Case fan has a 3 pin and 2 x 4 pin connectors ?

[scottishlad]

I have a case fan here that I found brand new in the back of my cupboard.

its an nexus nex-s12cmf model, 120mm.

Anyways, I notice it has the normal 3 pin connector that you would plug into a system fan port on the motherboard, but also attached to that wiring is two 4 pin power connectors.

Can someone please explain why these 4 pin power connectors are there and if they need plugged into the power supply ?

As far as I can see, all my fans that are in the case just plug straight into the motherboard sockets, they dont have 4 pin power connectors also attached.

Hope someone can help.

thanks.

 

[23JMZ07]

From the sounds of it you have a fan powered by 4 pin molex with a 3 pin just for the tach signal. Does the 3pin only have 1 wire coming out of it?

Those 2 4 pin molex connectors are really just 1 4 pin molex with a passthrough probably

 

[scottishlad]

From the sounds of it you have a fan powered by 4 pin molex with a 3 pin just for the tach signal. Does the 3pin only have 1 wire coming out of it?

Those 2 4 pin molex connectors are really just 1 4 pin molex with a passthrough probably

no, the 3 pin has 3 wires, black, red and yellow, the yellow wire goes to the fan and the black and red goto the 4 pin connector to connect with a red and black on that connector.

any ideas ?

i dont want to blow anything, i know that i bought this fan a few years ago, but as i say, its brand new in box and would like to use it.

 

[scottishlad]

this is the fan description here >>>


Description



The Nexus 120mm Real Silent Case Fan is the ultimate solution to bring some extra airflow in your quiet computer. Don't you just hate it when you have build a nice and quiet computer and it turns out that your high-end components are producing so much heat the temperatures in your computer case are getting too high? The Nexus Real Silent case fan is the solution for you. It provides the extra airflow your pc may require without being noticeable noise wise.




The Nexus 120mm Real Silent case fan is equipped with a double sided 4-pin power connector and a 3-pin motherboard connector. This allows you to connect the case fan directly to the power supply or to the motherboard. Inside the package a set of 4 ultra-soft silicone fan mounts are supplied to reduce any vibration the fan may cause.




Features
1.Award winning cooling fan
2.Supplied with four silicone fan mounts
3.Very quiet, 18 db(A) @ 1000 RPM, 36.9 CFM
4.Three year warranty



Specifications

Model number - D12SL-12

Dimensions - 120 x 120 x 25mm

Fan mounts - 4 pieces Ultra-Soft silicone Fan Mounts

Weight - 123 grams

Voltage - 12 Volts

Voltage Range - 6.5 ~13.8 Volts

Input Current - 0.30 Amp Max

Rotation Speed - 1000 RPM (+/-10%)

Acoustic Noise - 18 dB(A)

Airflow - 36.87CFM

Static Pressure - 1.2mmH2O

Starting voltage - 7 Volts

Operation Temperature: -10 to +65 C

 

[23JMZ07]

So the 3 wires come out of the fan into the 3pin, then red and back come back out of the 3 pin and into a 4pin?

If so just cut the extra wires going to the 4 pin off where they come out of the 3pin.

 

[scottishlad]

So the 3 wires come out of the fan into the 3pin, then red and back come back out of the 3 pin and into a 4pin?

If so just cut the extra wires going to the 4 pin off where they come out of the 3pin.

i put the actual description of the fan in the above post at the same time you posted your post, lol.

Do I need to cut off the 4 pin connectors or are they not doing any harm ? They dont bother me being there, I was more worried that plugging this fan into the 3 pin socket on the motherboard might blow something, I am not bothered that the 2 x 4 pin power connectors or whatever they are are there ? They could just hang there and do no harm so long as plugging this actual 3 pin connection into the motherboard does not blow anything.

thanks.

 

[scottishlad]

this is the fan description here >>>


Description



The Nexus 120mm Real Silent Case Fan is the ultimate solution to bring some extra airflow in your quiet computer. Don't you just hate it when you have build a nice and quiet computer and it turns out that your high-end components are producing so much heat the temperatures in your computer case are getting too high? The Nexus Real Silent case fan is the solution for you. It provides the extra airflow your pc may require without being noticeable noise wise.




The Nexus 120mm Real Silent case fan is equipped with a double sided 4-pin power connector and a 3-pin motherboard connector. This allows you to connect the case fan directly to the power supply or to the motherboard. Inside the package a set of 4 ultra-soft silicone fan mounts are supplied to reduce any vibration the fan may cause.




Features
1.Award winning cooling fan
2.Supplied with four silicone fan mounts
3.Very quiet, 18 db(A) @ 1000 RPM, 36.9 CFM
4.Three year warranty



Specifications

Model number - D12SL-12

Dimensions - 120 x 120 x 25mm

Fan mounts - 4 pieces Ultra-Soft silicone Fan Mounts

Weight - 123 grams

Voltage - 12 Volts

Voltage Range - 6.5 ~13.8 Volts

Input Current - 0.30 Amp Max

Rotation Speed - 1000 RPM (+/-10%)

Acoustic Noise - 18 dB(A)

Airflow - 36.87CFM

Static Pressure - 1.2mmH2O

Starting voltage - 7 Volts

Operation Temperature: -10 to +65 C

ooops, i just read the description again there and it looks like those 4 pin connectors are so that you can either plug it directly into the power supply or the 3 pin into the motherboard, lol.

Why the option though, is there a reason for this option, you know, is it better to plug it directly into the psu or into the motherboard, I dont know, never came across this before until now ?

 

[23JMZ07]

Plugging in to the motherboard is conveinient for most people but if its just a case fan, often people will just power them from the PSU to save the connectors on the motherboard for fans that NEED to be RPM measured.

 

[Tealc]

My Xilence fans are similar but only have the one way Molex connector instead of the daisy chaining option and I accidentally connected both once and nothing sinister happened, other than I couldn't control the fan speed with my controller. I unplugged as soon as I realised I'd connected too many Molexes. These days if I get a fan like this I remove the wiring going to the Molex, join and heatshrink the cables so it goes direct to the normal 3/4 pin fan connector.