Is there a fan controller that uses mb to get fan speed

zlee314

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Nov 3, 2017
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My motherboard has 2 4 pin chassis fan ports but I have 4 case fans that are all 3 pin (932 haf). I know that the mb tells pwm fans how fast to spin based on temperature. However, my fans aren't pwm so they cant utilize this feature. I am wondering if there is a kind of fan controller that plugs into one of the mb fan slots or something so it can receive the mb target fan speed, and then controls the fans connected to it based on the target mb fan speed. Or is there a better way to do what I want.
 
Solution
You misunderstand how fan speeds are controlled, so let's clear that up. Then we'll need more info to give final advice.

First, just want to confirm. The fans you specified come in both 3-pin and 4-pin (PWM) designs. You DO have the 3-pin models, right?

Control of cooling fans in a computer actually it NOT speed control, it is TEMPERATURE control. For the case ventilation fans connected to CHA_FAN headers, the mobo has a temperature sensor built into it, and the BIOS has some pre-set parameters for temperature control. It has a target temperature for that sensor and some parameters involved in keeping it there. Constantly it compares the actual temp reading to the target to calculate a Deviation, and uses that to change the speed...

Aeacus

Titan
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Rather than going with fan hub or fan controller, use 2x Y-splitters and connect 2 fans on single MoBo fan header for DC control.
Y-splitter at amazon (2 in the box),
link: https://www.amazon.com/Noctua-NA-SYC1-Accessory-4-pin-Y-Cables/dp/B00KG8K5CY

With Y-splitter, both fans connected to the same MoBo fan header will run in sync while you are still able to control them from BIOS or any 3rd party fan control software you're using.
 

Paperdoc

Polypheme
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You misunderstand how fan speeds are controlled, so let's clear that up. Then we'll need more info to give final advice.

First, just want to confirm. The fans you specified come in both 3-pin and 4-pin (PWM) designs. You DO have the 3-pin models, right?

Control of cooling fans in a computer actually it NOT speed control, it is TEMPERATURE control. For the case ventilation fans connected to CHA_FAN headers, the mobo has a temperature sensor built into it, and the BIOS has some pre-set parameters for temperature control. It has a target temperature for that sensor and some parameters involved in keeping it there. Constantly it compares the actual temp reading to the target to calculate a Deviation, and uses that to change the speed signal sent out to the fan on that header. If the measured temperature still is not right (too high or too low) it adjusts the speed signal again, until it can keep the temp on target. As the computer workload and heat generation change, TEMPERATURE as measured changes, and the fan's speed is adjusted to pull it back to the target. Note that, in all this, the mobo does NOT pay any attention to the actual fan speed. Nor does it tell anything what the speed should be. Its only concern it measured temperature. It DOES change the fan speed as the means of bringing the measured temperature to target, but speed is never its focus.

As a separate function, the mobo also DOES pay attention to speed to check for fan FAILURE. If it gets a speed signal too low (or none) it warns of fan failure. In the case of the CPU fan particularly, SOME mobos actually take special actions to protect the CPU from overheating if it detects failure of the fan on the CPU_FAN header.

3-pin and 4-pin fans use different speed control methods. For the older 3-pin design, the mobo simply sends out a DC power supply on Pin #2 from +12 VDC down to +5 VDC, and that controls the motor speed. In a 4-pin system that actually does use PWM Mode (some mobo headers with 4 pins do not!) the voltage on Pin #2 is always the full +12 VDC. But then the fan also receives the new PWM signal from header Pin #4. Inside those fans there is a chip that uses the PWM signal to modify the flow of current from the +12 VDC supply through the motor windings and that changes its speed.

If you plug a 3-pin fan into a header using PWM Mode, it receives a fixed 12 VDC supply at all times, and has no way to use a PWM signal to modify that, so it runs full speed. If you plug a 4-pin fan into a 3-pin header using Voltage Control Mode, it will never get the PWM signal, but the voltage supplied to it is varied, so its speed actually IS under mobo control.

Most fan HUBS operate by simply sending the PWM signal from the host mobo header out to all of thi fans onthe Hub, so they can control only 4-pin fans. There is one Hub that does this differently, the Phanteks PWM Hub. Like all other Hubs it must get power for all its fans from a connection to a PSU output (SATA power out in this case) AND it MUST get a PWM signal from Pin #4 of the mobo header it is plugged into. But then it uses that signal to create its own set of six ports that use the older Voltage Control Mode. Thus it CAN control the speed of 3-pin fans, plus it also can control any 4-pin fans plugged into it. However, it is important that the mobo header the Hub connects to does really use PWM Mode. Not all 4-pin mobo headers do that. OP, of you tell us the maker and exact model number of your mobo, we can help figure out its headers' capabilities and advise how you can use a Hub of this type to control 3-pin fans.

In fact, IF your mobo has the right tools and you really have two mobo CHA_FAN headers and four case fans, you may be able to do it with simpler SPLITTERS, as Aeacus has suggested. If that is appropriate, we can advise how to distinguish a Splitter from a Hub.
 
Solution

Aeacus

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I wonder, did you typed all that from scratch or do you have some text file where all that is already typed and you just made copy/paste from there? :ange:

Though, due to the in-depth description alone, your answer deserves to be BA. ;)
 

Paperdoc

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I almost never copy from one of my earlier posts. It takes to much effort to find them, and then I end up editing extensively to customize for the specific questions the thread OP has raised. It's actually easier to write fresh. Thanks for your generous comment.