How do you connect the case fans?

JohnJSal

JohnJSal

Active Member
I'm reading through my motherboard manual (yes, I'm a reader) and I notice it has the following:

1xCPU fan header
2xsystem fan headers
1xpower fan header
1xNorth Bridge fan header

Do I use any of this or do the fans get connected directly to the PSU? I guess maybe the CPU fan will get connected to that first one, but what about the case fans? Do they go to the mobo at all?
 
case fans go into the system fan plugs. If you run out of places to plug fans in you can always get converters so that you can plug them straight into molex connectors from the PSU
 
yeah it depends what connectors they are.

i have 2x 120mm fans.

one is a 3-pin connector for the motherboard. the other i got out of a power supply and soldered a molex connector onto it. some

on my motherboard i have sysfan1-3pin connection sysfan2-4pin(but you still connect to it using the 3 pin power connector, its not molex)
cpufan-4pin
pwrfan-3
 
So if I'm going to have 4 or 5 fans, but only two system fan headers on the mobo, what should I do? Is it better to connect certain ones to the mobo than others? Do the other 2 or 3 fans just go straight to the PSU?
 
well you can use the pwr fan header as well. so thats 3.

and i dont know what the northbridge one is like. but if its 3or4 pin like the rest then use that too. if not then yeah you will have to get an adapter or soemthing and connect them to the molex connections.

only the fans plugged into the motherboard can have their speed monitored and controlled i think. other then that it should matter where you plug in which ones.
 
The book I'm reading just plugs the fans directly into the PSU and not the motherboard. I think that might be all I need to do. I don't need the mobo to control the case fans, just the CPU fan, right? I'm using the P182 and I'm setting the fans to low speed, and I'd rather them stay that way anyway.

Plus, I'm going to add either one or both optional fans, so that will be a total of up to 5. Not enough mobo connectors anyway.
 
i just plug the fans power cord into the cords coming out of my power supply. the only fans i have pluged on the mobo is my heatsink for my processor
 
Sounds like it doesn't matter to you if you can control them, so just plug them wherever. If you're worried about cable management, then you may want to think about what looks better. They'll be powered either way though, through the mobo or the psu.
 
If you don't mind them running full-blast all the time, it's perfectly fine to run them directly off the power supply. I would try that first and see if the noise bothers you. If it does, I would invest in a fan controller. You can either go with a front panel unit that'll have a bunch of rheobuses (dials) mounted on a circuit board behind a panel, an expansion slot model (very cheap, reliable, usually controls one fan per unit, good if you don't tinker with your settings and have enough slots available), or something like Zalman's FanMate2 (simple, mounts anywhere you need it, but kinda bulky if you wanna hide everything).

Me, I run a Zalman ZM-MFC2. Has a PWM channel that I don't use, three regular channels. Really, it was a mistake buying it, but it would be awesome if you have a power supply smaller than 800W (it monitors your power usage but won't let my 1KW beast juice up), a PWM fan, and three regular 3-pin fans. Oh, and if you have like $70 lying around to blow on a fan controller :)
 
Hmm...are you using an Antec 900, by any chance? Because they have four fans (3x120mm and one 200mm), with built-in 3-position speed switches.

The best bet really is to play around with them. If they have built-in swtiching, and you don't fool with your fan speeds all the time, then that'll work just fine.
 
dave_w said:
Hmm...are you using an Antec 900, by any chance? Because they have four fans (3x120mm and one 200mm), with built-in 3-position speed switches.

The best bet really is to play around with them. If they have built-in swtiching, and you don't fool with your fan speeds all the time, then that'll work just fine.
Click to expand...

P182, but probably similar in regard to the fans. I plugged them all into the PSU directly and they work nicely. Very, very quiet, and the air they blow is very cool. :)
 
Yeah, I was impressed with the fans on my Antec, which has long since gone to my girlfriend. Mistake...I moved down to an NZXT that I thought would have better cable management. Instead it was almost as hard, if not worse, and I have a very cheap-feeling case.

So I'm just going to admit I'm a snob and go Lian-Li.
 
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