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Motherboard fan connectors (what do you do when you run out?)

M

Mattlock

Senior member
How do people connect multiple fans when there appears to be a limited number of connectors on the m/b?

Mattlock(yes I am a newbie, I know)

 
Most case fans should already have 4pin connectors on them. As most mobo 3pin connectors are rated at or around 2watts each. A lot of 80mm, and almost all 92mm and above are greater then 2watts. Putting a fan that uses more watts then the header is designed for is a sure way to cause yourself headaches, and quite possibly a damaged mobo.
 
My general rule of thumb is, dont plug anything over 3W into a mobo fan header. You're very likely to burn out the header and lose the ability to power anything from that header. The RPM sensing may be salvaged sometimes though...

Yeah, you can get fans with 4-pin connectors, so dont worry about it. I usually splice most of my fans into one 4-pin molex connector to save space.
 
You'll really have to excuse my ignorance but 3 pin fan headers are easy to find on the board and but I am uncertain about the 4 pin connectors. Are there certain ones that work with adapters or others to avoid? Really a novice but eager to learn.



 
The 4-pins are the ones that stem from your power supply. Those should be the easiest to find and to access 😉

What do you mean by, "Are there certain ones that work with adapters or others to avoid?"?
 
The quickest, easiest soltuion...make an adapter. Cut off the plug and solder it to the 4-pin power connector (connect the red wire on the fan to the yellow wire power cable wire, and the black wire from the fan to the adjacent black wire). It is adviseable to do this to a 4-pin Y-connector, so that you can remove it if you want to. If the fan has an additional, usually white, wire, I just wrap electrical tape around the end of it.

Y-cable (splitter)
Adapter you can buy
 
It looks like I have one 4 pin connector available. Can I hook up several fans to the one connector?If so, what do I need...a converter?
 
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