CPU Fan Header Question

[Srotten]

I just got my ASUS Maximus II Formula motherboard and ran into a glitch. I'm installing the Tuniq CPU Cooler and it only has a 3 pin fan connector. The Asus board has a 4 pin header? Do I need an adaptor cable? Can I just put the 3 pin on the 4 pin header? What is the 4th pin for?

Any help is much appreciated!
-Mark

 

[VirtualLarry]

You should be able to just plug the 3-pin onto the 4-pin connector. The plastic is keyed so this is possible.

 

[The Odorous One]

You can also use it on a system fan header that allows voltage control and use a 3rd party such as Speedfan to control it. I do this on P5Q-E. If you do that you may get a cpu fan error when booting but this can be fixed by setting the bios to ignore cpu fan.

 

[Srotten]

Thanks Guys,

Anyone know what that fourth pin is for?

-Mark

 

[The Odorous One]

It's for PWM fans that are commonly shipped with Intel retail cpu's. Will work with 3rd party too: http://www.coolerguys.com/pwmfans.html

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: Srotten
Thanks Guys,

Anyone know what that fourth pin is for?

-Mark

PWM stands for Pulse Width Modulation by the way. It's a way of controlling the fan speed by cycling the power on and off. The greater the portion of the cycle that's "on", the faster the fan spins.

 

[Srotten]

Follow-up question. I'm using the Tuniq 120 and the Fan Control in the BIOS doesn't seem to be adjusting fan speed? Is that because it has that external controller (which I didn't hook up because my old Zalman adjusted to BIOS just fine without it). That Tuniq is kinda loud at full speed, any suggestions to get the BIOS to adjust the speed of the CPU fan?

Thanks,
-Mark