How do you get your case fans tidy?

Drake5 · 11 Jan 2014 at 22:20

I recently installed my new PC into an Antec One. I've got the majority of the cables looking neat and tidy however the top fan and the back fan are 3 pins and they plug directly in to the motherboard so the wires are trailing over the motherboard and look untidy.

What's the best way to connect these fans? Would it be possible to buy some sort of fan extension that goes onto a 4pin molex? How do you guys do it?

MrAdamski · 11 Jan 2014 at 22:30

You could buy a 3-pin to molex such as http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CM-101-BX

Or you could get braided extensions if you particularly wanted the fans plugged into the motherboard, but they would be trailing still. Alternatively, you could plug them into a fan controller and hide all the cables that way.

doyll · 11 Jan 2014 at 22:35

Could you route them behind the motherboard and back up to where they plug into headers?

OLDPHART · 12 Jan 2014 at 11:37

doyll said:
Could you route them behind the motherboard and back up to where they plug into headers?

+1

Steampunk · 12 Jan 2014 at 11:45

What I do is loop the cable around the fan to get rid of the extra length, and then plug in the couple of inches that are left. I actually orient the fans so that I've only got the little bit of cable left that I need. There's usually a place on the fan housing where you can clip or use a cable tie to hold it in place if necessary.

Obviously it depends on where the fan headers are on your motherboard, but I've done it on several boards as the headers are all close to the fans. A little twist in the cable will force it against the case so it's effectively out of sight and out of the way.

Drake5 · 12 Jan 2014 at 12:00

Steampunk said:
What I do is loop the cable around the fan to get rid of the extra length, and then plug in the couple of inches that are left. I actually orient the fans so that I've only got the little bit of cable left that I need. There's usually a place on the fan housing where you can clip or use a cable tie to hold it in place if necessary.

Obviously it depends on where the fan headers are on your motherboard, but I've done it on several boards as the headers are all close to the fans. A little twist in the cable will force it against the case so it's effectively out of sight and out of the way.

I did exactly this and it's much better now.

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

Drake5 · 12 Jan 2014 at 18:28

Another quick question, I'm getting some 120MM fans soon. One for the front of my Antec One and one for the side.

Which director should I have the side fan and the front fan going? Do I want the front to be sucking air in and the side to be sucking air out?

Cheers

Steampunk · 12 Jan 2014 at 18:31

I'd put them both pushing air into the case.

Drake5 · 13 Jan 2014 at 00:20

Instead of making a new thread I've got another separate question.

When I purchased my motherboard, it came free with a 'Alpenfoehn Civetta cooler'.

Obviously the motherboard is socket 1150 however the cooler says it's for socket 1366/1155/1156/775.

I take it this cooler wouldn't even fit on the motherboard?

Cheers

doyll · 13 Jan 2014 at 00:22

It fits your motherboard no problem.
LGA 1150, 1155, 1156 sockets are all the same mounting and use same mounting hardware.

Drake5 · 13 Jan 2014 at 00:34

doyll said:
It fits your motherboard no problem.
LGA 1150, 1155, 1156 sockets are all the same mounting and use same mounting hardware.

Cheers.

I was thinking of putting the cooler on with some decent thermal paste and doing a slight overclock. It's something I've never done before so I would heave to read up on it however my motherboard has OC Genie with pre-set overclocking profiles. Would these be recommended?

Steampunk · 13 Jan 2014 at 00:40

Tom_D said:
Cheers.

I was thinking of putting the cooler on with some decent thermal paste and doing a slight overclock. It's something I've never done before so I would heave to read up on it however my motherboard has OC Genie with pre-set overclocking profiles. Would these be recommended?

They are often conservative, but they can be a good starting point for a beginner.

Bart_Hunt · 13 Jan 2014 at 00:41

That depends.
I tried a profile like this on my mini itx board and voltage was crazy high. It was 1.47 at 4.3 ghz.
You should go to 'Ask 8 Pack' forum section and there is a guide link posted and some advice from 8 Pack. Can't link because im on mobile, but it's easy to find.