Cooling - Fans, PWM and Controllers

[Kelthar]

TL DR: I have only one PWM slot (CPU_FAN), should I buy a splitter and PWM fans and connect them all there or get a controller? And if I get a controller, do the fans have to be PWM?

So, I'll start off by saying I'm sort of a newbie when it comes to cooling. I've done some investigation regarding this, but all the information just overwhelms me.

My case has a total of 5 fan slots: two 120mm in lower-front near the hard drives, one 120mm on the side, one 140mm on the top (near the back) and one 140mm on the back (near the top).

I only have three fans (one near HDDs, two on top/rear area) right now, but since my computer barely made it through summer I'm looking to upgrade my cooling system. Not to mention it currently makes an awfully loud noise I'm looking to get rid of.

What I'm considering is moving my current non-PWM 120mm fan which is near the HDDs to the rear, and buying new fans. The fans I'm considering to buy are two Corsair Air Series SP120 PWM and two Corsair Air Series AF140 (waiting for PWM, if it does come out).

But then there's an issue: my motherboard, which I'm still not planning to upgrade, only has one PWM slot labeled "CPU_FAN".

Should I get a PWM splitter and connect all my fans to the CPU_FAN slot? Or would that severely mess up the fans since they would all work based solely on the CPU temperature?

Another option I'm looking into is purchasing a Fan Controller (possibly the NZXT SENTRY 2). If I do buy it, do the fans have to be PWM?

So, I end up with a couple of options: ignore PWM all together and get non-PWM fans (with controller if it is possible), get PWM and a splitter to connect to CPU_FAN or get PWM and a controller.

What do you guys think is best?

Thanks,
Kelthar

EDIT: I could also get a software such as SpeedFan to control fan speed, but would fan-controlling software require PWM connections?

 

[ksham]

First of all, that makes very little sense. You don't need PWM fans. Non-PWM fans can be controlled by a fan controller. And non-PWM fans will run at 100% speed if not controlled.

Bottom line: you don't need PWM fans or a fan controller to cool your system.

 

[Kelthar]

I was looking for a quiet solution as well, considering I'll have plenty of fans I'd want to keep the system quiet. I wouldn't want it to be cooling at maximum when I'm only browsing the internet, but I'd like them to speed up once I switch to something that could build up heat rapidly, that's why I was looking into some sort of control.

So the questions ends up being basically this: should I get a splitter and PWM fans or a controller and non-PWM fans (since you say it will work), considering I only have one PWM slot?

 

[ksham]

Your call. Both methods work.