Need help monitoring fans

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
N

nfbourg

Commendable
Jul 22, 2016
9
0
1,510
Hello,

I have the NZXT noctis 450, and it comes with a PWM fan hub pre-installed, however whenever I plug a fan into it, my motherboard (Gigabyte z97x gaming 5) does not read any of the fan speeds, not even the one under the CPU header.

I have tried plugging into different headers and nothing works, so I am wondering is there a fan hub that I can buy that will allow me to monitor and control the fan speeds using a software?

Thanks,
Nate
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
P

Paperdoc

Polypheme
Ambassador
Oct 19, 2006
11,269
1,028
69,340
I want to check three important points here.

1. The instructions say you must connect the 4-pin fan lead from the Hub to the CPU_FAN header specifically. Did you do that?
2. See your mobo manual, p. 47 near the top. Check (a) the CPU System Fan Fail Warning is set to Disable by default, you might want to Enable it; (b) CPU Fan Speed Control MUST be set to "Normal"; (c) on the BIOS Setup screen for M.I.T. / Health Status, what does it show for your CPU Fan Speed? If it has a reasonable reading here, then whatever is telling you there is no fan speed is wrong.
3. The Hub instructions tell you that you MUST connect your actual CPU fan or cooler system to the Hub's WHITE Port #1. Did you do that?

You should realize that the mobo will ONLY receive from that Hub the speed signal of the ONE fan that is plugged into its white Port #1. NO other fan connected to the Hub can report its speed through the Hub. IF you really want to see all your fans' speeds, they will need to be connected to mobo headers, one fan per header. IF you want to do that, you then must realize that you only have three CHA_FAN headers on the mobo, so you can only handle 3 case ventilation fans while reading their speeds.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
N

nfbourg

Commendable
Jul 22, 2016
9
0
1,510
I found the issue, one of the pre-installed wires in the case was causing the issue. I can now monitor the CPU fan. Thank you both for the help.

A separate question I am wondering is does the fan hub adjust the speed of the other fans that are not plugged into CPU fan header, even if they are 3-pin fans?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
N

nfbourg

Commendable
Jul 22, 2016
9
0
1,510
I actually meant fans that are plugged into the fan hub, just not under the CPU lead header, but I think you answered my question anyways. Thabsks!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
P

Paperdoc

Polypheme
Ambassador
Oct 19, 2006
11,269
1,028
69,340
Ah. The answer is yes. In fact, that Hub does something special for 3-pin fans.

The tricky issue for most 4-pin fan HUBS is that they get the full +12 VDC power supply from the PSU and supply it to all their 4-pin output ports on Pin #2 of each. Then they get the PWM signal from the mobo header they are plugged into and just share it around to all their fans on their port Pin #4. This makes all of their output ports true 4-pin ports with PWM Mode control only. That is fine for all 4-pin fans. But as in other cases, any 3-pin fan plugged into a true 4-pin port can NOT be speed controlled.

This Hub that came with your case (and one other competitor I know of) does it differently. This Hub does reproduce ONE true 4-pin fan port (the white one #1) and recommends it be used for the actual CPU fan IF you are connecting the Hub to the mobo CPU_FAN header. In your case, you are not doing that. Then for all its other ports this Hub actually creates its own group of true 3-pin fan ports operating in Voltage Control Mode, which is what is necessary to control 3-pin fans. Thus it CAN control any 3-pin fan attached to its ports. Beyond that, it makes use of the fact that 4-pin fans have a backwards compatibility feature built into their design so that a 4-pin fan plugged into a true 3-pin port also WILL be under speed control. The final result is that this Hub can control on any of its 3-pin output ports any fan - 3-pin OR 4-pin - in any mix.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom