System fan problem?

bbno3

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Dec 31, 2012
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JMer806

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Jun 12, 2012
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Looking at that MOBO, it has one CPU fan slot and 2 system fan slots. These are all PWM fans, which means that they have four pins, allowing them to be controlled by the MOBO and adjusted based on system temperature (or controlled by a manual fan profile in your MOBO BIOS). Most case fans, however, are not PWM fans - they have three-pin connectors are not compatible with your MOBO. This doesn't mean they won't work, though, it just means you need to hook them up to your PSU's Molex connectors and they will turn on. You just won't be able to control them from the MOBO's fan profile.

Edit - I want to add that I could be wrong, since looking at the MOBO I can only see the CPU_FAN header. If the headers for the system fans are 3-pin, then you can hook your fans directly to them. The CPU_FAN header is for your heatsink.
 

chugot9218

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Actually I believe most 4-pin fan headers can take a 3 pin, they just plug into the left/right 3 pins. At least that's how it was on my MOBO, I just couldn't take advantage of PWM but thats all the 4th pin controls anyways.
 

vertical777

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Apr 22, 2010
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^this. 4th pin on the header is PWM, The 4pin is notched so that you won't accidentally mis-align the 3 pin fan when connecting, so go ahead.
 

JMer806

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Ah, ok, my mistake. In that case, though, I would personally probably prefer to use the Molex connection instead of the MOBO header, just because it's easier on my cable management that way. Why MOBO manufacturers continue to put fan headers in the center of the board, I don't know. :p
 

JMer806

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My MOBO I think has two right next to the CPU for CPU fans, one right in the middle and then two more close to the SATA ports (might be another one on there, can't remember). Placement seems totally random, although of course I'm sure it has to do with all sorts of engineering things that I wouldn't know about.
 

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