[SOLVED] Need help with fan splitters on motherboard (Y adapter)

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austin199

austin199

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Hi, i have an older motherboard and i have only one cpu fan header and one chassis fan header on my motherboard. I do have a splitter for my intake and exhaust fan but i would like to add one more intake fan but that would require that i buy a 4 pin Y adapter that has a 4 pin female for the motherboard and 3 and 4 pin male connectors on the other end to connect the fans to.

Here is the link to the product -
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812987008&cm_re=phantek_fan_adapter-_-12-987-008-_-Product

Will my motherboard be alright if i also use a splitter on the cpu fan connector? The adapter in the link above is a 4 pin female, to a 3 pin and a 4 pin. So i would just plug the cpu cooler into the 4 pin and the additional case fan to the 3 pin. Will this hurt any components or will it be alright to run two fan splitters?

This link below is to the pictures of my motherboard and fan connections if you would like to see them.
https://imgur.com/a/92Ce1

Thank you for your time.
 
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Splitters should be fine. If you want to use a single chassis fan header and split that into 3 fans, that should be ok. Don't use a splitter off a splitter. Use something like:

https://www.pccasegear.com/products/35671

What's important is not to overload the header. Most headers support up to 1Amp power. Some headers are souped up to support 3Amp. But you will need to check your manual to confirm that. So, check your fans for their amp rating, add them all up. If it's under 1Amp you should be good to go. If the amp rating of all the fans is approaching 1Amp, then maybe not. Always leave a bit of headroom just in case.

I kind of feel that the CPU fan header should be just for the CPU.... but that's just me.
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austin199

austin199

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I dont have the budget to spend the $130 on the hub. But that does seem like the best idea. So about running two separate splitters, i shouldn't?
i have one Y splitter coming off of the chassis fan header and was going to put one on the cpu header, so 2 fans for each header. If that isnt the best idea then i understand. Do they make cheaper fan hubs with less connectors? i dont quite need 11, my case only has 7 120mm fan mounts.
 
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austin199

austin199

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Well, im an idiot. Only 16 US Dollars. That is is actually a very affordable solution! Thanks so much. Sorry about that, i didn't see that the currency was different at first.
 
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austin199

austin199

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Ive been looking at these hubs for a little bit now and ive seen that 3 pin fans run at 100% speed all the time with no way to control them, can you help me find a hub that has PWM control for the cpu fan and not run the case fans at 100%?
 
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lumineZ

lumineZ

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Hehe :D yea 130 dollars is a bit expencive for a fan hub :D
The Phanteks fan hub is PWM controlled :) and yes I am 100% sure since I have 2 of them and are using right now.

You plug 1 fan into the PWM connection and the hub uses that fan to read the RPM and the rest of the fans that you plug into the 3-pin connection will then get the same RPM as the one connected to the 4-pin.

It comes with instructions in the box :) you will see if you buy it.


PS!
If you want more than 6 fans you need to use Y-splitters (5 ports can use the splitters)
 
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austin199

austin199

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I currently have two 3 pin fans but if i buy some 4 pin fans to use with the fan hub will i be able to change their speed with a third party software or will the fans be locked at full speed or PWM (CPU) fan speed? The reason i ask is because my cpu (PWM) fan runs at about 1400 rpm, while my 120mm case fans run at about 700 rpm, i dont want the case fans running full tilt all the time since the cpu fan runs at a higher rpm. You know?
thanks for the help by the way. Much appreciated.


Would this product below allow me to control 4 pin case fans in my bios or another software such as "SpeedFan"?
https://www.newegg.com/global/no/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811999309&cm_re=4_pin_fan_hub-_-11-999-309-_-Product
 
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amskuay

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Splitters should be fine. If you want to use a single chassis fan header and split that into 3 fans, that should be ok. Don't use a splitter off a splitter. Use something like:

https://www.pccasegear.com/products/35671

What's important is not to overload the header. Most headers support up to 1Amp power. Some headers are souped up to support 3Amp. But you will need to check your manual to confirm that. So, check your fans for their amp rating, add them all up. If it's under 1Amp you should be good to go. If the amp rating of all the fans is approaching 1Amp, then maybe not. Always leave a bit of headroom just in case.

I kind of feel that the CPU fan header should be just for the CPU.... but that's just me.
 
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lumineZ

lumineZ

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amskuay Keep surge power draw in mind when you give advice like that... and warn about it...


If you use a PWM fan hub the setup is pretty easy and straight forward.

Lets say the fan hub has 6 fan headers total.

Now 1 fan header is 4-pin PWM and it is that fan header you connect to a fan header on the motherboard, CPU_Fan or whatever fan header you want.
The fan hub normaly comes with a 4-pin to 4-pin cable (the phanteks does) you will use this to connect the hub to the motherboard.
Now.
You have 6 fan connections on the hub, but Fan 1 connection is the one that the hub reads the RPM on a fan from and all other fans (fan connection 2 - 6) gets the RPM adjust according to what the fan connection to Fan 1`s RPM is.
Fan1 you should never ever use a splitter on. Fan connection 2 - 6 you can use a Y-splitter.

Still unsure how it works?
http://www.phanteks.com/assets/manuals/PH-PWHUB.pdf

Oh and they dont have to be 4-pin PWM fans connected. 3-pin is more than enough.
The Phanteks fan hub is designed to use PWM Control on 3 pin DC fans..... not the 4 pin PWM fans on most coolers. But you can ofc plug in a 4-pin since the PWM signal is not plugged into the hub since ofc that pin is missing.
 
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austin199

austin199

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Yeah i think i will stick with just the two 120mm fans running off of the chassis fan header and only the cpu fan on the cpu fan header. I am trying to cool down my case because when i play games such as rainbow 6 siege my cpu temps get all the way up to 69 degrees celsius. The manufacturer says that it is rated safe until 72 degrees, at which time my cpu fan runs full speed to cool the cpu. I am trying to put more fans in my case but im not sure the best way to do so. I am running a stock cpu cooler, would a hyper 212 evo make a difference? Im not sure what my best options are at this point.

I would like to buy a fan hub and use sata to power that and use the PWM to control my case fan speeds in bios or speedfan along with my cpu fan speed, my chassis fan header is inly 3 pin.

If i were to buy a 4 pin pwm fan hub would i be able to control each fan separately?
 
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austin199

austin199

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That link helped a lot, thank you for that.

so if my cpu fan is running at say 1600 rpm, all other fans will run at 1600 rpm, correct?
 
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lumineZ

lumineZ

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Correct. :)

 
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amskuay

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I stand corrected. Surge power draw has to be kept in mind.
 
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austin199

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lumineZ

lumineZ

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That is a fan hub.

And it reads: "Each port has its own PWM function and the fan speed can be adjustedat the same time (only the speed of Fan 1 can be identified by the system)"

I have highlighted the important part.

You connect one FAN header to your motherboard for PWM regulation, the rest of the fans follow that setting.
 
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austin199

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So i would be connecting the hub to a cpu fan header and my cpu fan usually runs at about 1600 rpm, so the other 9 fans would be running at 1600 rpm?
 
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lumineZ

lumineZ

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Correct. If they can run at 1600 rpm they will.
But that is the reason to run PWM so that the fans dont have to run at 100% speed.

Adjust 1 fan to the speed / noise you like and the rest of the fans will follow that setting.

I will say one thing tho, and that is I will not advice connecting different fans to the hub since 1 fan brand is different to an another.

Like this: Dont plug 3 x Silent Wings 3 + 3 Noctua NF-F12 iPPC-3000rpm + 3 EK Vardar F4 120SE to the same fan hub.

Then get 9 of either instead so they all have the same spesification.
 
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austin199

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Alright, so if i do want to purchase this, and fans to go with it, buy the exact same fan so they will all behave in sync and not have issues. Right?
 
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austin199

austin199

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Alright so i will double check what my cpu fan rpm's are and then find a certain fan that has the correct rpm range and then they will all spin in a happy uniform way.

Thank you for all of the help. Im trying to learn as i go, this is my first pc build if it isnt obvious already lol. If i have any further questions i will probably private message you instead of making an entire new thread if that would be alright with you. You seem to really know your stuff.
 
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