Fan controller or NOT!!

Weaver

Weaver

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Ok here’s the skinny I run an H70 on my CPU with two 120 mm Apache Blacks, which are 4 pin PWM. Obviously I have connected these to the 4-pin CPU fan connectors on the Mother board (Asus P8P67 PRO). I have another 2 Apache Blacks with 4-pin PWM acting as exhaust in the top of the case, as yet unconnected, but I also have 3 x 140mm 3 pin fans cooling the separate case compartments.


What would the advice of the forum be in this scenario? Should I buy splitters and let the MB control all of the fans or should I buy a fan controller and 4-pin to 3-pin adapters?


If the consensus is to go with a fan controller what functionality would be lost with PWM 4 pin fans since most fan controller’s work by reducing voltage to slow the fans down and this is not really how PWM fans work.






EDIT: Since I dont think I've been as clear as I could have I'm not going to connect the CPU fans/pump to the fan controller I'll leave them as they are on the MB. It's just the case fans.



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looking at a picture of your motherboard, you only have one CPU_fan header. this isnt a major problem because i would guess you have a cable that splits the CPU_FAN into two fan headers for the H70 fans.

it wont be the prettiest setup in the world, but i would buy one of these:
Akasa PWM fan splitter cable

that cable takes power from a molex connection, but also varies the speed with the CPU_fan header.

you could plug your current splitting cable into one of the outlets of that, and the two currently unused fans into the remaining two fan headers. there is no need to worry about taking too much power, because a molex can provide well over 100W of power, enough for several hundred fans probably.

as for the 3 pin fans the only thing you can do is get a fan controller
 
Reaper 392 said:
looking at a picture of your motherboard, you only have one CPU_fan header. this isnt a major problem because i would guess you have a cable that splits the CPU_FAN into two fan headers for the H70 fans.

it wont be the prettiest setup in the world, but i would buy one of these:
Akasa PWM fan splitter cable

that cable takes power from a molex connection, but also varies the speed with the CPU_fan header.

you could plug your current splitting cable into one of the outlets of that, and the two currently unused fans into the remaining two fan headers. there is no need to worry about taking too much power, because a molex can provide well over 100W of power, enough for several hundred fans probably.

as for the 3 pin fans the only thing you can do is get a fan controller
Click to expand...




Thanks for the input man. Here’s what I was thinking on it and why;


Scenario 1:


Take two of the Y-Splitter adapters you mentioned and also a 3 pin Y-Splitter adapter. Configure the two fans on the H70 via 1 of the 4-Pin Y-adapters onto the CPU 4-Pin fan header. Take the two top fans via the other 4-Pin Y-adapter onto the Cha-Fan 1 header. Finally take the 3-Pin Y-Adapter and connect to the Cha-Fan 2 header. As you mention it might not be pretty but I recon I can hide some of it behind (Corsair 800D case).


Scenario 2:


Take 1 Y-Splitter adapter configure the two fans on the H70 via MB CPU’s 4-Pin header letting the bios control the CPU fans. Take the two top 4-Pin fans via a 4-Pin to 3-Pin adapter cable and the remaining three 3-Pin fans and connect to a fan controller. Would look much prettier but I might loose some functionality of the two 4-Pin fans since pulse width modulation is either on or off in a sort of square wave configuration I don’t think I would have control of the fan speed %’s via the fan controller.




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