What's this 4-pin and 3-pin fan connecters?

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mickey987

Limp Gawd
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Oct 9, 2004
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I've already searched for this but I couldn't find anything.

So I'm planning on building a computer pretty soon and I just realized the motherboard I'm planning on buying only, the Neo 4 Platinum, supports 4 total fans. A system, a power, a NB and a CPU fan.
The case I'm planning on buying, the Lian Li PC65, supports up to 4 case fans, 5 if I mod it. How can I connect all 5 fans if the motherboard only supports 1 system fan? I know it has something to do with a 4-pin molex connecter but that's all. :(
 
Fans show up in one of a few configurations. 3-pin (that plug into the motherboard) or 4-pin molex (5, 7, and 12 volt varieties). If you've got 3-pin fans and are out of fan headers on the motherboard, you can get 3-to-4 pin adapters.
 
you don't have to connect your fans to the motherboard. The ones you connect via the 3pin connector will report the fan's RPMs. The ones you connect with a standard 4pin molex connector will run; you just want beable to monitor the RPMs.
 
Which connection is more reliable? What's this I hear about some short-circuit if you plug the fans in _______ connecter?
 
mickey987 said:
Which connection is more reliable? What's this I hear about some short-circuit if you plug the fans in _______ connecter?
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I don't think i've ever heard of that...
 
mickey987 said:
What's this I hear about some short-circuit if you plug the fans in _______ connecter?
Click to expand...
Whoever told you that needs to be slapped, called b*tch, drug out into the street and shot.

Neither connection type is going to short out unless it was shorted to begin with. The ONLY 2 differences are the connections on the motherboard allow you to monitor the fan's RPMs in the Bios and with motherboard monitoring software and they only support so many mAh. Basically, you can't power a hard drive off those headers but any regular case fan is fine (yes even 120 mm fans). The molex is simply power, the fans spin with no RPM monitor ability.

About the only thing you have to worry about "shorting" are cheap 3-pin to 4-pin adaptors. Some of them the pins tend to be lose so if you plug a drive in and bump the cable, the pins disconnect and the drive loses power. They don't short, they're nothing more than wires with plastic connectors.
 
Hmmm would you be able to explain that too? The more I know, the more confident I'll be when I build my pc. Thakns! :D
 
gclg2000 said:
I hope he's not confusing this with the new CPU FAN 4pin connectors.
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Yea would you mind explaining those? I have one on my new LGA775 board ... what is the proper way to wire up a replacement fan & HS?

I'm assuming the 4th wire is some sort of control... plugging a replacement 3 wire fan into it works fine and it reports the RPM but it can't control it.
 
I don't plug ANY fans into the motherboard... just turn off RPM reporting the the BIOS and plug them all directly into the power supply. You have less of a tangle of wires that way.
 
The 4th intel wire is to slow/speed up the fan. The fan speed can be set according to load temps and etc...

X amount of celsius = X amount of RPM
 
mickey987 said:
Which connection is more reliable? What's this I hear about some short-circuit if you plug the fans in _______ connecter?
Click to expand...

I believe he is talking about some of the deltas that draw more power than the motherboard header can supply, thus shorting it out.
 
TekieB said:
I believe he is talking about some of the deltas that draw more power than the motherboard header can supply, thus shorting it out.
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I hope you're right. I have my gun ready just in case. ;)
 
What about the HSF, it's fine connected to the mobo right, or do fans on teh mobo really draw that much?
 
No basic fan will draw much at all.

Most fans will draw no more than a few watts.
 
CastleBravo said:
I don't plug ANY fans into the motherboard... just turn off RPM reporting the the BIOS and plug them all directly into the power supply. You have less of a tangle of wires that way.
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No worries, I re-cut and soldered the connector so it is custom length like all the fan cables I have. I hate that the best brand (Nexus) comes with this 3 headed cable monster with each one.


Now about that 4th "Intel" wire... are there any docs on how to wire up a replacement fan so that it can use the motherboard control? I prefer to have the CPU fan connected to the motherboard so that Speedfan can idle it down when not under load. Thanks!
 
vbMech said:
Now about that 4th "Intel" wire... are there any docs on how to wire up a replacement fan so that it can use the motherboard control? I prefer to have the CPU fan connected to the motherboard so that Speedfan can idle it down when not under load. Thanks!
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Not yet. Unless you're running an LGA 775 motherboard, you won't have that connector anyways and so far Intel's boxed procs are the only ones that come with a fan that connects in that way.
 
The_Mage18 said:
Not yet. Unless you're running an LGA 775 motherboard, you won't have that connector anyways and so far Intel's boxed procs are the only ones that come with a fan that connects in that way.
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I am running 775 (Asus P5GD1). I was a bit confused by that extra wire and why there was so little talk of it in places where people talk about heatsink replacements... too new I guess.
 
look on newegg for a nexus fan controller, it has 4 spots for 3 pin fan connectors.. plus you want to avoid plugging in a high powered fan to the board because you can burn out the headers, unless you can find out how many watts it can handle and compare it to the amount your fan draws...

but i would avoid getting a whole bunch of 3 to 4 pin adapters, just get a cheap fan controller, youll have a lot less wires in your case and youll be able to vary the speed (depending on how loud these fans will get you might not need to..)
 
karnick said:
but i would avoid getting a whole bunch of 3 to 4 pin adapters, just get a cheap fan controller, youll have a lot less wires in your case and youll be able to vary the speed (depending on how loud these fans will get you might not need to..)
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That's what I'm planning on doing after I set up my computer (low on cash :rolleyes: ) but I can't find any fan controller that looks appealing to me. I just want to buy one that just has the knobs and the lights without costing $50 american...I'd look on newegg, but they don't ship to canada.

Edit: I think I just found what I'm looking for, it's the Sunbeam Rheobus Kit #3. I can't find any reviews for it, all the Sunbeam rheobus reviews are for kit #2. How are sunbeam rheobus's in general? Should I purchase one?
 
The Sunbeams are used quite often at silentpcreview.com so I would say go for it. What retailer did you find them at in Canada?
 
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