in need of explantion about casefans

[moesgone]

okay soo im getting 2 120 mm and 1 80mmfans

i know how to install them .. there pretty stright forward. But what i dont get is the whole 3 pin 4 pin molex
or w.e its called

i checked my mobo(asus P5N-E SLI ) and it only has 2 Fan 3 pin plugs

1. CPU_FAN
2.CHA_FAN1 ( copied from mobo layout )
3.CHA_FAN2

so the frist one is the cpu fan ... and the secound one i can use for 80mm since its closest to that

but what about the other 120mm fan .. i dont have anymore 3 pin thingys..

here is where i get confused ...

what the fk is a 4 pin cannector ... ? ...i know it gets cannected to the PSU
but how come the other 2 fans dont get cannected to the PSU

soo do i cannect my third fan to the PSU 4 pin cannector ?....

or where

can anyone explian to me how this stuff works .. and what i can

very much apprichiated

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

As you said, some of them can be hooked to your mobo, the ones that are 4 pin connectors plug right into the plugs from your PSU, and most fans have a little coupler kind of deal that gives you a connection like the one you plugged into your fan. It's just the way they are made and you pick them out when you buy, I'm guessing you can monitor fan speeds and what not and maybe control the fan speeds when they connect to the mobo. However, the ones that plug straight into the connectors off your psu will work just fine. I've used those kinds for years and I've only had one fail in my system. I think that one was like 4-5 years old too. Lol. You will be just fine man, just plug the 3rd into the PSU, should be pretty uneventful.

 

[groo]

if you want to controle fan speed, you pretty much have to go with a 3pin. 4 pins are actualy 2 wire fans. Some new CPU coolers use true 4 pin conectors for automatic fan speed controle, but thats not a case fan thing.

if you get a fan controler, you can get much more powerful fans (they cost the same), and turn them down to a nice quiet level, then crank em back up if your system is getting too hot.

 

[moesgone]

groo .. mind explaning to me how controable fans are set up ...

cuz since now i want to have a controller for my fan (because of your advice ) buit im now sure how to go about that

god i hate beginnning so newbie >.<

 

[groo]

the more popular ones are just nobs that you twist to controle energy given to the fans. thier are 2 basic ways of doing this. The simplest is it just having the nob turn a variable resistor. a more comlicated, but better way IMHO, is to have the variable pulses of full power (like on for 1/4 sec, off for a 1/4 sec). the advantage is you don't have wasted energy and more heat (minimal) in you case because of a heating resistor. because its just a complicated on/off switch they can also handle bigger fans in general.

The controler usualy mounts in a 3.5" or 5.25" drive opening. fancier versions have LCD displays to show temperature or/or fan speeds.

besides having the controles mounted in a drive bay, you can have them mounted in an expansion slot or just stuck inside the case (like the little black boxes that come with Zalman coolers). I even found some temperature dependant automatic controlers on ebay a while back. Unfortuatly it's a bit of a pain to place the probes someware that gets hot enough. I've read about a USB contoled unit that mounted in a PCI slot a few years back.

Does your MoBo have a Sys Fan plug? if so, that one may be controlable by the bios, like the CPU Fan. My last 2 boards had one, but I don't know how common it is. there is also a limit as to how powerfull a fan you can plug into a motherboard. the big Deltas I picked up even came with a warning not to.

if your trying to figure out how strong a fan is, just look at the amp draw, usualy printed on a sticker on the fan. my extra are rated at 10 times those that came with the case.