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Noctua Fan Connecters don't match motherboard prongs

Forum Overclocking : CPUs - Noctua Fan Connecters don't match motherboard prongs

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ibewho   08-12-2009 at 09:21:52 AM

The fans have a 3 prong connector and on my motherboard (asus p6t deluxe v2) is a 4 prong. Or do I have it reversed but either way. How can I make this work? Do I plug the fans into the chassis connector which match? Will the mobo adjust the voltage to speed up the fans when the cpu gets hot? Thanks

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videl   08-12-2009 at 10:01:32 AM

It should fit in only one way..stick it in and you're good to go...I don't know about the voltage and speed adjustment...but I think it'll work out...

Reply to videl
ibewho   08-12-2009 at 10:19:46 AM

What I meant was that on my motherboard the cpu fan connector is 4 prong. On the 2 fans that come with the noctua cpu cooler are 3 prongs. From my understanding, if the cpu gets too hot, the voltage is turned up to compensate.



Now on my motherboard, the cpu cooler fans fit into the chassis fan connectors (NOT the cpu fan connector). If anyone can help it would be appreciated. I'm a little lost here.


p.s Anyone with experience with these fans? Which direction should I be facing them. I have them both facing the same direction, i'm just not sure if it's sucking in air or blowing air in the right direction. (Still waiting for power supply, just wanted to set everything up before i plugged it in.)

Reply to ibewho
masterjaw   08-12-2009 at 10:29:28 AM

You could still plug the 3-pin connector to the 4-pin. Just leave the other pin open. The 3-pin consists of 2 pins for power and the 3rd pin is for controlling speed.

As for the facing problem, check if the fans have the arrow at the sides. That denotes the airflow direction of the fan. Usually, the face with the logo of the manufacturer is the exhaust area.

Reply to masterjaw
croc   08-12-2009 at 10:48:55 AM

The 3 pin connectors fit quite well on the 4 prong MB connection. You do lose fan speed control, but I just run them on 'high'. They are pretty quiet on those settings, almost silent. They normally come with resistors to make them run slower, those hit the rubbish bin 2nd day I fooled around.

As to direction, they DO have wee arrows on them. Also, the wireing of the fan 'points' in the direction of fan flow, and the fan label is on the output side of the fan. As to direction of flow, that will be a matter of your case setup. Personally, I have both fans facing my rear exhaust fan, no controller, and my cooler is quite quiet.

Reply to croc
evongugg   08-12-2009 at 03:35:04 PM

The 4-pin is for PWM (Pulse Width Modulated).
4 pin connector enables fan speed control.

The fans should either blow out the back of the computer or blow out the top of the computer, if you have an opening in the top.

------------------------------ Google is your friend and Bob's your uncle
 Reply to evongugg
ibewho   08-12-2009 at 04:31:10 PM

does it matter which prong i leave open?

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Bronze Overclocking badge overshocked   08-12-2009 at 10:18:47 PM

It should be easy to tell wich one is supposed to be left open.

There willbe a little plastic tab on it and the fan connector will fit with the tab.

------------------------------ http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/885/14y1fuqvybiiwayab.gif
 Reply to overshocked
videl   08-20-2009 at 01:24:25 AM

^That's the answer I was looking for!!! well done!

Reply to videl
Bronze Overclocking badge overshocked   08-20-2009 at 03:08:20 AM

LOL... should be pretty self explanatory.

If anything like that happens to me i just go ahaead and try it. worse comes to worse i have to re-connect is a different way.

------------------------------ http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/885/14y1fuqvybiiwayab.gif
 Reply to overshocked
videl   08-20-2009 at 03:23:22 AM

Yeah, I don't know why people worry about this kinda stuff...Usually I just try it and figure it out...I mean it's not something super serious like adding voltage to the CPU when overclocking...

Reply to videl
Bronze Overclocking badge overshocked   08-20-2009 at 03:49:05 AM

yeah it doesnt take a brain surgen to figure out that the 4 prong connector was set up to handle 3pin connections.

DOH!

------------------------------ http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/885/14y1fuqvybiiwayab.gif
 Reply to overshocked
mugz   08-20-2009 at 11:38:07 AM

Using a 3-pin on a 4-pin connector doesn't even lose you the fan speed control - it only loses the PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) control option, so it only loses some precision (about 5%). Voltage regulation is still there, so no worries...

------------------------------ http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html - I WISH PEOPLE WOULD APPLY THIS!
 Reply to mugz
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