Case fans, voltage regulation and splitters

[nicky9499]

Hi all,

Recently I bought two of those fancy Corsair case fans, plugged it in only to discover it sounded like an A380 on takeoff roll. In fact I initially thought one of the other fans' bearing had died but upon closer inspection found that it indeed sounded this loud at full speed (excellent when put on inline resistor).

So I redid my wiring and researched the board's fan controls.
http://www.overclock.net/t/1239993/gigabyte-z77x-owners-discussion-information-support-thread-and-club-ud5h-ud3h-d3h-and-all/3840#post_18345833

Since with the extra fans it wasn't strictly necessary to have the other fans at 100% all the time, I tried connecting them with a 5-way 3-pin splitter (that also has a molex connector so the header isn't overloaded) but the fans still stay at 100% despite silent setting in BIOS.

I won't unplug the molex for fear of said overload but is it possible the fans are running at 100% because of the molex? Don't want to risk an inline resistor between the board and splitter too as the voltage of 5 fans might melt it but I only have 2 to use individually.

Can someone suggest tips on fan control outside of a fan controller? All the fans are 3-pin units, 2 with LED. The 5-way splitter is 2-pin while I have another Y cable that's 3-pin.

 

[idjekyll]

not 100% sure of your predicament but I think a pwm fan hub should solve your issues. your current set up is too messy already. if the fans are connected directly to the psu then they will run at 100%.

 

[nicky9499]

None of the fans are PWM. Fan controller would be a waste of money and besides I don't fiddle with my fan speeds at all. In the past (I assume) they all ran at full speed as the motherboard is incapable of fan speed voltage regulation but they were all quiet enough to not be a problem (NZXT and Corsair C70 stock fans).

With the new Corsair SP120s full speed is simply too loud.

 

[t258jgn]

Once you connect your fan power to either 4pin Molex Power or Sata Power, you won't be able to control fan speed.

You need a fan controller or fan speed resistor cable or change the pins of the 4pin molex adapter to 5V

 

[idjekyll]

None of the fans are PWM. Fan controller would be a waste of money and besides I don't fiddle with my fan speeds at all. In the past (I assume) they all ran at full speed as the motherboard is incapable of fan speed voltage regulation but they were all quiet enough to not be a problem (NZXT and Corsair C70 stock fans).

With the new Corsair SP120s full speed is simply too loud.

you mean? when i say pwm fan hub, it doesnt mean it's a fan hub for pwm fans. it means the hub connects to a pwm header on the mobo. with that, you can connect up to 11 3 pin fans to that hub. this promotes cable management and with Speedfan, you can control you fans to go faster during load or even 0% when surfing.

check this out.
http://www.phanteks.com/PH-PWHUB.html

 

[Alphas]

The fans should be able to connect to the mobo fan header, each support up to 1A, that is sufficient to have 2-3 fans on each header, just get the fan splitter.

 

[nicky9499]

Hi idjekyll, thanks for the advice. At first I thought you referring to those 5.25" units with all the knobs and infantile bling bling lights.

Where in SLS can I find the Phanteks?

 

[idjekyll]

Hi idjekyll, thanks for the advice. At first I thought you referring to those 5.25" units with all the knobs and infantile bling bling lights.

Where in SLS can I find the Phanteks?

PC Themes should have. I think most of the other shops should have also.