Fan splitters.

marc512 · 18 May 2010 at 14:57

I am going to buy a case for my old pc which will come with 5 fans. My previous experience with the fan splitters i used was that all of them didnt get full power. I am just wondering what would be the best way to have all the fans spinning.
Last time i used them, 1 of the 3 fans worked. When you gave the non working fans a spin with your hand they started but they where very slow. <100rpm

I wont have any room for a fan controller and there are only 2 slots on the motherboard where i can plug a fan into.

i used the Akasa AK-CB001 before.

eddyc · 18 May 2010 at 15:00

Power them off the molex connectors on your PSU. You can get a fan mate or a speed reduction cable to control the speed.

marc512 · 18 May 2010 at 15:04

eddyc said:
Power them off the molex connectors on your PSU. You can get a fan mate or a speed reduction cable to control the speed.

can i have a fan mate controlling all 5 fans?

Brizzles · 18 May 2010 at 15:15

The Akasa you mentioned is not a fan splitter.

It powers 12v to 1 fan and 5v to the others, hence your problem.

You can get a 12v 3fan splitter cable that will work.

I wouldn't run a triple fan splitter from the mobo connector, better to go via a molex connector.

EDIT:
You want one of these :

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CB-031-AK&groupid=701&catid=48&subcat=153

marc512 · 18 May 2010 at 15:25

mrdbristol said:
The Akasa you mentioned is not a fan splitter.

It powers 12v to 1 fan and 5v to the others, hence your problem.

You can get a 12v 3fan splitter cable that will work.

I wouldn't run a triple fan splitter from the mobo connector, better to go via a molex connector.

EDIT:
You want one of these :

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CB-031-AK&groupid=701&catid=48&subcat=153

ah that makes perfect sense.
I have 2 molex connectors spare for that reason to control fans.. would i need to buy 2 of what you just sent? and connect that to a fan mate to control its speed.

Brizzles · 18 May 2010 at 15:37

What sort of control over the fans do you want ?

The fanmate is a manual control, so you would need to open the case to adjust it.

The link i posted will run 3 fans and 1 of the leads will connect to the mobo and your bios 'should' control it.

If you just want 5 fans running slowly , i would suggest a 12v 3 way splitter - but modify it to 7v ( quite easy to do )

It depends on your fans to some extent, as you have found out, some fans need 12v to start up , but can then be dropped to 5v/7v when running.

marc512 · 18 May 2010 at 16:00

mrdbristol said:
What sort of control over the fans do you want ?

The fanmate is a manual control, so you would need to open the case to adjust it.

The link i posted will run 3 fans and 1 of the leads will connect to the mobo and your bios 'should' control it.

If you just want 5 fans running slowly , i would suggest a 12v 3 way splitter - but modify it to 7v ( quite easy to do )

It depends on your fans to some extent, as you have found out, some fans need 12v to start up , but can then be dropped to 5v/7v when running.

i want full control, the old pc im getting the fans for runs extremely hot. so when its idleing i want it to be silent, and when its running in games or its been on for a long time i would turn up the fans.
I dont really want software controlled fans. (or bios)

Brizzles · 18 May 2010 at 16:09

marc512 said:
i want full control, the old pc im getting the fans for runs extremely hot. so when its idleing i want it to be silent, and when its running in games or its been on for a long time i would turn up the fans.
I dont really want software controlled fans. (or bios)

If you want full manual control, then you'll need a drive bay fan contoller.

This needs a single molex to power it and you plug your fans into the unit.

This would be fine, you would just need a splitter for the extra 5th fan ( meaning fans 4 and 5 run at the same speed )

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BB-003-SY&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=189