NZXT H440 built in fan hub doesn't let me control it

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TolgaNuke

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Hi, I have an NZXT H440, NZXT Kraken x61 and an ASUS Z170 Pro motherboard. I would like to be able to control the fans in my case, I can only currently control the 2 fans on my radiator (for the x61.) I have plugged my x61 fans into the CPU fan headers and all the other 4 case fans are plugged into the built in fan hub at the back of the H440. I have connected the PWM cable leading from the fan hub to a CHASSIS fan header on my motherboard yet it doesn't detect that anything's plugged into that fan header. What am I doing wrong?
 
Solution
OP, did you plug one of your case fans into the white Port #1 of the Hub? That is the ONLY port on the Hub that can send a fan speed signal back to the mobo header.

Now, if AI Suite is changing things after the BIOS is set up, then you need to look at the settings in AI Suite also. I don't have a manual for that app, but the key settings to check for are:
1. Make sure you're adjusting things for the specific mobo CHA_FAN header you have the Hub plugged into.
2. If there's a choice, set the header to operate in PWM Mode, not DC Mode or Automatic.
3. Set the header temperature reference to MotherBoard, not CPU.
4. Set its control method to "Standard", not Manual or Max, etc. "Standard" uses the mobo's automatic control system.
5. Check...

Paperdoc

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No, don't do that. The correct solution is to adjust a setting in BIOS Setup. See your mobo manual, p. 3-49.

Get into BIOS Setup (see manual p. 3-2) by holding down the "Del" key as the unit boots up, until you see the opening screen of the EZMode (p. 3-3). Use the F7 key to go to Advanced mode. There click on "Monitor" in the menu across the top. There cursor down to the item "Chassis Fan 1-2 Q-Fan Control". By default it is set to DC Mode. Change that to PWM Mode for the particular CHA_FAN header that you have plugged your Hub into. Then change the next item, "Chassis Fan 1-2 Q-Fan Control" to "MotherBoard". Now choose the "Exit" menu item at the top and there choose "Save Changes & Reset". This will save your changes and reboot.

These two changes will ensure that your mobo CHA_FAN header sends out a PWM signal on Pin #4 of the header so your Hub can do its job, and that the mobo's control system for that Hub (and hence its case ventilation fans) is based on the temperature measured by a sensor built into the mobo by the maker, and not on a different sensor inside the CPU chip.

Two important notes about how your Hub should be used. Firstly, this particular fan Hub can control the speed of both 3-pin and 4-pin fans. (Basically, it uses the PWM signal from a mobo CHA_FAN header to create its own group of 3-pin fan ports operating in Voltage Control Mode.) Secondly, on the Hub the ONLY output port that can send its fan's speed signal back to the mobo for detection is Port #1, the white one with 4 pins. You MUST plug one of your case fans into that port of the Hub so that you mobo will receive a fan speed signal to measure on that CHA_FAN header.
 

infamousk12

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May 2, 2013
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Just curious, I have a Noctis 450 case. (same pwm hub). I watched several videos on how to set up the connections. Basically, I have the 2 fans from the rad, and the three case fans connected to the hub, and the pwm cable from the hub going straight to the CPU_Fan header. I was told many times, this is the way to do it. Also, I have set the bios settings for the fans to be on all on pwm. I have not had a problem so far. My temps are all stellar...
Forgive me for hacking this thread, I was just curious.
 

TolgaNuke

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May 3, 2016
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I did exactly as you told me and it worked in the bios but as soon as I loaded up windows, it went back to undetected my asus ai suite, setting the fans back to uncontrollable, what can I do to fix this
 

Paperdoc

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OP, did you plug one of your case fans into the white Port #1 of the Hub? That is the ONLY port on the Hub that can send a fan speed signal back to the mobo header.

Now, if AI Suite is changing things after the BIOS is set up, then you need to look at the settings in AI Suite also. I don't have a manual for that app, but the key settings to check for are:
1. Make sure you're adjusting things for the specific mobo CHA_FAN header you have the Hub plugged into.
2. If there's a choice, set the header to operate in PWM Mode, not DC Mode or Automatic.
3. Set the header temperature reference to MotherBoard, not CPU.
4. Set its control method to "Standard", not Manual or Max, etc. "Standard" uses the mobo's automatic control system.
5. Check what AI Suite says is the fan speed on that header. It will only report ONE fan speed, no matter how may fans you have on the Hub, and only that if you did plug one fan into the Hub's white Port#1.

 
Solution

Paperdoc

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infamousk12, what you did was quite all right. That is what the case instructions tell you to do. What they don't tell you is the why? part, and that's because it is a bit complicated.

The Hub supplied with the NZXT case can control both 3-pin and 4-pin fans. It does this by using a PWM signal from a mobo fan header to create its own group of 3-pin fan ports that operate in Voltage Control Mode, not PWM Mode. Voltage Control Mode is the only way to control 3-pin fans. And because of the backwards compatibility design of the newer 4-pin fans, they also can be controlled by this system. (It's not quite as good as proper PWM Mode control for 4-pin fans, but it still works well.) This simplifies life for many people because so MANY cases now come pre-fitted with 3-pin fans (like the NZXT case), but so many mobos have 4-pin fan headers.

The problem that has emerged is that many (but NOT all) mobo makers also decided to use that backwards compatibility feature to simplify life for their users. So, although they place 4-pin fan headers on their mobos to keep people happy, many of those headers actually operate only in 3-pin style Voltage Control Mode. This means they do NOT provide any PWM signal on Pin #4, but any Fan Hub can ONLY work if it is using 4-pin PWM Mode. Or, in the case of this Hub and one other, the Hub MUST have that PWM signal as an input to do its own conversion work and create 3-pin fan output ports. For the user, this makes things more difficult because it is hard to tell whether your particular mobo has these "fake" 4-pin fan headers, or whether they really are 4-pin headers using true PWM Mode.

So the solution from NZXT (and another maker of a similar Hub) is to instruct you to plug the Hub's fan connector into the mobo CPU_FAN header only. Then you must connect your actual CPU cooler system to the Hub's Port #1 so that the speed signal from the real CPU cooler can be relayed to the CPU_FAN header for monitoring. Why do it this way? Because even those mobos that use those "fake" 4-pin headers for their CHA_FAN or SYS_FAN headers always do real 4-pin PWM Mode control on the CPU_FAN header. Or, very commonly, they make PWM Mode the default there, and allow you to change that to Voltage Control Mode if you need it for using a 3-pin fan on your CPU. This way, you can be guaranteed that the Hub WILL receive the PWM signal it must have to work, and all your fans can be under mobo automatic control.

The small weakness of this is that mobos have TWO automatic control systems for a good reason. Each uses a temperature sensor to measure the actual temperature of a component, and then adjusts its fans to cool that component to the temperature target it needs. One system uses a sensor built into the CPU chip itself, and that system runs the CPU_FAN header and its fans. The other system uses a temp sensor built into the mobo by its maker, and that system runs the CHA_FAN or SYS_FAN header(s) that cool the case interior. Ideally, you would connect your CPU cooler to the CPU_FAN header, and all your case ventilation fans to the CHA_FAN or SYS_FAN headers for this to work. But given the potential for confusion and malfunction that results from the different header and fan types, the Hub's instructions result in having all the fans controlled by the CPU_FAN header, which is based on the internal temperature of the CPU. While that may not be ideal, it certainly will deliver good cooling to all your system.

It happens in OP's case for this thread that his mobo has CHA_FAN headers that can be configured to work in either PWM Mode or Voltage Control Mode, and their default setting is Voltage Control. OP set up hjs system with the Hub connected to one of these, but the default header configuration was not providing the necessary PWM signal. My advice was to adjust that configuration to ensure the CHA_FAN header used for the Hub would provide it exactly the signal it needs, and based on the mobo temperature sensor.
 

infamousk12

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May 2, 2013
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Paperdoc,

Thank you so much for that wonderful explanation. I didn't even check to see if I plugged the CPU cooler system into the #1 port. All I based it off of was the fact that when under load, I hear the fans speed up, so I figured I had done it correctly.
 
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