help,,question about fans

syks · 12 Sep 2016 at 12:40

ive just upgraded my cpu and mobo,my mobo only has 1 system fan header,can I buy some sort of lead/adapter to connect more than 1 fan to the header? my cpu is very cool as I have a good cooler but my hard drives get pretty hot after a few hrs of use,i only have one intake fan connected at the moment but have 3 other fans in my case not being used.

also how many fans would be safe to connect to the one system fan header? if its possible

thanks

Tealc · 12 Sep 2016 at 12:52

Most motherboard fan headers can support 1 Amp. Each fan will have its current rating on the label or specification. You can buy fan splitters for 2, 3 or more fans but have to respect the header max rating.

syks · 12 Sep 2016 at 12:55

Tealc said:
Most motherboard fan headers can support 1 Amp. Each fan will have its current rating on the label or specification. You can buy fan splitters for 2, 3 or more fans but have to respect the header max rating.

thanks for reply,think I will pop into maplin tomorrow to see if they have a splitter or similar,my hard drives are sitting around 47 degrees but one hit 50 degrees last night which seems hot to me

Vonhelmet · 12 Sep 2016 at 13:27

This splitter will run two additional fans. You hook it in between the CPU fan and the CPU fan header and hook it up to a molex and then it draws power from the molex and uses the CPU PWM control to adjust the fan speed. I'm using one to drive 2 80mm fans in the back of my case because the system fan header is in use for a fan at the front.

ttaskmaster · 12 Sep 2016 at 13:32

Get a fan controller and have pretty much as many fans as you like!

syks · 12 Sep 2016 at 13:42

Vonhelmet said:
This splitter will run two additional fans. You hook it in between the CPU fan and the CPU fan header and hook it up to a molex and then it draws power from the molex and uses the CPU PWM control to adjust the fan speed. I'm using one to drive 2 80mm fans in the back of my case because the system fan header is in use for a fan at the front.

thanks will take a look

ttaskmaster said:
Get a fan controller and have pretty much as many fans as you like!

are they not expensive though? will have to have a look into it

ttaskmaster · 13 Sep 2016 at 10:54

syks said:
are they not expensive though? will have to have a look into it

Some are... some aren't.
Mine was something like £35 for a 4-channel controller with 30w per channel - In theory I could run 55 EK Vardar F4 fans through that one fan controller!!

Some are touchscreen, some have physical dials, some have temp sensors and digital displays, some are like mini computers with multiple PWM profiles and fan curves and 'stuff'!!

syks · 13 Sep 2016 at 10:57

ok thanks,i think I will go for a splitter type for now which connects to the psu also and maybe upgrade to fan controller later,ive done a bit of surfing on the net and seen there not as expensive as I thought.

thanks for comments guys

Tealc · 13 Sep 2016 at 11:08

Manual controlled fan controllers can be very cheap. Automated and temperature controlled versions tend to cost more.

Splitters are only a few quid and can work automatically on system temperature if set up right.