Quick 3 Pin vs 4 Pin Case Fan Question

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FoxKitsune

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Apr 25, 2015
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So if i take some 3 Pin case fans and I plug them into a fan hub/controller can I then control the speed of the fans or would I still need 4 Pin case fans to do so? And if I can use 3 Pin case fans what fan hub/controller do you guys and gals recommend?
 
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mcnumpty23 has given you the best suggestion for how to do that. All true Fan Hubs are ONLY for 4-pin fan systems, with one exception - the Phanteks PWM Hub. It has a different design. It uses the PWM signal internally to create its own group of six 3-pin fan headers that use Voltage Control Mode. That method is the ONLY way to control the speed of 3-pin fans. So if you're using many 3-pin fans connected to a single mobo header for control, that is the Hub to get.

The Phanteks hub MUST have two connections available. First, it must get power for all its fans directly from your PSU, by plugging one cable into a SATA power output connector. That's not normally any problem. Secondly, it must connect to a mobo SYS_FAN or CHA_FAN header...
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cliffro

cliffro

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I agree. My Phanteks case has one built in, and it works great. I plugged it into my CPU fan port and as the heat goes up so do all of my fans. I can't believe I went without all these years. 6 fans, 1 setting in bios.
 
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Paperdoc

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mcnumpty23 has given you the best suggestion for how to do that. All true Fan Hubs are ONLY for 4-pin fan systems, with one exception - the Phanteks PWM Hub. It has a different design. It uses the PWM signal internally to create its own group of six 3-pin fan headers that use Voltage Control Mode. That method is the ONLY way to control the speed of 3-pin fans. So if you're using many 3-pin fans connected to a single mobo header for control, that is the Hub to get.

The Phanteks hub MUST have two connections available. First, it must get power for all its fans directly from your PSU, by plugging one cable into a SATA power output connector. That's not normally any problem. Secondly, it must connect to a mobo SYS_FAN or CHA_FAN header with 4 pins that actually is using PWM Mode for control, and not the older Voltage Control Mode (aka DC Mode). The fact of 4 pins on the mobo header does not guarantee that. You can deduce the mobo header's control mode from the mobo manual usually. If you plan to go this route and would like assistance in figuring this part out, post back here your exact mobo maker and model number so we can look up its manual and help. To make sure we get all the facts, let us know how many fans (are they all 3-pin?) you plan for case ventilation. Also let us know what system you'll use for your CPU cooler.
 
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FoxKitsune

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Well as it stands now I don't have the mobo picked out for the build yet since this build is a bit of an experimental build. What I mean by that is that I plan to do a custom loop in a Fractal Design Node 304 with a 140mm Rad in the rear and (yes I know the manufacturer says it only supports a single 140mm AIO water cooler in the rear) a 184mm Rad in the front with both rads being in Push/Pull configuration if possible meaning I'd have 6 fans total. I've already ordered the case a few days ago to which I will be taking measurements and using my arts n' craft skills to make paper renditions of each component to asses whether or not the components will all fit. I know as it currently stands I want to use Zotac's new upcoming water cooled GTX 1080 Ti Mini they showed off at computex this year; although depending on the size of AMD's Vega GPUs I might go that route instead if they have water blocks by Black Friday this year. Another thing is that I'm still undecided on whether or not I will be sticking with my 6700K or if I want to switch over to Ryzen seeing as how I would like to be able to stream some games smoothly which I've seen Ryzen do very well compared to Intel. Although I've heard Intel is great for multitasking so I don't know. I guess I'll just wait and see what benefits if any Vega will have if paired with Ryzen if (again) the size of the cards is workable and if they have water blocks by Black Friday.

Though going back to the topic of fans here I so far picked out a few 4 Pin fans though I will go back and look thru 3 pin fan options to see if there are cheaper options for similar performance if I can control them with that phanteks fan hub. The fans I have picked out for candidates so far are the following:

140mm Fans

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4UF1H80572&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleKWLess&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleKWLess-_-DSA-_-CategoryPages-_-NA&gclid=CO-hse_MttQCFdY6gQod3PAAcQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835345069&cm_re=BitFenix_Spectre_Pro-_-35-345-069-_-Product

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAADY4B02860&cm_re=Noctua_NF-A14_iPPC-3000_PWM-_-35-608-048-_-Product

92mm Fans

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608070&cm_re=Noctua_NF-A9_PWM-_-35-608-070-_-Product

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA59T1UG5771&cm_re=ID-COOLING_NO-9215_Slim-_-9SIA59T1UG5771-_-Product

I have more on my list though these are the top contenders for now. If anyone has other fans in mind feel free to post them so I can have a look at them if they aren't already on my list.
 
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