4 pin case fan

[mikeyok]

Hello, can I use an old 4 pin case fan with the 3 pins on the new motherboard

 

[PanicMaster85]

well if you have it then try it... but be sure your plugging it into the sys_fan not the cpu_fan

 

[Paperdoc]

Yes, this will work. If it's a case ventillation fan, then plug it into a SYS_FANn connector on mobo.

4-pin fans were designed to be backwards compatible. So, when plugged into a 3-pin mobo port, they will work just fine. If you look closely at the connectors, there is a finger sticking up on the mobo male connector, and a slot along the side of the fan's female connector, so they only fit together one way. When they do, the fourth socket of the fan connector does not connect to anything. All this means is that the fan does not receive a PWM signal and does not try to use it. Its speed is determined solely by the + VDC supply from Pin 2, which the mobo port controls. This is exactly how a 3-pin fan works, and the 4-pin operated this way behaves just like any 3-pin fan would.

 

[PanicMaster85]

:| didnt i "JUST" say that

 

[mikeyok]

The quick reply and the full explanation are both very useful. Thank you both very much I will give it a try. It's been quite a test mixing old and new parts - no end of adapter leads been needed to make everything compatible. Hopefully this is the last part. One item didn't work - that was the dvd re-writer. It needed a pata to sata connector that came with its own mini card. The power worked and it appeared to boot but it wouldn't read. So I bought a new one and left the old one in in case I can get it working (as it worked in the old computer.

 

[PanicMaster85]

alright... yeah computers can be a bitch, anyways report back on if it works out ok