4 pin fans. I'd like to get a drive bay fan controller, but I've confused myself in the process of looking. The fans are 4 pin, but all the controllers I've found are 3 pin. I heard the corsair ml fans (the ones I'm using) require that 4th pin to work properly. I currently have them connected to my mobo (which has 4 pin connections), but the mobo fan control in the bios will not let me drop the fan speeds below 60%. I'm shooting for 40-50%. Will a fan controller with 3 pin ports work just fine? Is there a 4 pin controller I've just not been able to find? This is my first time using anything 4 pin, I could use some advice. Thanks.
 
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Before making the change to a third-party fan controller, I'd investigate further your dissatisfaction with the mobo control system.

1. Is it possible the temperatures inside your case are high enough that the fans NEED to run at 60% or more to keep the temperatures in control? What does your system tell you about the internal case temperatures?
2. What mobo header(s) did you use to plug in your case ventilation fans? They should be on CHA_FAN or SYS_FAN headers, and not on CPU_FAN or PWR_FAN headers.
3. Tell us exactly what your mobo is - maker and model number. We can look up its manual and advise on what can be done in BIOS Setup to configure the fan header operations.

If working there does not help, to answer your original...
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Paperdoc

Polypheme
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Oct 19, 2006
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Before making the change to a third-party fan controller, I'd investigate further your dissatisfaction with the mobo control system.

1. Is it possible the temperatures inside your case are high enough that the fans NEED to run at 60% or more to keep the temperatures in control? What does your system tell you about the internal case temperatures?
2. What mobo header(s) did you use to plug in your case ventilation fans? They should be on CHA_FAN or SYS_FAN headers, and not on CPU_FAN or PWR_FAN headers.
3. Tell us exactly what your mobo is - maker and model number. We can look up its manual and advise on what can be done in BIOS Setup to configure the fan header operations.

If working there does not help, to answer your original question:
The design of 4-pin fans means that, when they are plugged into a 3-pin header operating on Voltage Control Mode they still will work under control of that source. Physically and electrically you can plug them in that way. This is not quite ideal because a couple of small advantages of the 4-pin design (over 3-pin) are lost, but that is not a big problem. So yes, 4-pin fans can be used with 3-pin fan controller units.
 
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