3 Pin fan on a 4 Pin motherboard connector?

[lolollolo]

Ok so i was makeing my first build when i notice that there was 2 3 pin connectors and 4 other 4 pin connectors on my motherboard when all my case fans are 3 pins? Can the 3 pin connectors go on the 4 pin connetors on the motherboard?

 

[lolollolo]

3 pin fan connector in a 4 pin motherboard will it work?

 

[DJDeCiBeL]

They'll work just fine, they'll just run at 100% like they normally would instead of being PWM that can be easily controlled automatically.

 

[Pinhedd]

Yes they will run just fine. Two of the pins are for providing the power, one of the pins is for reading the RPM (transmits one pulse per half rotation) and one of the pins is for controlling the RPM (duty cycle). Since the fan only needs power to operate, both the RPM monitoring and control wires are optional.