3 or 4 pin connector for front intake?

[Loki1]

I'm looking to put a 120mm intake fan in the front of my case but I'm wondering where do I plug it in. The mobo or to another fan? So I'm not sure if I'll need a three or four pin connector, is there a place to plug a three pin on the mobo for a intake or will I need to somehow connect it to another fan using a four pin?

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Although it highly depends upon the fan that you use, connecting 120mm fans to your mobos 3-pin connector is generally a bad idea, because of how much power they use. It would be best to connect it to a 4-pin. They have a pass through connector, so you could just use the one going to your hard drive...
Tas.

 

[Mrvile]

It really doesn't matter much. 4-pin fans usually run a bit faster than 3-pin ones (because they use power straight from the PSU) but I say get whatever's convenient.

 

[JSLIM]

Originally posted by: tasburrfoot78362
Although it highly depends upon the fan that you use, connecting 120mm fans to your mobos 3-pin connector is generally a bad idea, because of how much power they use. It would be best to connect it to a 4-pin. They have a pass through connector, so you could just use the one going to your hard drive...
Tas.

dang I have (2) 120mm fans hooked up to my 3pin mb...should I remove them?

 

[imported_Husky55]

Originally posted by: JSLIM

Originally posted by: tasburrfoot78362
Although it highly depends upon the fan that you use, connecting 120mm fans to your mobos 3-pin connector is generally a bad idea, because of how much power they use. It would be best to connect it to a 4-pin. They have a pass through connector, so you could just use the one going to your hard drive...
Tas.

dang I have (2) 120mm fans hooked up to my 3pin mb...should I remove them?

I would!!!

 

[WobbleWobble]

Originally posted by: Mrvile
It really doesn't matter much. 4-pin fans usually run a bit faster than 3-pin ones (because they use power straight from the PSU) but I say get whatever's convenient.

Don't both pin configurations give the fan 12V?

But I second the notion that you should run them from direct from your PSU rather than on the motherboard so you don't overload it.

The one advantage running 3pin from the motherboard is you usually get RPM monitoring (if your fan supports it).

 

[Loki1]

Would plugging the 4-pin connector on the intake to another 4-pin conector, say on the side panel fan, work as well? Or should I actually look for a way to get it directly to the PSU?

 

[imported_Kensai]

Originally posted by: Loki1
Would plugging the 4-pin connector on the intake to another 4-pin conector, say on the side panel fan, work as well? Or should I actually look for a way to get it directly to the PSU?

It'll work finely.

 

[Varun]

Originally posted by: tasburrfoot78362
Although it highly depends upon the fan that you use, connecting 120mm fans to your mobos 3-pin connector is generally a bad idea, because of how much power they use. It would be best to connect it to a 4-pin. They have a pass through connector, so you could just use the one going to your hard drive...
Tas.

Fans don't draw that much power, 1-2Watts max and most headers on the motherboard are rated well over that.

If you plug them into the motherboard, some new boards can control the speed with a program like Speedfan.

Either way is fine.

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Ummmm.
Sunon 120x25mm = 4.6W
My 120mm Sunons in my case = 6.8W
Panaflo M1A = 4.08W
Plain blue UV fan = 4.8W
Sorry, but that doesn't look like 1-2 watts max. Nonetheless, why risk it? It isn't worth frying the mobo. And if you have to control the speed, get a rheobus. The 3-pin fan headers weren't designed for 120mm fans.
Tas.

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Just FYI, I contacted SuperMicro, and the mobo fans support 1.5 a (for my mobo) for all CPU and mobo fan headers. So that comes out to 18w.
Tas.

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: tasburrfoot78362
Ummmm.
Sunon 120x25mm = 4.6W
My 120mm Sunons in my case = 6.8W
Panaflo M1A = 4.08W
Plain blue UV fan = 4.8W
Sorry, but that doesn't look like 1-2 watts max. Nonetheless, why risk it? It isn't worth frying the mobo. And if you have to control the speed, get a rheobus. The 3-pin fan headers weren't designed for 120mm fans.
Tas.

If the fan has a 3-pin connector obviously it was designed to used with a 3-pin MB header. As long as you don't go crazy with the number of fans and keep their power to moderate to low levels using the MB fan headers is fine.