How to hook up an aftermarket fan to GPU fan socket

[moppy89]

Hello everyone, I've recently picked up a HD6950 with an aftermarket heatsink and 140mm fan hooked up to it. Now the fan itself is a 4 pin socket, much like this.

But the socket that the fan plugs into on the GPU is much smaller and only has 2 pins (as can be seen here on the bottom right).

My question is quite simple, is there an adapter that would allow me to plug in the current fan into that 2 pin socket? It's currently plugged into the mobo and running at 100% I think, so not particularly quiet (although temps never go above 70 ) I'd like to be able to plug it into the GPU itself so that it can spin up and slow down as needed.

Alternatively, without buying a fan controller, is there any way of controlling the speed of this fan? It's plugged into a 3pin socket on the mobo that says CHA_FAN1. I tried to use Speedfan, but it honestly makes absolutely no sense to me.

 

[rolypolyman]

Have one of these, works a treat.

ps. yes I know its a fan controller.

 

[ghost.florian]

You need to ghetto it a bit:

Get one of these:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Phobya-Ad...uting_CablesConnectors_RL&hash=item4d1b3f94ea

This will turn your 4 pin to a 3 pin.

Then get one of these:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Graphics-...uting_CablesConnectors_RL&hash=item2c6d7525e6

This will turn your 3 pin into a 2 pin.

I don't know if it will work, but if you have the spare time and £££, you can give it a try

The connector you have shown is a 4 pin PWM fan connector. Does your motherboard not have a PWM fan connector ? At least you can regulate the speed of your GPU fan according to the speed of the CPU.
If you mobo has only 1 PWM connector, you can get one of these:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/30cm-PWM-...uting_CablesConnectors_RL&hash=item2c81661840

 

[tommybhoy]

Search for 'Gelid Solutions PWM Adaptor Cable for VGA Cooler Fans'

 

[moppy89]

Oooh, that Gelid cable is almost right, but not quite. Thank you tommybhoy, I got very excited for a second but then realised it wouldn't work. The fan header on the GPU only allows for a 3 pin socket, that Gelid one has a 4 pin socket and wouldn't fit onto the GPU.

ghost.florian, I think you may be right about ghettoing it up, it looks like there is no direct solution to this (i.e. 4 pin PWM to 2 pin GPU header). While a CPU fan splitter would be more acceptable than the current situation, it still isn't ideal...

I do have one other PWM Fan socket on the mobo, if I were to plug the GPU fan into that, can anyone think of any software that would allow me to *connect* GPU temps to that fan header? Basically, I want to set up a fan curve, and let it do its thing without having to manually adjust RPM every time I turn a game on.

A strange one this...

 

[Confused Stu]

I do have one other PWM Fan socket on the mobo, if I were to plug the GPU fan into that, can anyone think of any software that would allow me to *connect* GPU temps to that fan header? Basically, I want to set up a fan curve, and let it do its thing without having to manually adjust RPM every time I turn a game on.

A strange one this...

Speedfan should be able to do this. I've got my case fans hooked up to my motherboard and Speedfan alters the speed based on my GPU temperatures. Here's the guide I used to get mine controlled and set up:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/SpeedFan

What motherboard are you running?

 

[moppy89]

Speedfan should be able to do this. I've got my case fans hooked up to my motherboard and Speedfan alters the speed based on my GPU temperatures. Here's the guide I used to get mine controlled and set up:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/SpeedFan

What motherboard are you running?

Asus M4A79XTD EVO, it does have a Q-Fan function which is meant to do something, but apart from giving me options of Silent, Performance and Optimal (none of which actually seem to do anything) it's not very useful.

I have previously tried using Speedfan, but couldn't understand a goddamnthing! I'll have a go with that guide and report back, thank you!

 

[Steampunk]

Hello everyone, I've recently picked up a HD6950 with an aftermarket heatsink and 140mm fan hooked up to it. Now the fan itself is a 4 pin socket, much like this.

But the socket that the fan plugs into on the GPU is much smaller and only has 2 pins (as can be seen here on the bottom right).

If it's an aftermarket cooler with a 140mm fan, it's probably designed to be powered off the mainboard headers, or even a molex via an adapter at a continuous speed. I wouldn't be surprised if your graphics card header can't drive a fan like that.

You're best bet would be a fan controller as suggested above, or attached to a motherboard fan controller with a custom fan profile to control it via software.

 

[tommybhoy]

Oooh, that Gelid cable is almost right, but not quite. Thank you tommybhoy, I got very excited for a second but then realised it wouldn't work. The fan header on the GPU only allows for a 3 pin socket, that Gelid one has a 4 pin socket and wouldn't fit onto the GPU.

Oh well, worth a shout.

Crazy idea, buy two(they are dirt cheap) and cut a pin off to fit and connect it to a fan controller/fan mate if it doesn't work via fan curve profile in AB.

 

[moppy89]

Steampunk, I think you might have a point there about the GPU header not being able to drive the fan, that was the consensus when I searched for others having the same problem.

Great success though! Managed to make some sense of Speedfan with that guide and have linked the GPU fan with the GPU by plugging it into the mobo.

Currently set up so that it runs at 50% minimum (otherwise it doesn't spin) and gradually increases from 50C on to 85C where it hits 100%.

From what I've read, these 6950s can go that high without a problem. Also, Furmark has been running for 10mins now and temp hasn't gone above 58C. I'd call that a success!

Thanks for the help everybody, works perfectly.