Case fans

[Furiex]

I want to get a Rosewill Blackhawk ultra gaming case because its just beast and i can get a TON of use out of it for years to come

But first off, my mobo has 8 4 pin fan connectors, the rosewill has 8 3 pin fans...
Since my mobo is ASUS it comes with software for built in fan control. that i want to use, i do not want to buy a aftermarket fan controller...

So if im right,
If i plug the 3 pin into the 4 pin i wont be able to control the fans correct? will the fan even power up?
what if i get a 3 to a 4 pin adapter? will that work so i can control it?
HEEELLLPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[inux94]

You can plug a 3 pin to a 4 pin and adjust the speeds last I remember.

[Furiex]

So i can plug my 3 pin fans into the 4 pin slot, power up and adjust the fan speeds with the ASUS fan controller?

[inux94]

As far as I remember yes, but don't quote me on that.

[Wakwazu]

As far as I remember yes, but don't quote me on that.

He already did :P

[Furiex]

I guess ill try then, I mean if it doesnt work ill have to just spend like 60 bucks buy some used fans and slap em in with a 4pin not to worrying but just more money lol

[Phishy714]

So i can plug my 3 pin fans into the 4 pin slot, power up and adjust the fan speeds with the ASUS fan controller?

I have a high end Asus motherboard and I can confirm for you that you are able to plug in 3 pin fans into the 4 pin slots and have the motherboard software (called FanXpert 2) control their speeds.

[Furiex]

Thank you jesus, ill email you a virtual kiss here in a little bit! Now that i know this i have just placed my order

[at05gt]

The 4th pin is the speed control pin, so yes you can plug a 3 pin fan into a 4 pin pwm plug but it wont speed control. However if your motherboard has voltage based controlling software built in, then it can speed control by reducing the voltage to the fan like a standard fan controller does.

Click for pinouts.

[bluejaye]

It looks like you have already been helped but another option is to buy a physical fan controller, which usually plugs directly into your PSU, and plug your fans into that. You can then control the fans with the knobs, in case you have issues with your current situation or realize you want to use more fans than you have connectors for.

[at05gt]

It looks like you have already been helped but another option is to buy a physical fan controller, which usually plugs directly into your PSU, and plug your fans into that. You can then control the fans with the knobs, in case you have issues with your current situation or realize you want to use more fans than you have connectors for.

+1 for fan controller, I recommend NZXT Sentry 2

[yurano]

But first off, my mobo has 8 4 pin fan connectors

What motherboard do you have? I didn't know motherboards had that many fan connectors.

[llDemonll]

The 4th pin is the speed control pin, so yes you can plug a 3 pin fan into a 4 pin pwm plug but it wont speed control. However if your motherboard has voltage based controlling software built in, then it can speed control by reducing the voltage to the fan like a standard fan controller does.

Click for pinouts.

this man speaks truth. the 4th pin is what controls speed on most motherboards

[at05gt]

What motherboard do you have? I didn't know motherboards had that many fan connectors.

They do, depends on what you buy though. My Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3 has 2 4 pin and 2 3 pin fan headers.

[Faithh]

this man speaks truth. the 4th pin is what controls speed on most motherboards

Idd he does :P

I have a fan controller (the default which has been delivered from nzxt phantom) doesn't control my Corsair AF fans at all.

But why would you need to control them? For silence? Just get non-pwm fans with a static speed which you can't adjust or lower. 1000rpm you won't hear it at all

Id rather go for the Corsair AF140 or AF120 as case fans. They include a voltage dropper for your fan to run at a more quiet operation. Even without that voltage dropper it runs very very quiet. Also the AF series have vibrationshockers which is nice to avoid vibrations in ur case.

[at05gt]

Idd he does :P

I have a fan controller (the default which has been delivered from nzxt phantom) doesn't control my Corsair AF fans at all.

But why would you need to control them? For silence? Just get non-pwm fans with a static speed which you can't adjust or lower. 1000rpm you won't hear it at all

Id rather go for the Corsair AF140 or AF120 as case fans. They include a voltage dropper for your fan to run at a more quiet operation. Even without that voltage dropper it runs very very quiet. Also the AF series have vibrationshockers which is nice to avoid vibrations in ur case.

My NZXT Sentry 2 has voltage control and controls my Corsair AF's just fine.

[yurano]

this man speaks truth. the 4th pin is what controls speed on most motherboards

At the very least, I know that ASUS motherboards can control both 3 pin and 4 pin fans.

Can any AsRock motherboards control 3 pin fans via their 3 or 4 pin connectors?

[at05gt]

At the very least, I know that ASUS motherboards can control both 3 pin and 4 pin fans.

Can any AsRock motherboards control 3 pin fans via their 3 or 4 pin connectors?

As I said before, some motherboards can "voltage" control fans, I.E. full 12v full speed, and cutting the power to slow the fan from there, 10v, 8v, 6v, and so on. This is how "most" standard fan controllers operate, you turn the knob/slide the switch it changes the voltage going to the fan.

[yurano]

As I said before, some motherboards can "voltage" control fans, I.E. full 12v full speed, and cutting the power to slow the fan from there, 10v, 8v, 6v, and so on. This is how "most" standard fan controllers operate, you turn the knob/slide the switch it changes the voltage going to the fan.

Right, but my impression from the previous posts was that some motherboards do not have this feature, where as other motherboards such as the ASUS P8Z77-V does. If Asrock motherboards don't have this feature I'd have to factor it in to my future purchase. The presence of this feature doesn't seem to be listed anywhere.

[at05gt]

Its usually not listed, but you can pretty much bet that 95% of motherboards have some form of thermally controlled speed for the cpu and sys fan headers, whether its pwm(4pin) or voltage(3pin). Otherwise it would just run all fans at 100% all the time and waste power. The only way to know for sure (if its not listed in the details/manual) if the motherboard can do that is to plug a 3pin fan into the header and listen for the fan to change speeds, or use a utility like speedfan to manually change the speed.