question about Fans and splitters

Coldlandlord

Coldlandlord

Coldlandlord

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16 Nov 2018
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Hi guys I am a total novice that has gone in at the deep end and decided to build myself a new gaming PC.

I have a MSI Z390 gaming edge motherboard with a Intel I5 8600k and a deepcool neptwin cpu cooler.

I have a question in regards to the fans.

The CPU cooler:
This is a twin fan unit. One of the fans (the one in between the radiators) has a 4 pin plug and the other (which sits on the outside, over the ram sticks) has a 3 pin plug.

I'm using a splitter cable to join these fans and plug into the single 4 pin port on the motherboard.
On the Y end, the splitter cables have 1 x 4 pin connector and 1 x 3 pin connector. I'm a bit confused as the 3 pin connector is missing pin 3. So when looking at it, you have. PIN1, PIN2, GAP, PIN3.

Which way around do i plug in these fans.

Do I plug in the fan that has 4 wires into the splitter connector that is missing the 3rd pin, meaning that its only connecting to 3 pins and then plug in the fan with 3 wires into the splitter that has 4 pins so that every wire is conected to a pin?

Or is it the other way around which would mean the fan with 3 wires would only be in contact with 2 of the pins on the splitter cable as the 3rd pin is blank and the fan with 4 wires is in contact with all 4 pins?

I hope that makes sense!

I have Artic F12 6 case fans and 3 more splitter cables. Does it matter how these are plugged in?
 
Did your splitter cable come with the cooler?

It sounds like you're trying to use a PWN fan splitter that's designed for two fans that both have 4 pin connectors. The pin will be missing so that only one of the fans reports its speed back to the motherboard.
 
You're breaking forum rules by linking to one of OcUK's competitors.

So the splitter didn't come with the fan?

That's a PWM splitter you've linked to and won't do what you want.

Can't you use two separate headers on the motherboard as the instructions for the cooler show?

Your problem is that the speeds of 3 pin and 4 pin (PWM) fans are controlled in different ways. One motherboard header will not be able to provide both types of control at the same time.
 
I don't think i have enough headers on the motherboard as i'm putting in 6 case fans . There's only 1 CPU fan header.

Changed my post to comply with forum rules. My bad.

I have been watching youtube videos with this cooler being installed with PWM splitter cables. Am i allowed to post link to it?
 
Thinking about it you may be okay if you configure the motherboard to control the fan speed by voltage rather than PWM. If you do that it wouldn't matter how the fans are connected to the splitter.

You aren't going to break anything by experimenting. The worst that'll happen is the fans not spinning at all (not a problem in the short term) or them spinning at their maximum speed with no motherboard control.
 
As above it won't matter if you're using voltage control.

It also won't damage anything if there is a correct way round. Try both ways and see which works best.

Personally I'd be running with two 4 pin PWM fans but you've obviously already bought what you've bought.
 
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